Lower Fairing

A quick note. I did get the lower fairing pieces finally. I need to figure out how they mount. I think I have the lower brackets (I think they mount to the exhaust).

Of course I need to fix all the oil leaks before attaching the fairing.

Seat Release

So I was going to tune the carbs but the left petcock decided to leak badly. Gas dripping on the exhaust is not a most excellent idea so that task is being postponed until new petcocks are sourced.

In the meantime I rectified the seat lock issue. The issue is the ignition key does't operated the seat release mechanism. To get the seat off I'm resorted to a spring puller hook thing as my "key". Luckily there is a nice space on top of the taillight that let's you access the area.

The proper way to fix the issue would be to take the lock to a locksmith and have them modify the lock to work with the ignition key, and some day I may do just that. But in the meantime I needed a more practical solution.

I removed the grab bars on each side and this allowed me to remove the seat cowl. There are spacers on the top of the grab rails. One leapt off the bike and rolled to the center of the nearest car. Maybe this wasn't a good idea...

In the meantime I looped a zip tie around the seat release "hook". It's actually pretty secure and I don't expect it to go anywhere.

Once assembled, and I mean after an hour of fighting the spacers on the top mounts, all that you have to do is pull on the tie. Before that could happen I kept dropping the spacers into a well on top of the taillight. I lost count the number of times I had to fish them out.

Now all I have to do is fish out the zip tie and with a quick yank have the seat off. Now if the rest of my issues were so easily solved...

Bevel Heaven - Desmo Ramblings

This was recommended by Ron on the Alazzurra Yahoo Mailing list. I think I'd probably read it before when looking for tuning info on the 860. As the carbs are very similar the info will work with both bikes.


I haven't had a chance to try this out but will very soon. I managed to borrow a vacuum sync tool that should work.

Bevel Heaven - Desmo Ramblings


Our bevel drives can be made to run extremely well with the stock dellorto carbs - especially if the carbs are in tune. If they are not adjusted correctly, your performance will be severely lacking... Here is what I do after a carb rebuild or disassembly and cleaning etc;

First off, I disassemble, clean and properly lubricate the throttle assembly and throttle cables. I also make sure that the cable doesn't bind or have any sharp bends between throttle assembly and carbs when I reinstall [smooth bends!!!].

Check your exhaust gaskets [between the heads and the exhaust pipe] to make sure they are good [did you safety wire the nuts in place??]. Also make sure the intake manifold insulators are in good condition [the rubber spacer between head and intake manifold]. You can safely check to see if the intake manifold insulators are sealing well or are leaking by warming up your bike, going outside and spraying just a bit of carb cleaner around the rubber. If they are leaking then your idle will increase for a bit. Once I have checked the insulators and exhaust gaskets AND properly maintained the throttle and cables I turn my attention to the carbs.

Assuming you rebuild and setup the carbs correctly this is what I do to adjust them correctly and easily. Print this out, go to your bike and read this over a few times while you stare at things. Once you understand the bottom line, warm up your bike and go for it.

WHAT TO DO
*Back out slide screws so they are not touching slides
*seat [turn in] the mixture screw completely [closed] then back it out 1.5 turns
*loosen throttle cables so there is at least 1/8" freeplay at the adjusters on top of carbs
*warm up bike and hook up vacuum gauges [OK] or mercury tubes [great]
*adjust slide screws so you have an even idle tickover w/even vacuum readings, don;t worry about the rpm at this point, just same vacuum readings.
*turn throttle so tickover goes to 2-2500 RPM or thereabouts and hold her steady [a friend here makes it easy]
*adjust for even vacuum at this RPM by the cable adjusters on top of carb[s] - adjustment starts by backing out whichever adjuster needs to be backed out [on whichever carb] to get constant vacuum between both carbs
*check idle vacuum again and re adjust as necessary. Adjust for proper tickover RPM now, using the slide screws only.
*adj cables so each has just a bit of freeplay, check 2500 PRM vacuum reading w/gauges again and readjust at the cable adjusters as req'd
*start playing with mixture screw for max idle [in = leaner or less gas]. I listen for sound change with my fingers over the muffler end while I turn the mixture screw on that cylinder's carb.

I go back and forth between the carbs sometimes several times making little adjustments, always listening for high tickover and feeling for a stronger exhaust pulse.

A dull BUH BUH BUH sound indicates you can make it better still. Keep adjusting until you hear and feel a louder and more authorative BAH! BAH! BAH!

