Found a reson to visit the European section - '73 Eldo

So, after a long time, I finally got the papers taken care of and sprung it out of the storage shed.


Not like I don't have enough projects going on but I'm gonna dust off the metric wrenches and put this old tractor back on the road.
After a good bath to remove the dust and rat shit, it'll need a clutch, new tires, maybe a set of mufflers, wire harness and a good fuel system flush to get her going. After that I hope to spruce her up a bit with a set of ape hangers and fishtail mufflers but I think I'll keep the patina.

Excellent project! I love mine, and it started out in a lot sadder shape than yours. Enjoy- let me know if there is any knowledge I can pass along having just done my '71.

I was checking yours out the other day. Nice job. I'm going to start with the clutch in the next couple weeks. Any tricks, or should I just pull the whole motor and tranny out? I'm going to order the parts after it's apart so I know what to get. I assume I'll need the clutch alignment tool as well.

When I rolled mine onto the trailer to bring home, it had been sitting in the shop for a number of years but the engine had been gone through and the drivetrain had been checked out, so it didn't need anything touched with in that regard.

HOWEVER, here is what I did and where I got help...


The front forks were dead. I disassembled them, cleaned them up, and put them back together with new seals/o-rings. TIP: Now is the time to paint/powdercoat the upper fork tins since the only way to take them off is to disassemble the front end. The local shop (Sport Cycle Pacific) loaned me the specialty tools to take the front end apart.

For more tips and a picture-by-picture account, go to Greg Bender's "This Old Tractor":

http://thisoldtractor.com/gtbender/m..._loopframe.htm

...and for some parts, go to MG Cycle:

http://www.mgcycle.com/


The rear shocks were replaced with Harley Dyna/Sportster shocks (eBay!) for $35. Rebuilt originals cost about $600. Eye-to-eye on the ones I got are 12" and I think stock is 12.5" It is strictly a bolt-on affair.


Wiring? I replaced whatever looked like it needed replacing with wiring of the same color. Again, look at Bender's website for cross reference #s for points, condensors, plugs, starter solenoids, and all kinds of other odds and ends to keep it low-buck. I found that I can actually get alot of odds and ends at Kragen/O'Reilleys (ignition parts, drain plugs, etc.).


More later, I gotta run for now. Good luck!

This is my third Guzzi. I had to replace the clutch in my first one. The Chilton's book said unbolt the engine and you and friend lift the engine out of the frame and then work on transmission. Or option 2... if alone.... unbolt the engine and slide it forward in the frame and then pull the trans. I was alone. This is hard to do as there is very little room to see what you are doing when you put the clutch and trans back in place. I thought I would have less stuff to take off too. I still needed to unbolt practically every component to pull the trans. Doing it again I would remove the engine from the frame. It results in a better job.

Friday night my girl and I worked out "the look". I'm not going for a "restoration" rather a functional rider with a few cosmetic changes to suit my taste, (sorry purists!). I'm gonna use this LePera chopper seat I had in my parts bin from another project.

This is pretty close to what I'm going for but I want to run taller handlebars, (8" chimp hangers) and swap the forks with a set of V-Star forks from my parts bin, (I hate the top tree, guage/light/switch cluster). The V-Star forks have tube covers and look almost the same as the stock Eldo forks except they're a little fatter. I need to lower them a little bit which is pretty easy and having a disk brake up front would be good. I'll fit the Eldo headlight and fender and I'm looking into lacing the Borrani rim to an HD hub, (fitted with the V-Star bearings) with a set of stainless spokes. The result should be a nice, clean and better handling front end.