Old School: A winter project

You are blessed with Joost Woesthoff a village and a half away. And if you go to get some stuff on a gray December day, you think there are probably more winter keyers: “NOT!”

In the entrance hall there are only motorcycles that are usually nicer than the ones I've ever owned: Slopers.

Joost now literally sells worldwide. And no one is jumping for old stuff. Not worldwide. So not in the Netherlands either. Customers are often people who want used sight and color parts for engines for which buying that stuff out of the box is too expensive. A new tank for a youngtimer can easily cost more than €1.000+. The plastic prices for screens and lids are correspondingly.

So scrappers earn from selling (almost) perfection for realistic money. Everything that is broken, everything that is rotten… There are no enthusiasts for that anymore. Of course, everything must also fit precisely and correctly. Because 'plug-and-play' is the norm. Fortunately he still had what I was looking for, but he didn't have a winter project for my searching comrade Jan. Jan is a passionate technician with a preference for Old English for many years. But his kickstart knee is up. So something else had to come. Something with a start button on the steering wheel.

He found the other with Kiat Que, also not far from here. Among the unlikely collection of aged mopeds, Jan saw a Moto Guzzi V50. The thing looked rather worried and it still had one of those double-sized yellow plates on it. But the wiring was still neatly original and the block should run like a charm. And there was a nice tight seat on it. With a careful back of the hand, the block was found to be cold. So no hidden suffering was expected. The little Guzzi started perfectly and after just a little bit of choke the 500 cc V twin ran like a sewing machine. So that starting happened with the push of a button. Jan's kickstart knee stood there and smiled. Furthermore, the thing was so low that Jan did not have to perform gymnastics to get on board.

When purchasing these types of free-range animals, you have to look through the dust at the potential. And to the price. Kiat and Jan agreed to their satisfaction and little Guzzi was put on the cart and moved to Dieren.

After a few days of serious cleaning, the case turned out to be not too bad. First, Moto Guzzi's crazy air filter box was removed. And that is not so easy. Just removing the filter actually requires a graduate gynecologist with rubber fingers. After that, the airbox between frame and block must be removed. And that's like a dwarf poodle giving birth to a piece of wall furniture. Weird guys those Italians.

Then the great thinking and searching began. What should the Guzzi look like, where should things come from and what would it cost. Imitation K&N filters were in any case out of the question. Because it has been proven there that buying cheap often destroys more than you love. From my own experience I mentioned MW engines in Borne, small Guzzi scrap yard Teun Beuzel in Lochem and the name of someone who is now preparing a double-sized camper with V8 for a world trip.

In the meantime, all plug connections of the Guzzi have been cuddled and the biggest problem is what kind of steering wheel to put on it. The dampers that were included with the purchase are perfect in terms of sound and looks. They just needed serious cleaning. So that was no problem. An Ex Nato V50 rear fender was scored at Gekra and the additional Marzocchi rear suspension supplied was measured and found to be about seven centimeters too long. So first the original rear dampers are seriously polished. You just spend a day doing that.

Let the winter come!