Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

~ r.:l c: By BU1 Harmer r.:l ..::J Once in a great while, a motorcycle Co) tion of the serious touring cycl1st. Such a rider usually travels in excess of 20,000 miles every year and bas littl_ time to maintain his mount ucept for keePing the fuel tank full and the oU at .a safe level. '!be macbine is the big Moto-GUZZi, V Twin with shaft drive. Wben this motorcycle was introduced in the 700cc series a COuPle of years ago, I looked at It longingly, but as I bad been using my rlgbt foot to apply the brake for 40 years and considered the babIt too deeply ingrained to bee1n braking with my left, I decided against the btlte. Besides, It was a new product, so the reliability of the maeh1ne and the anUability of spare parts were questionable. in any event, I settled for the BMW, a sbatt drive twin with a worid renowned reputation. In the ensuing years, the Molo-Guzzi people have attempted to invade the police duty market, but met resistance because of the left foot brake. Then Pasadena's ZOO Co. sw1tcbed the positions of the brake and the sb1tt lever to the same side like the MU_ukee machine wII1ch bas dominated law enfOrcement field for many years. With this small bBrrter overcome, the macblnes were loaned to Pollce Departments for ubaust1ve tests and compartsoos. As a result, many Pollce Departments purcbased the ltal1ao import. '!be foot break change was so acceptable that it was standardized 011 the new 1970 Amlwssador , with a kit na1lableat a sl1gIlt1y extra cost. The kit wU1 .-ble a rider to switch back to a left breaking mount if be desires. I bad beeo anxious to test one of the new macldnes, so wtlen BIg Jim Gavin, owner of San Diego SuznId Co.. called me on the eve of the Labor Day Weekend and asked if I'd like to take one of the sU: big bikes be'd received out for a ride over the tbree day holiday, I agreed. Wben I arrived at the sbowroom, Jim sbo'IIIed me tbree color combinations: solid wII1te, solid black, and red with wbite tenders. They were all tastefully band striped in contrasting colors. As I walked around the beautiful brute, I _s impressed by the engine and crankcase castings. The duPleX frame of larger than usual diameter tub1l1l 1nd1cates ruggedness and durability tar beyond our fondest dreams. The massive front forks appeared str1ldngly s1m1lar in size and strength to those of the big MUwaukee Twin. The fuel tank is long and wide with a positive closing fUler cap that is absolutely leak proof. The rear third of the tank is indented on each side torming a place for a rider to tuck his knees. ~ comes along that stimulates the 1magl..Da.- ..., • Tbe rl&ht ullk of the 750cc plus lIoto-GllZZl power plant. The CODtoured saddle is the greatest tb1ng since the invention of the dual seat. The forward part is shaped like a solo saddle and the passenger part Is well designed for the extra rider. The merall length of the saddle (29 inches) makes it the largest stock seat in the industry. Its ample size is exceeded 0II1y by the suPer dual seat offered by BMW as an extra-cost option. The gas tank bas a fuel shut- off valve on both the right and left sides of the tank. Only one needs to be OPened to get gasoline to both of the 29MM Del' Orto SS-l carburetors. I used the left band valve - luckUy, too. The rigbt side valve is located very close to the wire that goes from the spark coil to the aatomotive-type distributor, and when & rider of my party reacbed for the valve with the motor running, a jolt of about 20,000 volts from the too th1nly f insula ted wire resulted. . The only time that the valve \ migbt be necessary is wtlen the tank needs to be removed. The easiest thing to do, then, is to close and forget it. There are no lion" or "oft" marks 011 tile tuelvalves, but they are easy to figure out. According to the spec sheet the tank hold 5.28 galloo.s "r[tvllng about one gallon reserve, wII1ch makes it ample without being bulky. inside the painted box with the V7.50 decals is wbat has to be the largest battery in the motorcycle field. It was lifted rigbt out of the Fiat MicroBus. The battery is not the 0II1y aut0motive transplant: the starter motor and the geoerator are borrowed !rom the Flat 1100. As I do no maintenance on my bike ucept aD ceca slona! emergency wheel removal to cbange a tire, I was bappy to find that the wbeels could be quickly detached w1tbout having to loosen and fold uP halt of the fender before starting the job. A p&1r of chromed "crash" 1:Brs fo~d &re stock equipment on the Am" spdor and are intended to protect the protruding cylinders and the rider's lep ~ case of. a sput. Happily, I did not test their e!l1ciency. Th. drln sUft serves doubl. duty as the swlnc arm. Guzzi boasts the lareesl saddl. In the Industry. Wben the Ignition key Is turned on, several "idiot" lights appear on the !ace of the speedometer. They are self explanatory with the exception of the one marked "Idle". It is the neutral indicator. By force of habit, an old BMW rider would look for the kick start, but there isn't any trace of one on tb1s new GUZZ.I. If you ask the salesman about It, as I did, be'll remind you that automobiles haven't bad cranks for 30 years and that tile GUZZi is as dependable as any auto. With the choke lever pulled about halt 00, and the tbrottle slightly cracked, a touch of the starter button with your rigbt thumb will reward you with a deep, moffled purr as the big 46 cUe in. engine comes to life. Sitting on the saddle with the motor warming uP,. a BMW rider will notice that the 90 degree Twin having irregular firing pulses, does not Idle as smoothly as the horIzontally opposed action that