The first real work was to take everything apart. I took the fuel tank and the seat off, and then I removed the wiring loom. I discovered why everything was so very filthy; the gearbox oil drain plug had clearly had its thread stripped. The plug itself was held in place by a lump of filler, and so it had gently leaked dirty engine oil. This oil had been distributed over everything and, of course, road dirt had adhered as well. This picture shows what my drive looked like at that point. The Guzzi still looked like a motorcycle, but it was clear that this was to be a major undertaking.
I carried on stripping pieces off; the battery, the exhausts, the cylinder rocker covers (which showed that there had been water in the oil – they were covered in what looked like mayonnaise). I took the brake callipers off, and the suspension and then the wheels. Eventually I was ready to remove the engine block. The thing no longer looked like a motorcycle, but I had an enormous pile of bits and pieces. The engine was still in the frame, supported on wooden blocks.
The Moto Guzzi Tonti-designed motorcycle frame has several components. There are two subframes that assemble round the engine, and the main frame is attached to these subframe rails and to the engine engine with a single, long bolt. I’d done a heap of web research; had bought the Moto Guzzi ‘bible’ (Guzziology, by Dave Richardson – if you have an old Guzzi, then you definitely need this book); and a Haynes Manual (for the Le Mans), and so I felt well-supported with information. At this point I need to give a shout-out to Greg Bender. He’s an Aussie and has a web site: https://www.thisoldtractor.com/ that has,. in turn, loads of invaluable information, including articles on refurbishing various ‘Big Twin’ Moto Guzzi components. Anyway…
… I found that it was well-nigh impossible to remove the engine from the frame. This was because the long bolt that I mentioned above was seized solid in the frame members. I’d discovered a technique called ‘crabbing’ the frame (look it up on the Web), but even with only the frame and engine remaining attached, it wasn’t possible to separate them. There was so much work to do, do I didn’t really need to separate them, but I really wanted the engine on my workbench! Here’s a picture of the mess at this point. The engine and gearbox are still together; you can see one of the two rails, and even the bolt.
I did eventually get this lot apart. The thing had been assembled with a healthy amount of copper grease, but this was now hardened and was preventing my penetrating oil from penetrating. I used a combination of heat from a blow-torch and persistence and eventually achieved a small amount of movement, and then, eventually, it wiggled free. Phew!