Fussing with stuff that is too good – column

For the winter I exchanged my MZ TS for an ex 'Polizia' Guzzi V65. Because I'm a bit of a Guzzi junkie. The almost burnous covered and packed V65 was in very neat condition and pristine white. I'm not one of those people who are obsessed with virginity, and white isn't my color either.

I have always mainly defined classic and original as “To my taste and affordable”. This is how the Guzzi received its makeover, with a set of NOS Jama dampers being the largest investment. For the rest it was TLC and fun tinkering with details. The V-twin came to its previous owner via MW motors from Borne, and Mark Wilmink is a friendly professional. And that it is not completely original? I think it is beautiful and practical in its current state.

Everything – including the wiring – looked neat. And then at the start of March 2024 it will be time for the first ride. The battery was taken off the trickle charger, the tires got some air and Shell Power 98 still resembles real petrol so much that starting went smoothly. The exchange was done unseen & untried at the time, but the block went smoothly and without any surprises. And it started to smell like gasoline in the garage. The excise juice ran around the outside of the petrol taps. Not good!

Long story short: The beautiful, tightly laid fuel hoses between taps and float bowls were leaking at the connections. Why? Because the modern, high-quality and current petrol-resistant petrol hoses are thick & stiff. And because someone had done their best during the process to lay them as nice and tight as possible. The hose was better and more beautiful than they had ever done at Guzzi. But the fuel hoses arrived at the fuel taps somewhat angled, so the spouts were just too short to guide the hoses nicely in line. The connections between hoses and taps were therefore slightly ajar. With the door ajar you get a draft. With such a leaky connection you lose expensive moisture.

The snakes are now a line further along the tulle than in the photos. Top! But the result is as the Italian geniuses had imagined: the beautifully slender tubes run in a few smooth bends to their respective homes and residences. Without leakage. Also without clamps or anything. But that's because I only recently heard that you should never clamp unpressurized hoses, precisely because liquids can slip under the pinch points.

In the meantime, the Guzzi has completed its first few hundred kilometers without any problems. As it should!

Sometimes less is just more. And that is something we may have to consider when working and maintaining our classics. For example, we heard about a new Ural rider who thought he could treat his combination with full synthetic oil. He might as well have poured water into the crankcase. In terms of tolerances and oil pump, the modern lubricant was more than a bridge too far for the experienced 1950s technology that had performed better even on used frying fat. And the halogen spotlights on the Guzzi, when they are on together with the high beam, are actually just too hungry for the alternator. Those kind of things…