Minutes of a Motorcycle Addict

I've started to tear the Guzzi SP1000 apart again.

Me tearing the SP1000 further apart.

After the gear box jobs on the Quota and the T5, the Guzzi SP1000 has taken centre stage on the work bench again. As the keen reader will remember, I'm rebuilding it to serve as a classic racer bike for my wife Sølvi in the 2010 season.

I'm dismantling the bike into pieces just a wee bit larger than atoms. It's not necessary, though, but I'm learning from it all which is more than half the point in my case.

After thorough discussions with racing wizard Knut Holte I've decided to keep it simple: I'll only lighten the bike as much as possible without going into the extremes,  get a single plate clutch with a far lighter flywheel and clutch action, and perhaps put in a 36 mm carb instead of the current 30 mm - but that's not a "must". I'll also "de-dog" the gearbox according to instructions from Knut, and put on proper suspensions.

That's about it. The internal gut-wrenching will have to wait for another season. For the upcoming season the main task is to make the bike set up and run properly.

The upper frame is lifted off, exposing the engine.

A rickety support rig - but it worked.

Everything on the table, ready for further dismantling...

A proper naked bike...

Just to remind myself how the SP1000 used to look when we bought it in June 2009. It has been tinkered with already, as you can see, and it will be even more modified to be a proper racer.