WHAT IT MEANS
Adjusting the cables is an integral part of carbie sync and verse visea. Start at the top of this list, go through it then repeat a couple or 4 times as necessary...... You will get the hang of it soon enough and you will be surprised at how well your bike runs after this important step in the tune up game. You are making sure the slides are being pulled evenly causing equal vacuum through each carb from idle all the way through the range.

I also recommend that you pitch a single cable throttle - you know, the kind that has one cable going to a splitter then 2 cables one going to each carb in favour of a Tommaselli Daytona 2C throttle or the like. The DAYTONA throttle has some key adjustments - you can play with the throttle stop on it so that max pull doesn't pull the slides up against the top cap...... that will start ruining things for sure. Some of the stock throttles didn't have a stop so you would pull the slides up against the top cap and stretch the cables and wear the throttle assy, slides, etc etc.. The DAYTONA throttle also has a friction device so that you can give her partial throttle and tighten it up for a higher tickover during warmup.

Speaking of warmup..... make sure you do so. Running your bevel drive under load when cold will kill the bottom end. Blip the throttle until you feel some heat on the case on that first startup of the day then go ride taking it easy for a bit.

Huffing and puffing

So now, in addition to the racing engine, there is a puffing sound coming from the front carb.  My next task is to take the tank off again and recheck all the carb cables. Something is not right.

Under Pressure

In yesterday's episode we have a failure of the oil pressure sending unit. Oil was pouring out of it. A little research showed that this is not uncommon.

 I'm not sure if it was too much oil that caused it to fail. I'm also not sure if this the original switch or if it was replaced at some point.

Here's the replacement part. I got it from NAPA (Part Number OP6172) for $8.12, which I'm sure it a little less than if I had to get one from a Ducati dealer. It's a little larger (it took a 22mm wrench instead of a 3/4in one). Otherwise it was pretty close in size.

With a little application of my garage hair dryer I warmed the cover and slipped it on. There are reports that the replacement sender may not last long, so we'll see.

Holy Molex!

I noticed a broken wire from what I believe is the low fuel warning system. It goes to a connector that was above the rear carb into the wiring harness. Luckily the connector is a standard Molex.

You can see the broken wire on the left, there should be two wires going into that connector and there's only one. The other one is hiding in the sheath. I won't even comment on the duct tape disaster on the right.

I extracted one of the wires and then thought, why am I doing this, I'm just going to replace everything anyways...

Here's the replacement connector from Radio Shack. I think it was about $2.19. While you can probably find it for less online I was able to pick it up from the local store and have it in my hand immediately.

One last reference photo so I know which wire goes where. Molex connectors are always keyed so they can only go one way.

Clipped all the wires. 

Crimped the male terminals. 

Crucial to a good crimp is a good crimper. While this isn't the best crimper in the world it was at least affordable. I got it from Amazon for my Weatherpack connectors I used on the Norton. They are far superior to Molex as they offer much better locking and actual weatherproofing.

 Crimps are recognized as much better than soldering as soldering can make the wires brittle from the heat.

All snug. One less thing to worry about, well, until something else pops up.

And that something would be the oil pressure sending unit. I started the bike up and oil poured out from the sending unit where the spade connector is. No idea what caused this to fail unless I had too much oil in the engine. Now I need to find a replacement or just block up the hole in the engine until I can.

Fuel System Refresh

The fuel lines looked original or at least very old.

  My experience with the cloth covered fuel lines is that the outside can look ok but the rubber hose is actual cracked. Plus the fuel filters were looking a little done.

 This was proven when I pulled the lines.

 There is a lot of lines on one of these bikes. Especially since the rear carb is at the rear of the engine.

I like to use Tygon fuel lines. Sure it's bright yellow, but it's translucent so you can see the fuel. Also Tygon stays flexible despite the crap they call gas these days. I've had Tygon fuel lines on one of my Bultacos for probably 7 years and it's still good. That's not bad. I buy it at a lawnmower parts store for $.19/in, for the Cagiva I bought 50 inches thinking I'd have a bit leftover for spares. But in the end I only had about 8 inches left.

Here's how I routed the back carb. It's similar to how the "museum bike" (see earlier post) was routed, at least the part I could see. The line on my bike originally came outside the frame rail and then over the intake manifold to the carb. I didn't like this so I came around the back of the carb. I tucked the line under the fuel line to keep it away from the back cylinder. I also tied it off so it didn't rub on the K&N filter. A very long route for sure.

View from above with the fuel line entering from below the carb. 

Route around the air filter. 

Here's the filters I used. Apparently made for NAPA by Wix. They are for both 1/4 and 5/16 lines. I cut off the 1/4 parts to shorten them up. Although the Tygon is 1/4in ID you shove it onto the 5/16 parts and they don't come loose.

