A call out to our Irish members.....

Now I know that there is little or no support in Ireland, either the Republic or the North, for Guzzi so I'm putting the call out here.

Some of you may know Dave Boyle who posts occasionally on boards as 'Belfast Guzzi'? Well Dave is a GRiSO owner but the tale of his bike is heartbreaking to say the least.

Like me he was an 'Early Adopter' and bought one of the very first of the 8V Grisos in 2008. Sadly the dealership promptly folded and shortly thereafter another character was appointed as a 'Service Agent". Sadly this animal was the personification of shaved apery and not only screwed up the servicing but also undertook the first tappet recall, (The change from cast iron to forged steel with DLC.) and in doing so managed to break at least one of the cam chain tensioner blades!

Now we didn't know this at first and as he was in a situation where he couldn't get help with the bike without going to the UK I sent him a 'C' kit in the hope that he would be able to install it. Then it was discovered that the tensioner were screwed and the TB's were fucked by the 'mechanic' who by now he'd found out had a bit of a reputation and was known in Belfast as 'The Hammer'! Anyway a few years ago I was in Ireland and we dropped in and I took him a pair of TB's which I think are OK but he still hasn't been able to get his GRiSO fixed as nobody it seems is willing to take on the task of pulling the donk out of it and he can't really afford to have it done in England.

So. Here's the thing. Can any of you lot help out with space and assistance? Obviously Camphill has done a 'C' Kit before but to replace the left hand tensioner blade, which I'm pretty sure needs doing, (I think The Hammer shattered it while screwing up the tappet swap.) you have to drop the engine and pull the clutch and gearbox.

Yes it's a big job, and a big ask, but Dave is one of the good guys. For the last couple of decades he has run the 'Beat Carnival', a huge arts and drumming festival in Belfast, non sectarian and designed to give direction and purpose, not to mention a lot of fun, to the 'Yoof' of Belfast.

Thing is Covid Plague permitting I'll be in Ireland again in September and I'd be more than happy to spend a day or two helping out. I can provide the needed parts as well if someone sensible can go have a squizz and see what's busted. It would be really great to not only allow Dave to finally ride his un-fucked bike but to also save it from slowly rotting away.

What say you?

Sadly it seems that the St. Pat's day parade was cancelled because of this poxy disease!

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Pete

I have read about Dave’s woes with “The Hammer”, unfortunate to say the least!

I would love to be able to help out in some way if I can but I am a good spin down south in Kilkenny. I take it from your post that Dave does not have space or a Garage (tools) to do the work? If he had and was willing to tackle the job I could go up for a weekend to give a hand.

I would have no problem bringing the bike down here to my garage as I have a bike trailer and could collect it. But I would be reluctant to tackle a job like that on someone else’s bike. I could offer the space and would assist if that was of benefit? I am approx 3 and a half hour drive from Belfast.

I would definitely tackle this job myself if it was my bike and I could potter along at my own pace but If you want a Busmans holiday Pete, you would be welcome to a bed here for the duration of the operation and I have all the necessary tools (I think).

One thing to bear in mind is that myself and the mrs have booked a biking holiday in Romania for the first two weeks of September, but with the world turned upside down with this shitty virus, who knows? So hopefully you are not scheduled here at the start of September.

Let me know if I can help?

Guzzi Cat, answering the call af the ghetto... A fine gentleman, and one who has great taste in motorcycles!

Apologies
I haven't been getting the notifications or been on the site for a while
Absolutely ..I will help out on this project
I can arrange the transport of the bike and help out with the prep ..
I can find a space /workshop in the west... or transport to Guzzicats
Be glad to help out for help previously received

Let me know how to help

Got word from Dave via my wife's faceberk and he says the GRiSO is almost ready to go.

Our trip is still very much up in the air as I doubt international travel will be back on the agenda any time soon and at the moment any such activity is a complete no-no but we'll hopefully be able to schedule something before we all drop off the twig!

Thanks.

Pressure mounting this side of the planet to get things moving...again
Id say by mid May it will be a lot healthier looking re opening up travel