PAGE 19 – BUBBA ON THE MEND

Upon our return to Massachusetts Bubba was parked in the garage for three weeks while repairs and upgrades were made.

One item that needed attention was a broken sidecar mounting bolt that became evident after bouncing over the water bars coming up my driveway upon our arrival. Evidently the tightness of the rest of the mounts held the chair in position during the trip because the bolt was broken for some time based on the condition of the mating surfaces.

A LOT of cleaning and polishing took place as shown in some of the before and after pictures below. Some of the the work was done in the fall of 2018, while the engine rebuild and much of the other work stretched through the spring and summer months of 2019.

A CLEANED AND POLISHED VALVE COVER.

HERE’S A COMPARISON BETWEEN WHAT WAS AND A REBUILT PETCOCK.

SAME GAS CAP AFTER SOME BUFFING.

TANK BEFORE PIN STRIPING REDONE.

TANK BEFORE PIN STRIPING REDONE.

TANK MASKED TO REPLACE THE MISSING PIN STRIPING.

THE TANK AFTER REDOING THE PIN STRIPING.

THIS SEAT HAD SEEN BETTER DAYS. INITIALLY I REPLACED THE COVER, BUT THE SEAT MADE MY BACK ACHE.

THIS SEAT OFF A YET TO BE FINISHED PROJECT WAS INSTALLED AS A REPLACEMENT.

A LITTLE NICER THAN THE SEAT THAT WAS ON BUBBA, PLUS IT DOESN’T KILL MY BACK.

A LOT OF BUFFING TO REMOVE RUST ALONG WITH STAINLESS STEEL HANDLEBAR CLAMP BOLTS I HAD MADE.

SWITCH WIRES RUN THROUGH HANDLEBAR, PERIOD BATES MIRROR THAT WORKS!

SWITCH & STARTER WIRES RUN THROUGH THE HANDLEBAR. THE THROTTLE LOCK WAS ALSO UPDATED TO REPLACE THE COMMANDO MODIFICATION I DID TO IT IN CA.

CLEANED AND POLISHED CONTROLS.

THE STARTER BUTTON WAS TOAST, I TRIED TO SAVE IT, BUT ENDED UP REPLACING IT WITH A NOS BUTTON I HAD IN MY PARTS DRAWER.

ROUGHED OUT TURN SIGNAL BRACKETS I MADE FROM 1/4″ ALUMINUM I HAD KICKING AROUND.

FINISHED TURN SIGNAL BRACKET WITH DIETZ LIGHT INSTALLED, THAT’S NOT A CRACK IN THE LENS, BUT A REFLECTION OFF THE BRACKET.

OLD REAR TURN SIGNALS, THE LEFT ONE HAS THE DUCT TAPE REPAIR VISIBLE.

GUZZI TURN SIGNAL/LICENSE PLATE BRACKET WITH PERIOD DIETZ SIGNALS INSTALLED.

HOLE TORN IN THE  FRAME FROM AN OLD SIDECAR MOUNT THAT PULLED FREE.

PATCH WELDED IN PLACE.

FLOOR BOARD AFTER THE TREAD BLEW OFF DURING THE TRIP.

TOP FLOORBOARD CLEANED UP WITH NEW TREAD INSTALLED, THE SAME WAS DONE TO THE OTHER ONE.

THE FLOOR BOARD RAILS ENDED JUST TO THE LEFT OF THE FRONT PIVOT TAB (JUST BELOW THE STARTER BOLT). A PIECE OF THREADED ROD RAN THROUGH THE LARGE HOLE TO THE RAIL ON THE OTHER SIDE, BUT OFFERED NO REAL SUPPORT. AS A RESULT THE FLOOR BOARDS ROCKED AND THE RAILS RESTED ON THE EXHAUST PIPES. USING FLAT STOCK I EXTENDED THE RAILS AND WELDED A TAB ON SO THEY TIE INTO THE SIDECAR SUPPORT BOLT AT THE FRONT OF THE ENGINE MAKING FOR A FULLY SUPPORTED SETUP.

BUBBA HAD A SIGNIFICANT SMOKING PROBLEM SO THE DECISION WAS MADE IN THE SPRING OF 2019 TO DEAL WITH IT.

WHILE THERE WAS SOME PITTING IN THE CYLINDERS, THE VALVE GUIDES WERE ALSO BADLY WORN. ON TOP OF THAT THE FORWARD CRANK JOURNAL WAS OUT OF SPEC AND THE BIG END BEARING WAS TOAST.

