Hi from Barnes, London

[DuncanH]

Hi all

Just joined.  Have had a K1300GT since early 2018. 31k miles showing and I do about 6k per year (in all weathers, commuting, weekend rides (with fast mates on 1000RRs and Aprilia RSVs etc) and went to the TT in 2018 (great year for it).

I do all my own work on the bike - just done the shims and put in a K1200 exhaust cam (244 degree duration instead of 256) as I'd put a GPR titanium can on which has given a fair bit of extra power but its now over-scavenging so I wanted to cut the overlap.  Shims wouldnt have needed doing apart from that.  I took the chance to get them all to within 0.4thou.  It now runs really smoothly (significantly less top-end vibration - which wasn't too bad anyway).

Other mods are: forged wheels (HP motorsport ones - 6" on the back with a 190 tyre), Alliant 30AH lithium battery, home-made (ABS) mudguard extenders at the rear (upper one extends the underseat guard and the other is fixed to the swingarm and cups the upper one to deflect crud away from the shock), carbon front mudguard (putting std one back though as the radiator clogs even quicker than usual).

Have a GS911 which I'm happy to share

Duncan

[Matt]

Welcome Duncan!

Changing exhaust cams is a new one, and sounds fun! Did you take photos as you were doing it by any chance?

What's a Moto Guzzi Dr Jon? Ok I googled it. Crikey!

[black-k1]

Hello and welcome Duncan.

[armstrongracer]

Welcome Duncan,

Know Barnes well, my Sis lives there. I assume you have one of the factory Dr John replicas with the over head cam motor.  Back in the late 80's myself & Amedeo Castellani who's well known in Guzzi circles bult a Dr John spec 2 valver that I raced in BOTT.

[DuncanH]

Welcome Duncan!

Changing exhaust cams is a new one, and sounds fun! Did you take photos as you were doing it by any chance?

What's a Moto Guzzi Dr Jon? Ok I googled it. Crikey!

Thanks for the welcome.  I did take a pic or 2 - I'll upload them when I've got them off the phone.  In scrolling through I just noticed a pic of the shims (i.e. just 10mm ally spacers!) I put in the disable the throttle restrictor.  Forgot I'd done that.

Yeah the Dr John is lovely.  Shamefully (considering its one of only 20 ever built - we have owners register) its in bits and won't be on the road any time soon.  On the upside, I have a rare set of 100mm Cosworth pistons and matching barrels for it so it will be (quietly) 1225cc when its done.

[DuncanH]

Welcome Duncan,

Know Barnes well, my Sis lives there. I assume you have one of the factory Dr John replicas with the over head cam motor.  Back in the late 80's myself & Amedeo Castellani who's well known in Guzzi circles bult a Dr John spec 2 valver that I raced in BOTT.

Haha!  I knew Amedeo quite well from when he was in Twickenham.  He supplied me a half race cam for the Dr John which worked really well and the Cosworth 100mm pistons and matching barrels I've just mentioned above.  Great shame he folded his business after he moved to Suffolk.

Yes, its the (technically) high-cam 4 valve per cylinder motor.  Mine's no11 of the 20.  One of the other owners started an owners register to ensure it wasn't like the Ducati Mike Hailwood replica (a few genuine ones built but everyone taking standard Dukes and changing the cosmetics).

You must have ridden for Amo before Paul Lewis on the 8 valve?

[DuncanH]

Hello and welcome Duncan.

Thanks.  Te old-gits thing looks fun - is it open to anyone (old and git-like)?

[armstrongracer]

Small world. Dr John's tuner was a guy called Manfred Hecht in New York, his business was called Raceco. In 87 I was in my final year of university doing metallugy and had a Mk1 Lemans. Prior to college I was one of the many idiots racing RD400's and LC's. Amo was chief mechanic at Motomecca, we got talking one day and both had read Cathcarts test on Dr Johns Mk1 BOTT racer. Next thing we were stripping my LeMans in his garden shed and he built an engine using cams & rods from Raceco. Ammo twin plugged my head using a pillar drill  . 95 genuine horses out of a 950 pushrod twin was good (the mythical 100bhp/litre). I never got on with racing a heavy shaft drive bike, later I went back to GP 250 2-strokes. Based on my engine Amo built a Guzzi for Chris Clarke that Ian Cobby raced. This was 4 or 5 years before Loopy and the Raceco twin cam. Last time I met Amo was the Bears Race at Brands in 95 when Loopy gave the Brittens a good run for their money before breaking the crank in half which is funny cos he'd been slagging me about the racing Triumphs blowing cranks (I was working at Hinkley then). He did a lot of gas flowing on cars & bikes before going back to his Photography, his first love. His son Robert Castellani is a really good classical guitarist.

[chriscanning]

Great story 👍

[black-k1]

Hello and welcome Duncan.

Thanks.  Te old-gits thing looks fun - is it open to anyone (old and git-like)?

Yes, anyone of any age with any bike can sign up. Being a Git is an added bonus.

[DuncanH]

Small world. Dr John's tuner was a guy called Manfred Hecht in New York, his business was called Raceco. In 87 I was in my final year of university doing metallugy and had a Mk1 Lemans. Prior to college I was one of the many idiots racing RD400's and LC's. Amo was chief mechanic at Motomecca, we got talking one day and both had read Cathcarts test on Dr Johns Mk1 BOTT racer. Next thing we were stripping my LeMans in his garden shed and he built an engine using cams & rods from Raceco. Ammo twin plugged my head using a pillar drill  . 95 genuine horses out of a 950 pushrod twin was good (the mythical 100bhp/litre). I never got on with racing a heavy shaft drive bike, later I went back to GP 250 2-strokes. Based on my engine Amo built a Guzzi for Chris Clarke that Ian Cobby raced. This was 4 or 5 years before Loopy and the Raceco twin cam. Last time I met Amo was the Bears Race at Brands in 95 when Loopy gave the Brittens a good run for their money before breaking the crank in half which is funny cos he'd been slagging me about the racing Triumphs blowing cranks (I was working at Hinkley then). He did a lot of gas flowing on cars & bikes before going back to his Photography, his first love. His son Robert Castellani is a really good classical guitarist.

Yeah, great story..Names to conjour with...Motomecca, Ian Cobby, Chris Clarke, Alan Cathcart.  I saw Lewis on the 8 valve at Snetterton in circa 1998 I think.

I first met Amo around 1988 when I had a Spada that I "le Man'd" (with Astralite wheels too) and got him to do the heads and skim the base of the barrels to get the squish clearance right.  I vaguely knew he'd started with a twin plugged le Mans and got 95 horse.  Didn't know it was yours of course or that he'd used a pillar drill!  I remember him branching out into flowing heads for racing Porsche's.  Spoke to him a couple of years ago (may be more!) to ask who can do fuel mapping on the Webber Marelli ECU's - he pointed me at Bruce Rawsthorne who took over the Raceco brand.  Knew he'd gone back to photography but didn't know about his son's guitar talents - they were little nippers last time I saw them.

[DuncanH]

Hello and welcome Duncan.

Thanks.  Te old-gits thing looks fun - is it open to anyone (old and git-like)?

Yes, anyone of any age with any bike can sign up. Being a Git is an added bonus.

That's good to know, cheers...

[armstrongracer]

Twin plugging my head wasn't quite as dodgy as it sounds. Amo had seen a twin plug head in the factory so he knew where to drill and the rough angle. Once proved out on mine he had a drilling jig made. Yup, I remember his lads as babies, I feel old (I am old  ).  Get that Guzzi of yours back running it's a rare beast, says the man with 4 bikes that need restoring