Here's the routing for the front carb. A lot simpler. Plus the crossover. There doesn't appear to be any reserve on the taps so I'm curious what people do, just wait for the light on the dash?

With the lines on I turned on the taps and... nothing. With the clear filters and lines I only see a dribble. Ok, so I knew the old filters were a bit gunky so I suspected clogged filters at the taps.

So off the tank came. Just the two bolts at the back of the tank and disconnect all the fittings. Pretty neat.

The tank opening was completely clogged. I dug out the bad stuff and then flushed it some more with the gas remaining in the tank.

Not a great picture but the tap was completely full of rust and debris. There aren't any filters on the taps which mean I don't think on a stock bike there are any filters at all. I cleaned the taps throughly and reassembled. I have the bike back on the battery charger as it drained while it was just sitting there. Needless to say a new battery is also on the shopping list. At least the fuel system is a little better. I'll have to deal with the rusty tank at some point. I'll keep an eye on the filters to monitor it's status.

Running

As promised a little video of the bike running. Kinda weird to just be able to hit the button and it fires right up. There isn't any gas in the tank so it dies when the bowls empty. More on the fuel system in the next post.

I even took it down my "test track". This is going to be a fun bike.

I feel pretty...

All my other bikes have a healthy amount of stainless steel hardware. The Cagvia will be no different. There are a few good opportunities on this bike. The first set that I couldn't stand was the handlebar clamps. Of course the nerf pad had been removed at some point, not that I mind. 

Which one doesn't look like the others? 

All better now. Ironically on my Norton I left the handlebar clamps un-refinished to remind me of what the bike used to look like. On this bike the shiny bolts here will remind me of what the bike can look like.

A bad picture of the original cover screws. Pretty uninspiring. 

These are a flat and are a little more sunk in than I like. I'm sure there are some other options but they look good for now.

Assembly is the reverse of removal

Final chapter in the starter adventures, at least for now. This is going to be a little lacking in details as I was eager to get things buttoned up. I don't have a lot of free time so I have to take advantage of any time I do get.

I got the starter off and it didn't look like it was leaking too much if any, which means the alternator cover is a more likely suspect. I still cleaned the surfaces and gave it a light smear of threebond. I shouldn't have too much more trouble there I hope. Popped back on the starter gear and then the ignition pickups. I made sure they lined up exactly to the score marks I had made earlier. Then the flywheel spacers, shim and bearings and lastly the flywheel.

I assumed the flywheel was keyed but it turns out it isn't. There was a registration mark and I lined in up with the key on the shaft, this also corresponded with the picture I took when I took it apart. See how important that is?

The alternator rotor is keyed so that went on without fuss, although I had to look at the marks to see which end was which. I then tightened the nut with the impact wrench and knocked over the locking.

Here's everything ready for the cover. I only put the threebond on where the gasket was split and several inches to each side. If that doesn't do it then the gasket will get tossed and I'll just threebond the whole thing.

All buttoned up. Next is to refill it with oil, throw in some gas and see if she starts. Before I tore into it I did hit the starter button briefly and it seemed to spin nicely.

Thus endth this part of the Alazzurra saga...

Starter Removal Part 2

 First thing to do here is straighten out the lock tab. Some quick work with a selection of screwdrivers and a hammer took care of that.

One of the crucial tools for removing nuts on moving objects (and I'm not talking about knocking off Alazzurra owners from their bikes) is an impact wrench. The other choice is to find a way to lock the engine but really an impact wrench is so much faster. I believe this nut was 30mm.

 The rotor came off, it's keyed to the shaft. Then the flywheel which just rides on double caged needle bearings.

So I won't forget, and trust me, I will, here is the order of the parts. Spacer, bearings sit on top of the spacer and then one shim. Apparently the number of shims may vary by bike? Luckily I just have one to keep track of.

 So the last thing I want to mess up is the timing. To make sure it goes back on like it came off I scribed marks around the washer on the retaining screws. If all goes well I should just reassemble and line up the marks.

 I marked both screws but in theory you would only need to do one. Theory always works out great, in theory...

 Sorry I didn't take more pictures but I popped off the circlip on the starter gear and slid it off. Then I removed the two screws hold on the starter. There's a third screw but it's on the outside of the engine. I'll get to that when I'm ready to remove the starter.

 I found this tear in the gasket, it's in the right location for the observed oil leak. There is a good chance it's not actually leaking at the starter as I assumed. But really at this point I have to pull the starter to check. I'm down to one screw.

This is how I left it last night. It was really not that hard. Just taking bits off. Of course the challenge is always to put it back together and not have too many parts left over...