he is !amU1ar with. To the Harley Davidson rider, the "Thump, thump, thump" rhythm will feel smoother than he Is used too. He will notice, however, the torque action of the transverse engine causes the bike to sway slightly from side to side as the engine is revved in a standing sItuation. in motion It is not noticeable. Low gear is located by pulling the shift lever uPward with your left foot. The clutch Is positive, and very little tbrottle actiOD Is needed to get the GuzzI under way. The responsIveness of this big bike is amazing. A touch of the tbrottle is felt immediately with no lag wbatsoever. It takes practice to shift into second without getting a chirp from the rear tire. As we moved out in tramc, the machine seemed to sbed a lot of its weigbt. Balance, stabUlty, and agUity belled the bulk of the motorcycle. On the freeway I noticed that the sligbt "roughness" of the Idling speed bad disappeared. As we flew along at 65 to 70 mph, the machine was so smooth that if the bike had been flttted with foot boards (avauable as aD option), you wouldD!t have to worry about your feet vibrating off.. The GUZZi has more accelerat10D than any .. Touring" type motorcycle that I have ever tested. Wben I got to 80 mph in third gear, I concluded that It would go faster tban I'd ever want to travel. '!be 1llctory claims performance in the quarter at 14.5 seconds and a top speed of 115 mph. I'n take their word for it. The GUZZ.I was primarUy engineered for police and military service and is equally capable for traveling long perIodS at speedS of 8 mph as on escort and parade dUty, or around the century mark in apprehending speeders. I bad to test the slow speed, and sure enough, without any clutch help wbatsoever, I eased along so slowly that the speedometer needle hardly registered. On Monday of the holiday weekend, my wife and I decided on an excursion into the mountains. It bad been years since we'd been to Mt. Palomar, so we marked It for our destioation. We called our friends Bob and MUdred Ward and they agreed to join us on their big blue Harley Davidson. The GuzzI's curb we1ghtis 536 pounds. With both my wife and 1 riding, the total weight of the bike is in excess of 940 Ibs. Heading North of 395 at freeway speeds, I could feel no appreclab1e difference in performance unW we came to a long uPhill straigbt. Then I could feel the engine flatten out between 65 and 70, and if I slowed any, it was slow getting back uP to speed. A quick down shift to third, however, let us spurt abead as easUy as if we bad been on level ground. Going uP the curving road of Palomar Mountain, I found that I bad to slowdown considerably, not for lack of PQwer, but because the center stand scraped OD either side on the slightest turns. Wben we bad to lean very hard, the scraping stand would lift the rear wheel slightly, giving us a very frightening sensation. One of the flrst tbings I'd do if I were the owner of a new GuzzI would be to modifY that center stand. After visiting the 200 inch telescope and the museum, we returned to the Wards' home in East San Diego. There we discussed the GUZZi'S merits and its dependablllty and avaUabUity of parts. I decided to find an owner of one of the V'7 Imports and find out first hand about these things. . TURIER _.eL Th. twin cylinders .xt.ad be10l1d the un aDd s.m like perf.ct knee w_ _s for cool ....nl. rides. 5PECIFICATIO 5: 1970 MOTD-GUZZI 7511 AMBASSADOR Price. PO West Coast: $1539 Tires, lroot back: 4.00 X 18 Eocioe type: OUV goO V Twin Bore & stroke: 83mm X 70mm DisPlacemeot: 757.:lec (46.21cc io.1 Oompression: (9:11 Ignition: 12 V. battery and coil • BlIP: 55 In 60 @6~ rpm Fuel capacHy: 5.25 U.s. pis. Wheel hase: 56.9 in. O.A. Leneth: 87.5 in. Maximum ground cI.elll&Dce: 5.9 io. .Width: 31.5 in. Curb weicbt 536 Ills. Test weiCht: 941 lbs. Averace mpc fuel on 225 mile test: 39.5 (To\m and CouoUy) ·Manufacturers ligures not available from di..tribulnr BI'DGESTONE Expalsion Cllam_s Port. Polish, FI ... & S _ portlnc lor (2131 most 2·slrokes 531.1619 Also Rud Portlnc Hows 10-6 8052 E. Rosecrans & SuII. Paramount, Cal. Closed I bad often seen one in the par king lot across from the Post omce, and with a little investigation, located the owner. It turned out to be one of the flrst soid in California, and in 14 months It bad been rIdden aimost 85,000 miles. "The miles were not easy ODes," the owner sald, as he showed me a citation for 105 mph. The only major trouble that be bad eJlper1enced was a sticldng valve wII1ch be had to replace, and a new clutch wII1ch be also bad to replace after putting a suPer slick oil additive in the gear box where it got bY the seals into the clutch. He had recently bad the compress1Dn checked and reported that it ~ still within 2 lbs. of new speclflcaHons. He had no complaint except for the mutf1ers. '!bey rust out from tile inside &t a taster rate tban he liked, and tactory replacements were exPeDSIve. He bad been eJlPer1meDting with other lNlnufl!cturers' makes, but was oot sat1stJed. He stated that if his present bike ever wore out, he would most certainly buy one of the new V7.5s. Of all the bikes that I ban tested from the Road Rider's standPoint, the GUZZi, for my wife and me, has proven to be tile most comfortable rIding, fastest accelerating, and the most able to carry heavY bulk without strain. I was truly sorry for having to return the big brute to the dealershiP. S les-Senke ·Stflu • S,"Ui'iu -7/'.. /4 ( • • • ' • •7-. . . . hHrt - ••IHt.u - Sc,.••," 120. If. Sr"" If. " ..... C.Jjf. Barney Tillman·s SPORT CENT ER 6027 Wb.i Wer Bl vel., E. Lo Angeles (213) 7~3523

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