Aprilia

Aprilia Futura

The paperwork finally arrived earlier this month and we went out to Hermosa Beach to pick up the bike.

The bike was in the drive way and an easy access.

When we installed the ramps on the truck and tried the bike on the bottom of the ramps, the angle was too steep for comfort,

So rather than inconvenience the seller by fooling around turning the truck around and putting the ramps on from the top of the drive down hill, Rick opted to ride the bike home.

Here it is safely back at Rick's house.
The EFI light was on all the way back but did not prevent it from pulling hard.
On this bike you can read the fault codes on the instrument display by shorting out two wires under the seat.
A quick check of the fault code #34 showed it to be a a problem with #2 coil.
There are two spark plugs and two coils per cylinder.
Rick ordered a new coil and plug wire.

Once they were changed the EFI light went out.

The previous owner had installed an after market exhaust which was a hair on the loud side for Ricks taste or more to the point his neighbors taste.

He found a stock muffler on line and had a couple of adapters welded to it. The stock headers and the after market headers were different sizes.

Unfortunately the adapters did not fit either.

We needed to make a filler ring about 0.060"  wall thickness to fill the gap.

We took a piece of brass strip and rolled it around a pipe nipple to form a ring.

Once completed we cut off the excess length and used that to make the second ring.

Using the propane torch to heat the brass also heats the vise grips, ouch!

Hind sight being a very exact science, we should have got a piece of aluminum and machined two rings.

However...

Once the rings were installed in the muffler, we used the pipe nipple as an expander to make the rings fit the inside diameter of the muffler fitting.

The muffler was installed but without some pushing, pulling and a little persuasion.

With that done we started the bike up to check the sound and it was noticeably quieter.

On the way over to my house from his house, Rick saw the EFI light come on again.

Another check of the codes showed this to be a fault #36 a  problem with a different coil.
When we checked that coil, we found that the plug wire was burned through.
We made up a replacement with some HT wire we had in stock at Sheddington.

Not pretty but enough to last until the replacement shows up..
 It takes a little driving around for the system to reset. On the way home the EFI light went out, it is still an intermittent problem, but as I said good enough to last a while.
The underlying issue is that the rearmost coil wire can slide down on to the exhaust right where it leaves the cylinder. We will need to address that and a couple of other issues next time around.

Rick rides off into the sunset, well he rides home which is in that general direction.

A New Division at Sheddington

Sheddington Marine

This morning I took over a trailer hitch and we fitted it to old #9 (Rick's Truck)

Then in something of a divergence from our normal activity of picking up motorcycles, we picked up a jet ski and trailer.

Neither of us have much experience with trailers, especially backing up with them.

However after a bit of guidance and a lot of hand waving it was located on the drive outside of the correct house.

Fortunately another associate, Fernando was on hand to assist with the task.

Fernando had just left his "Hideaway" when he was seconded for some help.

Remember Fernando's Hideaway?

 Oh no, that was Hernando's Hideaway, never mind it was a good line.

And all you'll see are silhouettes
And all you'll hear are castanets
And no one cares how late it gets
Not at Hernando's Hideaway

Ole!

This is the model, a Sea Doo GTI by Bombardier.

The motor is made by Rotax, so it should be strong, we think that a quick clean and tune up should see it ready for the ocean or lake.

Here the senior members of the Sheddington Board congratulate one another on the successful completion of another  mission. 

The guy in the red shirt is Rick's son Austin.

We had planned to pick up a motorcycle too, however that idea was orange tagged when the paperwork didn't show up.

This will be another challenge for the S.I.M.W.

Sheddington Italian Motor Works

Now it will be sometime this week when we make the trip out to Hermosa Beach to pick up an Aprilia, which by chance also has a Rotax engine.

As the motorcycle is being sold by an attorney, we want all of the paperwork straight before money changes hands.

Saluti

Norm

Las Vegas 2017

Over 1,400 Bikes For Sale

   The bikes offered for sale at the two auctions ran the entire gamut of motorcycle history from the sublime to the ridiculous.

   Having said that, ridiculous is a subjective term, one mans pride and joy is junk to another.

   With that many bikes to look at we decided to add an extra day to our normal trip.

We left on Wednesday around 11:00 AM and returned home on Sunday having "NOT" bought a motorcycle.

This was the pre-auction inspection are of the Mecum venue with over 1,000 bikes to view.

