I’m a long-time Guzzi owner but new to the club. I have recently purchased a 1961 Galletto 192 AE from the estate of a friend who recently passed, and am in the process of reviving it. It’s in pretty good shape overall, and was properly stored many years ago. Unfortunately, these models are very rare in North America, so I thought it might be helpful to join this group. I can already see that there are many helpful posts about all of the models that I have, and that it will be a very helpful resource overall. Thanks in advance for your patience with my inevitably dumb questions, and for sharing your knowledge.
Back to the Galletto, I’m checking things over in a methodical manner, including a compression check. With a cold engine (hasn’t run yet), and throttle open, I am getting a reading of 125 psi. I’m not really sure if this is good or bad, and am hoping that someone in the group can advise. I do have a stack of manuals that I am working my way through, but this isn’t a specification that I have been able to locate yet.
As an average on any 4 stroke petrol engine that has not been run (so dry bores) 125psi is not bad. If you squirt some light oil in the plug hole and kick the motor over vigorously before re-inserting the plug you should see 150+ to maybe 180
Yes, I did just that and it immediately jumped up to 175 psi. Fortunately, the electric start works just fine, so I don’t need to kick it. Actually, I wish it had a kicker, as that would provide a nice alternative!
Sorry showing my ignorance of pre 1970 Guzzis I didn’t realise it was a 2 stroke -
175psi is very respectable for a 1960s 2 stroke! A figure like that indicates that good primary compression (crankshaft seals) as well. In olden times very high compression figures on a 2 stroke could indicate massive carbon build up in the head, but i think modern two stroke oils have reduced that.
Actually the Galletto is a 4 stroke single cylinder engine.
I would agree 125 psi is not unreasonable for a low tuned engine. I assume you did the test with the throttle wide open?
No need to apologize — it’s all new to me, as well! The learning curve is quite steep, with there being relatively few resources out there, and much of the documentation being in Italian. However, I’ll just have to be patient and figure things out as I go. Hopefully, I won’t make too much of a mess along the way!
As Don mentioned, this is actually a 192cc 4-stroke, with 6:1 compression ratio. I’m thinking 125psi probably isn’t too bad, but thought I’d ask as I’m definitely still at the ‘fumbling around in the dark’ stage of getting to know this machine!
I assume you are the same Shaun that has posted about this bike in the Google Guzzi singles group? If not then I would suggest joining the group for a bit more help.
There are a couple of Guzzi Galletto Owner groups on facebook if you happen to be on there.