Hi all have come back to Guzzi’s after a short break and foray into classic 4 wheels, have bought a 67 Ambasador imported from US with a few issues i am in the process of trying to sort.
Time to look at the carbs, she is currsntly fitted with 900 series Amal carbs, couple of questions please.
firstly whats the general consensus on Amal carbs eg simplicity, suitability or otherwise
secondly what model of (presumably) Dell orto carbs would she of had and what is availability like or are there anymodern alternatives.
Thanks Chris
Some loops had Amal carbs as standard, and some had a different type of Dellorto, but I think the most common type is VHB29. That’s what my 850GT has.
You may find secondhand ones, or perhaps some VHB30’s which are fitted on later Guzzis. Eurocarb sell the spare parts in the UK.
Ian
I think VHB29s are out of production and so possibly difficult to source now, though various spares are still available. My ’72 Eldorado 850 has these and runs beautifully on them.
Looking on line I’m thinking the 900 series Amal is a mk 1 concentric. I have run various other bikes with both concentrics and monoblocks and whilst I have a preference for the monoblock I would have thought these should work fine. As noted they were an OE fitment for a while.
I have run two bikes on Concentric mk 2 carbs and I consider them to be the most hateful of devices. So if you were looking to upgrade/replace I wouldn’t recommend going that way.
Of course others here may differ on this.
Thanks for the replies, she certainly starts well enough on the amals, i think i will have a go at running her for a while and see how she fairs before making a final decision but oncd again thanks for the input,
Chris
Hi V700 is a nice bike,…
V700 is just that a V700, Dell’Orto SS 29CD/29CS I think, although I could be wrong
V750 = Ambassador or V750 Special, depending what side of the Atlantic you are on
V850 = Eldorado, or V850GT again depending on what side of the Atlantic, V850GT had 4 leading shoe double sided front brake, Eldorado had twin leading shoe or later disc brake.
V850 Eldorado for 1973 ( as far as I can ascertain ) only, and only on East coast US bikes, had the Amal carbs fitted, west coast bikes, and European models had DellOrto carbs.
Greg Bender is your friend… http://www.thisoldtractor.com/moto_guzzi_loopframe.html#C
Amal spares are available from Surrey Cycles https://surreycycles.com
I meant to add, if it is running well on the Amal carbs, then stick with them, the original VHB series carb are now discontinued, and even some of the service parts are getting hard to get.
Thanks for the info Kev, too be honest mines a bit of a bitza i think from headstock forward nothings original has twin leading shoes but on opposite side from rears and chrome front rim as for the forks no idea but have sourced a replacement set and a corect mudguard had to get a later speedometer and rev counterhousing as the prices qjoted for the aluminium housing and speedo that it should have had are ridiculous ($2000 + delivery + customs charges).
bit more of a long term project than i had envisaged but will get there.
thanks again Chris