Of course I took a look at the two Panthers they had on display.

The 250 twin shown above is known in Panther speak as a lightweight.

This bike sold for $5,500 plus a buyers premium of 10%.

This 1948 600 cc single  model was not allowed to be sold and was orange tagged  with what was described as a title issue.

Over at the Bonhams auction, they had what they thought would be the star of the two events.

A 1936 Crocker Hemi Head which the estimated at $500,000 to $600,000.

However it reached $365,000 and did not sell.

This poor Vincent also at Bonhams had been vandalized with metal flake paint and a gold seat!

It was listed with an estimate of $80,000 to $100,000 but did not sell.

Back over at the Mecum auction they had the highest price for a bike between both sales.

This 1912 Henderson Four sold for $490,000, it came complete with the two stands!

Why so much money?

This one is totally original, this is the paint from the factory and the stock oil leaks.

After the sale, we were walking past this bike and there was a guy on his hands and knees measuring the spokes with a Vernier caliper.  I thought, it's a bit late to be verifying details like that when someone has already shelled out the $490,000 for it.

As you know my main ride is now a trike, so thinking of where I would go next for a change in pace, I looked around some of the more unusual lots.

This one popped up.

It was bid up to $11,500 but failed to meet the reserve.

How about a Harley tool box filled with Snap-On tools all still in the original wrapping?

Sold for $29,500, these ones would be for looking at while the Harbor Freight  tools were used.

We had perfect weather for the drive both ways. It was very clear but cold in Las Vegas and I mean Butt Cold.

The First Second Sunday of 2017

Second Place at Second Sunday

On Sunday morning, Rick came over and we synced the carbs on his Moto Guzzi.

We needed to make two adapters to fit the threaded ports in the intake manifolds.

That in turn necessitated the use of the patented Garriz Gauge.

Two adapters of 6mm x 1.0 thread were made and used to good effect.

However, we found that the carb on one side could not be adjusted down sufficiently.

The throttle cables were removed and the throttle stop in the twist grip trimmed.

You can just about see the adapter on the end of the hose.

That solved the problem.

New throttle cables were sourced from El Cheepo Throttle Cables Inc for one sixth of the price of the genuine article.

Unfortunately they are too short, not by much, but just enough to be useless.

These throttle cables will last for a very long time and never wear or kink, hanging on a nail in Rick's garage.

So our Sunday morning task accomplished, we set off for the Second Sunday show.

All was going well as we rode along PCH with the sun shining and the ocean to our right.

The Morini started to develop some kind of fuel problem, the engine revved up but did not seem to have any power. It felt like it was running on one cylinder.

After about a mile of this kind of this type of bad behavior, the Morini gave a couple of surges and then went back to normal. Maybe a little piece of schmutz got loose in the fuel system.
Hmm, I wonder what the Italian word for schmutz might be.

We rode the rest of the way to the meet without problem.

This is the Morini in place at the event.

There were a total of 97 bikes there, not all of which are in the Vintage (over 30 years old) category.
All bikes entered for judging are required to be in this category.

We got second place with the Morini.

The winner was:-

This 1979 Suzuki GS 750.

I should have asked for a recount as I think that the ballot was hacked.

Ciao Bella
Norm

All Things Moto

Back on the track of those illusive problems.

Rick brought the Moto Guzzi back over to Sheddington yesterday 1/2/2017 for more work.

We had a plan to achieve two things:

1) Fix the bent center stand.

2) Install electronic ignition..

The center stand was easy, heat it and beat it as we say in the forging industry.

The electronic ignition was a little more problematic.

This is one of the problems for us both, down on the ground, then back up, then back down. Gets old real quick, knees and backs not being what they were. Unfortunately the lift  is stacked with stuff from the Panther so we could not use that device.

Next time we will use it no matter what.

The old points were  removed along with the auto advance unit.

We cleaned and reinstalled the auto advance, the pick up heads, and the new rotor.

Next came the timing of the new device.

Checking TDC through the spark plug hole.

The Guzzi has some very convenient timing marks on the flywheel for static timing with 7 degree and 10 degree position shown for each cylinder.

The timing was not difficult, just time consuming as the new pick up plate was just a hair too big to allow it to be easily turned within the housing.

After a bit of polishing and general frustration it was finally located in the correct place.

The bike started up and "Voila" it sounded better right away.

