Hi All
The start of this post has been a long time coming, it was always envisaged that I would write a post whilst building up my Post Classic Guzzi racer – however, being impatient when it comes to utilising new technology platforms (WordPress in this case) and short on time has meant this post has only been started halfway through the build, not ideal but that’s the way it is.
Some background – I have always loved Guzzi’s, I guess that was always going to be on the cards, when I was a youngster, practically the first bike I ever rode was my Uncle’s Mk III Le Mans. Given I am on Trade Me (NZ Ebay equivalent) every night the inevitable happened and a 1982 G5 1000 turned up at a very reasonable price – complete with a side-car!!! duly purchased by hitting the buy now button with literally 10 seconds consideration. Two days later I picked the bike up, to my delight (i.e. the listing made little mention of parts) not only had I purchased a complete rig but also a Range Rover boot sized load of parts, new clutch, 36mm dellorto’s, spare forks, LM1 wheels, multiple tanks, panniers etc etc – what a deal.
Upon getting the bike home there was no mucking around in getting the sidecar off – horrible things, let’s hope it hasn’t worn the gearbox out. At least selling the sidecar and leading link forks would enable me to recoup the purchase price – duly done, sidecar enthusiasts are keen, it didn’t take long to sell the parts at all.
The creation of Mulo? At this stage I still wasn’t sure which direction I was going to take with the Guzzi – road legal Cafe race style or NZ Pre 82 Post Classic racer. Having recently completed a nuts and bolt restoration of a Ducati MHR (post to come), I was pleasantly surprised at just how quickly you can get along on these era bikes – to the point of starting to dream about acquiring another bevel to use as race bike project, then I got real, they are a) getting to pricey and b) just too fragile to use as intended on the track (unless you can afford the associated massive maintenance costs). On the the other hand, guys in Europe have got Guzzi’s going both reliably and very quickly in the classic scene over there.
Squadra Mulo/Mulo (in the title)???? what’s with the name? what’s he on about? a few years before the V7 Special, Guzzi released the Mulo Meccanico (Mechanical Mule) – it had a large capacity transverse V engine, apparently it had no influence on the V7, a bit to much of a coincidence for me. Fairly tenuous I know but I have always thought of Mule’s as being intriguing animals – Squadra Mulo it is.
The old girl stripped of her ugly appendage – ie sidecar
Continue reading →
Tailpipes and Headlamps
The creation of a Guzzi racer – for Squadra Mulo
Hi All
The start of this post has been a long time coming, it was always envisaged that I would write a post whilst building up my Post Classic Guzzi racer – however, being impatient when it comes to utilising new technology platforms (WordPress in this case) and short on time has meant this post has only been started halfway through the build, not ideal but that’s the way it is.
Some background – I have always loved Guzzi’s, I guess that was always going to be on the cards, when I was a youngster, practically the first bike I ever rode was my Uncle’s Mk III Le Mans. Given I am on Trade Me (NZ Ebay equivalent) every night the inevitable happened and a 1982 G5 1000 turned up at a very reasonable price – complete with a side-car!!! duly purchased by hitting the buy now button with literally 10 seconds consideration. Two days later I picked the bike up, to my delight (i.e. the listing made little mention of parts) not only had I purchased a complete rig but also a Range Rover boot sized load of parts, new clutch, 36mm dellorto’s, spare forks, LM1 wheels, multiple tanks, panniers etc etc – what a deal.
Upon getting the bike home there was no mucking around in getting the sidecar off – horrible things, let’s hope it hasn’t worn the gearbox out. At least selling the sidecar and leading link forks would enable me to recoup the purchase price – duly done, sidecar enthusiasts are keen, it didn’t take long to sell the parts at all.
The creation of Mulo? At this stage I still wasn’t sure which direction I was going to take with the Guzzi – road legal Cafe race style or NZ Pre 82 Post Classic racer. Having recently completed a nuts and bolt restoration of a Ducati MHR (post to come), I was pleasantly surprised at just how quickly you can get along on these era bikes – to the point of starting to dream about acquiring another bevel to use as race bike project, then I got real, they are a) getting to pricey and b) just too fragile to use as intended on the track (unless you can afford the associated massive maintenance costs). On the the other hand, guys in Europe have got Guzzi’s going both reliably and very quickly in the classic scene over there.
Squadra Mulo/Mulo (in the title)???? what’s with the name? what’s he on about? a few years before the V7 Special, Guzzi released the Mulo Meccanico (Mechanical Mule) – it had a large capacity transverse V engine, apparently it had no influence on the V7, a bit to much of a coincidence for me. Fairly tenuous I know but I have always thought of Mule’s as being intriguing animals – Squadra Mulo it is.
The old girl stripped of her ugly appendage – ie sidecar
Continue reading →