IN FOR A PENNY, IN FOR A POUND! THIS PICTURE SHOWS THE POLISHED FENDER STAYS INSTEAD OF THE BLACK PAINT, A BETTER FRONT FENDER WITH CORRECT LUCAS REFLECTORS AND A STAINLESS FRONT AXLE I TURNED ON MY LATHE FOR THE CORRECT FIT TO THE 4 LEADING SHOE FRONT WHEEL. THE BLACK CRASH BARS HAD NOT BEEN DEALT WITH YET.

REGROUND CRANK INSTALLED.

FLYWHEEL INSTALLED IN PREPARATION OF THE CLEANED UP CLUTCH PLATES. THE HEADS HAVE NEW VALVE GUIDES AND VALVES INSTALLED.

AN OLD SET OF CYLINDERS BEING BOXED FOR SHIPMENT TO MILLENNIUM FOR REPLATING.

REPLATED CYLINDER BACK FROM MILLENNIUM.

REPLATED CYLINDER INSTALLED ALONG WITH NEW CORRILLO FORGED PISTONS. THE WRIST PIN BUSHINGS IN THE CONNECTING RODS WERE ALSO REPLACED AS WERE THE BIG END BEARINGS.

BOTH CYLINDERS INSTALLED.

HEADS AND ROCKER ARM SUPPORT FRAMES INSTALLED.

REBUILT ENGINE BACK IN THE FRAME. THE TRANSMISSION SEALS WERE REPLACED WHILE IT WAS OUT OF THE BIKE. STAINLESS STEEL TRANSMISSION MOUNTING STUDS WERE MADE AND INSTALLED ALONG WITH STAINLESS STEEL NUTS.

ONE STEP CLOSER.

THE FRONT ENGINE BOLT WAS NOT SOMETHING I WANTED TO REINSTALL SO I MADE A NEW ONE OUT OF SOME 8mm STAINLESS STEEL ROD I HAD.

SOME OF THE GRIME THAT WAS DEALT WITH.

ENGINE AFTER REBUILD AND CLEANING.

DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THIS RUSTING!

A LITTLE CLEANER!

PRETTY NASTY.

A BIT CLEANER AND THE RUST BUFFED OFF THE SHOCK SPRING. THE BUFFED MUFFLER CAN ALSO BE SEEN.

THE CHINESE WINDSHIELD THAT BLEW APART, NO GREAT LOSS, AND THE TAN CAR SEAT THAT FREE FLOATED IN THE SIDECAR. BOTH WERE REPLACED.

SIDECAR WINDSHIELD PATTERN IN THE WORKS WITH THE WIXOM FAIRING STILL ON BIKE AT THAT POINT.

NEW POLYCARBONATE WINDSHIELD IN PLACE AND THE TAN CAR SEE REPLACED BY AN OLD SPITFIRE SEAT.

REUPHOLSTERED SPITFIRE SEAT INSTALLED ON STEEL FRAME BOLTED IN PLACE.

THERE WAS ONLY A HOLE WHERE THE TRUNK LOCK BELONGED SO THIS NICE LOCKING HANDLE FROM ENGLAND WAS INSTALLED.

THE SIDECAR FENDER LIGHT WAS INCORRECT AN HAD SEEN BETTER DAYS.

SAM CLEANING UP THE WIRING FOR THE SIDECAR FENDER LIGHTS SO THEY COULD BE CONNECTED TO THE BIKE AND ACTUALLY WORK!

SIDECAR FENDER REINSTALLED WITH CORRECT LUCAS LIGHT FITTED.

The Wixom fairing that was on the bike had issues. The biggest being there was no access to the headlight without removing the fairing, something I did far too many times on our trip. Doing this required discon-necting the turn signals and removing four mounting bolts.

THE WIXOM FAIRING. IT DID THE JOB, BUT WASN’T VERY USER FRIENDLY.

In my possession was a Bates fairing from a past Guzzi deal that I’d always wanted to use, but never had the correct bike to install it on, that is, until Bubba came along.

HERE THE BATES FAIRING IS INSTALLED USING THE BRACKETS THAT CAME WITH IT. IN PLACE IS THE WINDSHIELD TEMPLATE I MADE TO TRANSFER IT TO THE SHEET OF POLYCARBONATE. THE PIN STRIPES WERE ALSO FRESHENED UP.

HERE’S BUBBA WITH THE BATES FAIRING INSTALLED AND A BIT CLEANER THAT BEFORE. DON AGREED THAT THE FARING REALLY LOOKS GOOD ON THE BIKE. IT ALSO ALLOWS ACCESS TO THE HEADLIGHT AND THE TURN SIGNALS ARE INDEPENDENT SHOULD I CHOSE TO REMOVE IT IN HOT WEATHER.

What’s next? The Wixom saddle bags fitted to the bike are badly worn so I may replace them with something in better condition. Stay tuned!