Donor Bike Secured

There are a lot of fab details that depend on knowing which drivetrain is being used.  Any “Tonti” frame bike can be used, but early vs. late changes the length of the swingarm, pivot points, brake caliper mounting, size of holes in dash for gauges, etc.  So best to figure out what we’re using and pin those variables down.

Our friend here is a 2003 California 1100 “Aluminum” – not to my taste, but the engine and gearbox are fantastic.  The Aluminum is a “special” bike with a designated paint scheme, low-end suspension components, single-plate clutch – many things that won’t be used anyway.

This engine also has hydraulic lifters, which was new for Guzzi in this year.  They had problems with these lifters as they would collapse and eat the cam.  This bike has the “new” rockers installed meaning the recall was performed, and this engine should be strong like bull.

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While we’re waiting – MotoGadget M-Unit

After studying the wiring digram for the donor bike, one can see that the bike is comprised of two wiring harnesses.  One harness is for the fuel injection – we’re going to keep that just as it is.  The other harness is the “chassis” harness for things like lights, horn, blinkers, starter relay, etc.

The trike comes pre-wired with a harness, and there’s a lot of things on the bike we’re not going to use, so to simplify I picked up this cool German gadget called the “M-Unit”.  Pretty cool!

Watch a video here: