750 GT in Vancouver

[george]

Hello,

Just discovered the DOCC & just finishing up my 1st Ducati. Found a '73 750 GT basket case last here in Vancouver summer. It was a bit of a dog's breakfast having thrown the chain & put a hole in the engine case, also had crash damage including a bent frame. So fast forward to now and after a tremendous amount of time and cash, it's down to its shake-down phase.

Having clutch slipping issues that I hope will be solved with new friction plates, and a mysterious pilot light blowing issue, also am waiting on a 2-tooth smaller rear sprocket and heavier shock springs, but other once those are sorted out it should be fully tweaked. Well, almost. After it's well broken in, it's a trip to the dyno to dial in the jetting.

I posted the whole saga on the Bevel Heaven forum here:

http://forum.bevelheaven.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=4543

George

[ERIC SUMMERS]

Hello George,
Thanks for posting your restoration of the 750 GT. It was a great read ,perfect for a late Friday afternoon .I have many fond memories of the Tsawwassen swap meet that I attended for many years.
Great parts ,incredible bikes and interesting conversations with many bike/car guys in the aero. industries out there. You certainly picked the right Guy to do your motor. Thanks for the depth of detail , I like your method of arcing brake shoes, I'm already looking for an old brake lathe.
Tnxs. Eric

[george]

Hi Eric,

Can't sing Guy's praises high enough. Besides doing an excellent job on the engine with all manner of little refinements and extra touches in addition to the various reliability and durability mods, the while experience was just what you hope for with a project like this with it's many judgment calls and such. He was on time (a little longer due to a family emergency) and on budget. He also sent lots of photos during the process and would call me up to update me. Kudos, gold stars, all that stuff.

You may have heard that the Tsawwassen M/C Swap Meet was canceled this year - really disappointing. Apparently there was some sort of extra security requirement or something that was going to cost a lot of money. The fellow that puts it on is looking for anther venue so I hear.

I share a garage with friend Tom Mellor who was given that brake turning tool. Worked great on the front disc too. Tom is a salt flats guy with a record-breaking T150 Trident.



It looks pretty close to having all the little snags dealt with on the GT. Just put a little return spring over the clutch push rod end piece for some 'spring back' at the lever. Clutch slip is gone, though a bit grabby, but hoping that some miles beds it in and gets rid of the jerky take-up.

George

[ERIC SUMMERS]

Hello George,
Sorry to hear about Twaswassen being cancelled this year.I hope they find another venue, as it was a great get together of motorcyclists.
Glad to hear that your friend Tom is breaking records with a T150,I always knew those bikes had potential,I bought one of the first ones that came to Canada in 1969.I was a service manager at a Triumph dealership in Toronto.Let me tell you we jumped through hoops with warranty on them along with Triumphs denial that they had any problems with them. Keep up the good work.have fun
Tnxs. Eric

[george]