Strada Camshaft Oil Ways

[Duccout]

Apparently Nigel bought Mick Walker's spares stock, which many years ago contained large quantities of parts for the older singles, so it may be worth asking about the availability of old and rare stuff.

[Duccout]

Things are coming together: received my new valves and Speedo cable from Nigel and super condition camshaft from Andy at DESMO in Germany. The lobes of the white cam are like pimples compared to the Strada cam.

[Duccout]

Spent yesterday making up some magnetic filters for the engine. I used the hole left by the oil pressure switch to fit one that screws in and sits next to the camshaft oil feed and made another one that sits inside the oil screen. I am looking for other locations......

The Speedo cable is on (after a bit of attention to the drive thread) and I've even spent some time cleaning the wheel rims. As the petrol tank filler has been forced open by a PO, leaving the tank neck bent, I doubt that it will seal, so I am thinking that I may glue a Monza cap over it using JB Weld, although that will mean that it would never be removeable.

[Duccout]

Slow progress - I have the head back on and Just waiting for the refaced rocker to come back from Phil Joy to button it up. Made up a new bracket to fit the exhaust and replace the original which was welded on and bent. The exhaust system is a mess but replacing it may not be easy: I discovered that my beautiful finned exhaust ring nut which I bought in Italy does not fit - there is not enough room between the frame tube and the exhaust port, so obviously the parallel twin frame has the single cylinder engine placed closer to the down tube than the original frame.

I have ordered a Guzzi nut which resembles the style of the original Mototrans nut in the hope that it will fit, if not then one will have to be made as there are no original nuts available, nor exhaust pipes, which have a different part number to the earlier bikes, so I'm guessing they will not fit either. I am surprised that more Strada and Forza specific parts are not being made as there seem to be plenty still for sale in Spain (bikes, that is, not spares) and when I used to ride to Spain in the early Eighties they were as common as muck.

[Jon Pegler]

It is possible to fit an Italian exhaust nut to the Strada and Forza frame.
It requires the pipe to be held out sideways whilst the nut is first engaged with the threads in the head.

IMGP0421.JPG

Jon

[Duccout]

Hi Jon,

I tried that - moved the pipe all ways, but it is nowhere near going on, in fact the frame down tube has a dent in it where the original nut has hit it (probably in an accident). The nut that I have is much longer than the Mototrans nut and that means that I cannot get the fins past the frame. If the Guzzi nut that I've ordered is also too long I will cut it down, but I don't want to butcher the Ducati finned nut.

Looking at your picture, my exhaust port looks much closer to the frame....I hope that the down tube is not bent inwards....Although the picture is of a Forza? So the head will be 17mm higher?

[Duccout]

I tried everything to fashion a tube to connect the carb to the airbox; sounds so easy, any old bit of tube will do, but it is not easy! The carb and airbox tubes are both different diameters, mounted in different planes, and are very close together. In the past a piece of radiator hose would have done the job, but everything that I found now was reinforced and had no flexibility at all. In the end I got lucky and found an old steering gaiter in my junk box which I was able to fit over the carb trumpet, then slide the other end over a piece of tube that fits inside the airbox, so I'm quite happy with it.

[Duccout]

I'm kicking my heels a bit, waiting for parts to come in the non-existent post.....So I thought I'd get the tank ready for petrol. It has been sitting since I de-rusted it, so before fitting the taps, I thought I'd blow the interior out with the air line, in case there were any flakes of dry rust in there. I stuck the air nozzle in one of the tap holes and pulled the trigger... And an enormous cloud of rust filled the air! It was like the Sahara in a sandstorm.

Carried on until the dust subsided, then swilled the tank with paraffin, but liquid is really hard to get out of these tanks. It is the best that I can get it, so I'll just have to hope that the fuel filters catch any debris.

[Jordan]

Just a thought:
If you are concerned enough about rust, a sediment bowl could be attached perhaps temporarily to catch debris?
The sort of thing that was fitted to Swiss army Condor-Ducatis is not so likely to clog up like filters.

Ebay item (for a tractor): 163796803299

Glass bowl shows what it's catching.

[Duccout]

Thanks, that's a good idea; I used to work with tractors and that glass bowl was very effective in catching rubbish in the fuel.