We put the tank back on and loaded the bike back up on Rick's truck.

It seems that the lack of power issue is resolved.

During the course of the week Rick intends to install some carburetor parts and all things being equal 

we will ride to Second Sunday on two Italian bikes.

I'll let you know how that goes.

Today I went to AAA and registered the Moto Morini, easy deal in and out in under ten minutes.

Here's Rick admiring the Morini.

We will see how my back holds out riding this baby.

Rick and I were both very happy about our progress so far in 2017.

It has been "Molto Bene" .

Ciao Bella 

Norm

Italian Update

New Loves, Old Problems!

Let's start with the Moto Guzzi.

We made a list of problems to take care of before the bike could be ridden to Second Sunday.

The tires were old and seriously worn.

Rick sourced new tires and had them installed. Unfortunately the installer got the front tire out of concentricity with the rim. This makes for a very bad ride.

We removed the front wheel and took it to Wheel Works, the nice guys there fixed the problem and gave it to us for free, along with a Merry Christmas.

When we got home we read the manual which states mount the front tire in reverse.

OK no problem, take the wheel back off and turn it around.

Next problem, the speedometer attachment catches on the wheel stud nuts and is dragged around..

Hmm!

Next job, pull the studs and turn them around through the hub.

Now we are getting closer.

It is where it should be.

As Jimmy Buffett sings, "The Wrong Way Is The Right Way Until You Lose Control"

Finally we were back in control.

One of the issues the previous owner discussed was a mysterious shut down after about 15 to 20 minutes.

He related this a s a heat problem.

We tend to take a more pragmatic view, so over a couple of brain food beverages we decided that the most likely culprit was the ignition switch.

After a lot of diddling we finally got the switch out of the bike and gave it a thorough cleaning.

The bike started and ran for about 30 minutes without problem.

OK moving on, the throttle was sticking and the brake pedal too.

The brake pedal was an easy fix, just a little emery cloth on the shaft and Bingo, smooth as silk.

The throttle cables were another story, we had the gas tank off and on a bunch of times to check cable routing and to give access to the top of the carbs.

The slides were removed and the needles checked.

Hmm X8 called for and X22 installed.

The engine RPM just raised up to about 4500 on their own.

No throttle twist, nothing.

Hmm... 

New needles, jets and cables have been sourced and ordered.

We will see what happens next with the Guzzi.

The Moto Morini arrived today after the trip down from Sonoma.

Watch for an update on the Moto Morini real soon.

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Ciao Bella

Norm

2016 Year End Update

2016 Comes To A Close

After a long period of not much happening we have had a flurry of activity over the last week or so,

Firstly, some good news from the Panther Owners Club, as of January 1st 2017, they will be able to sell parts to the USA and Canada.

Just in time for me to get into the Panther restoration project during the long cold winter nights.

Yeah, right.

My brother Jimmy called and asked if he could use Sheddington Transport to pick up a bike in Ventura.

Wednesday morning we set of in the pre-dawn hours for a 200 mile round trip.

Even leaving Long Beach at 5:45 AM we still hit stop and go traffic on the freeway.

The 405 we all know and love! The only place in Los Angeles where you can park for free.

We got to the guys' house and checked out the bike.

It was a Moto Guzzi 650 SP

As you can see it is in clean shape, it has one or two cosmetic issues but nothing that Sheddington Enterprises can't fix.

Jimmy took it on a test ride and felt that it was lacking in power off the line.

The guy lives on a hill or more like a mountain, if you slipped coming out of the house you would end up three streets down before you stopped.

Of course the test ride went up hill to start and that may have had some bearing on the apparent lack of power.

After doing our due diligence, the bike was loaded up on the truck and we headed for home.

Here it is safely back in Long Beach, another bike rescued by Sheddington.

I have long been a fan of Moto Morini, but each time one came up it seemed that some force of circumstance prevented the deal from working.

Recently, one came up for sale on Craigslist but by the time I had my ducks in a row it was gone.

I kept watching to see if it came back, lo and behold after a week it did.

Even though it was early in the morning, yes there is a 5:00 in the morning too!

I called the guy, he answered the phone right away, we made the deal.

It turns out that he is retired too and very much into old bikes as well as a couple of new Harleys.

The new love of my life a 1984 Moto Morini 3-1/2 sport.

Man I love redheads, especially Italians.

Ciao Bella 

       &

Buon Natale

Norm