First I will list what are the main issues on this bike that i will address in the rebuild1) Non existing front brake and super wimpy forks2) Very small swing arm travel3) very fragile differential and swing arm4) very, very heavy battery and a very complicated air filter system5) very high foot pegs mounts

6) the original exhaust is the pit, the one that i have on is an aftermarket sito that works quite good

7) Small fuel autonomy with the stock metal tank

8) very fragile back fender

That is not bad considering that in other bikes i had to change more items to make it to my likelyhood

I couldn’t stop searching among the many tanks that i have home and see at what could fit Frankuzzi. I found a set that may work. In the mean time, I started taking down few parts to have a better idea on what to do next.I have also exchanged emails with a good friend of mine which has done all the welding on my bikes and helped me rebuilding few ones. He is an airhead desert rider but he fancied to work on something different. I told him what i had in mind and we all soon realized that the big problem would have been the back swing arm.Now, when you rebuild a bike for a special purpose, there are many ways of sorting the parts and get the job done. The more talented do everything themselves, other like me do few jobs, and let other professional do it. Welding is not my forte and i rather prefer to see it done by someone who knows what to do and tried on his beemers. I dont want to have a bike cracked in 2 after a jump…i have seen it on a nice beemerSomething that is important to me is to respect the time and age of the bike and therefore my upgrades will follow as best as I can, parts that could be procured on that period even if this means, installing something inferior to more modern components. It doesn’t make a difference to me as i will not go any faster anyway and i will appreciate better the authenticity of my creation….as it could have been made 20 year ago….Enjoy the guzzi with beemers pictures on the wall :

Howdy and buonaseraI have inspected the frame and these are the reinforcement -in blue- we will do the main frame. They respect the baja bike more or less. We will also cut the UGLY passenger peg mount. Note this bike that has Baja parts has been rebuilt with the stock tt frame. Apparently the bike was in an accident of some sort…

Lets discuss the bike in general and talk about suspension.To be right with the age and period of the bike, the choices for the forks are 2. Either the Marzocchi Magnum m1 as the Baja bike or the Whitepower 4054 upside down forks. I believe the White power are better forks and beisde dont really want to build a Baja replica. So here you go with my the choice.Regarding the back shocks I will probably end having them manufacture based on my weight and riding skill if I cannot find them used in the right lenght and in the right conditions. The marzocchi original shocks (baja) are impossible to find, perhaps some vintage ohlins with a separate reservoir. I dream. We will see when we get thereLet’s talk about the differential and swing arm. The tt as the NTX have an aluminum swing arm and a very delicate final drive. I could reinforce and elongate that swingarm but I am stuck with that bad final drive.The baja bikes raced with the big block guzzi swing arm properly elongated and reinforced. My only option is to take down the baja swing arm and build a structure to be able to replicate the swingarm and maintain the correct geometry. The shaft has to be elongated too. Like the hpn BMWs; it is the same music the only difference is that g/s has a strong final drive!!! The pic above illustrate the elongated swingarm and different final driveSo here I go, got the right final drive (big block guzzi), 2 swing arms,( i will cannibalize one to build the other swing arm) and a shaft that i have already elongated. I also got a used wheel that will work with that final drive, the stock didnt anymore. I didnt go with the 17′ wheel but rather the 18′ wheel. I have now a tt/ntx swing arm, a final drive, 2 shocks, a wheel with caliper mount, a back caliper, an axle and a rotor to toss or sell at an auction..

Pics are of the new wheel, the elongated shaft, new back fender and bit and pieces of my taken apart guzzi

Let’s complete the front set pics. Next i need to find a place where i am housing the pics, probably my site. Not sure yet so i avoid them disappearing in few monthsI kept the stock headlight and cockpit. I didnt want to revolutionize the look of the bike. We custom made the little fork bracket that support the bottom of the Headlight and bolts in the bottom triple trees.The triple trees have been set with a steel column to add strenght and machined to fit with the guzzi bearings.ah… the color of the frame is yellow because the last official guzzi baja that raced at the dakar with Torri was yellow…..and yellow it ismore to came….patience is a virtue 

The swing arm took a good long time to do it. First because it is not a simple job of elongating the stock swing arm as the gs beemers. The stock V65tt swing arm is made of alum, and the stock big block swing arm is very short.

Nothing to do with my bike but just a lot of inspiration and a lot of copying.
One of the last survivors , probably needing a complete restoration job. The right tank is gone, an ntx plastic tank put instead. Still love this bike as beaten as it is with a rotten exhaust….

Most of the Bajas are in France. I know 5 of them being in Italy, mine in the US, 3 in Australia, the rest presumably in France
Actually the one I posted is/was for sale around Monza Brianza, Italy

Note the support for the shock…..serious stuff here love the laced borrani wheel with that lip…..no need to offset perfectly centered in the swing arm….yeah!

The Guzzi small block bad rep is the 4 valve lario engine. the v50 e v65 are solid, at least in my experience I never had a problem if the bike is well maintained. There is a lot of abuse out there and maybe this is the result. The stock v65tt bike has few issues and as I mentioned the stock final drive is prone to failures over certain mileage. Another issue is the electrical circuit when it gets old but the v65 tt with its small block…. beside shity brakes, wimpy forks, bad exhaust…is one of the best guzzi engines ever. BTW the bmw g/s has many moles too….

Lets talk about exhaust. I was able to get a piece of history. The exhaust of the proto 750 4valves. Nothing special about it… just 2 bended tubes but knowing that this came from the guzzi reparto corse makes me 
Unfortunately not a trace of the racing mufflers so I opted for 2 old style enduro mufflers (german origin) and i got them welded at the end of the exhaust. We built a removable small back frame to hold the back tank in place. I wanted something small and gracious and I always liked the HPN tank.

You may notice that the back exhaust is hold in place through a bracket and 2 springs. Nothing new, a solution adopted by Guzzi with the Baja bike. The springs allow and dampen the vibrations. The back of the muffler is removable by removing the 2 springs. It can be packed accordingly so it be may be quiet or loud. I left it loud.

The back fender is an acerbis Baja. Note also the back shock mount. It is very different from the stock tt. It is braced and the shock is well supported by both sides.

Last i like the large handle that protrudes from the tank. I can hold the bike there and pull it if i need. next the picture of the special desert air box. Back splash fender made out of kevlar. Believe it or not i did it myself. 

I could have improved the general electrics but i had a budget in mind. It will be the next project on this bike. the engine has an electronic ignition though… We made a custom alum bash guard. The stock Guzzi piece is probably the worst/useless part ever ever built in the history of motorcycle engineering. Whoever, i guess the engineer who designed that item should beaten with a wood stick. Really, such a OEM POS for an oil pan that protrudes from the bike.
Note also that I have kept the stock mudguard from the front fender and attached it to the baja front fender. So how do I deal with the oil foam coming out from the crankcase plus heads now that i have removed the stock airbox? I opted for a cylinder where the gas separates from the oil and the oil by gravity flows back in the crankcase. See below the alum cylinder kit tightened to the main frame. Works beautifully and no oil splatter whatsoever. So …today i drilled a lot..i am lightening the back support for the caliper that is an overkill and a spacer that is on the rim. pics later to follow. I have also send everything to MAP Engineering (Jim). He will receive the old heavy heavy guzzi rotor plus another rotor (not sure wher it came from but i had it around- either morini or cagiva- whcih has the same diameter of the guzzi back rotor. We may use it. Jim will let me know and post here.

Some final pics