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This sounds similar to an intermittent problem my diesel mazda had, that was finally determined to be caused by worn contacts inside the ignition switch. The "start position" solenoid current surge seemed to burn/arc the worn contacts, creating a dead spot. Sometimes wiggling the key would...

I got one years ago for my diesel Land Rover, and love it. Works fine on biodiesel, as long as it isn't so cold as to gel. Otherwise works fine on pump diesel down to -6f, the coldest I've tried it. Mine has the integral water pump and is amazingly small and quiet. Only takes about 10 minutes to pre...

Raising the cruising and top speeds of the Moto Guzzi Convert Tranny, or any in-line, shaft-drive bike, can be done by putting a larger gear on the main input shaft. The Moto Guzzi Convert has a very simple transmission, perhaps the simplest of any 3-shaft design, and only one gear needs to be chang...

The stock Tonti-designed chassis had three top tubes under the tank running up to the steering head. The Moto Guzzi V-twin cylinders straddled those tubes, but the Daihatsu upright engine interfered with them. My solution was to cut them out and replace them with a V of Chrome-Moly tubes raised abov...

Here's what it looks like with the nose. The tail will be a winter project, hopefully finished by the time of the Moto-Guzzi National next summer. Sorry to hijack this thread - I'll move these posts over to my own build thread.
Cheers,
JohnO

Here's another view with the fron and bottom frames attached to the engine. It's been quite handy to be able to remove either the front or rear, especially since access to the tranny became so easy. Also handy for fabricating the streamliner nose by removing the front.

I don't have a name for the frame joints. I copied the design from the lower frame rails where they fasten to the down-tubes. This allows the front half of the chassis to be removed, or the back half. Also allows access to the valve cover for valve adjustment.

Some details about my diesel Moto-Guzzi project that might answer some of your questions: the engine is a 3 cylinder Diahatsu 950, bought new. The tranny is the stock 1978 Moto-Guzzi Convert unit, which uses a hydraulic torque convertor to connect to the flywheel, making adaptation easier than fitti...

The stock exhaust manifold was cast iron, with restrictive flow paths and an exit that pointed right at my shin. I made the new one from welded pipe fittings, tucking it in where it follows a rather traditional route to the "Triumph" muffler. The shiny exhaust pipe was a stainless steel ba...

Here's the homemade adapter, and the homemade flywheel. It was the only way I could figure out how to mount the torque convertor. The tranny adapter couldn't be designed until the location of the torque convertor was finalized. Still, that was easier than fitting a clutch. The torque convertor robs ...

Another build photo found. This was taken just after cutting the top tubes. It took several months of pondering and planning before I got the courage to take the band saw to what was up til that point a perfectly good stock chassis. Was I about to make a horrible mistake? I'd made a cardboard templa...

I found another photo on my tablet that might be instructive. It's of the front chassis removed (for paint). Making it removable has proven to be a good idea, as it makes access really easy. During the design and build process, the major components have been apart and back together dozens if not hun...

Planning actually started a couple years before. Besides, the streamlined fairing isn't done yet, either, so arguably it's still in-work. But that's just nitpicking. I'm away from home until next week, and that's where the build pictures are located. I'll post some then. In the mean time, here's a s...

First some prelude. I grew up on a farm around diesel equipment, so they're nothing new to me. In the 1990's I became interested in biodiesel and started making my own. I eventually bought a well used VW Jetta turbodiesel from a U-of-Idaho grad student, who'd accumulated over 100,000 miles on experi...

Thank you for your kind words. I'm hoping to get the opportunity to show it off to more people in person. Travelling to Britain or the European continent with it is beyond my budget, but my fingers are crossed that there'll be something similar on our west coast within reasonable range. Cheers, John...

Diesel Goose left side rather small.jpg I started building my diesel motorcycle in 2005, but only got it on the road in 2013. I've tried to document the steps as the project has progressed over the years, and will be pleased to share them here. One goal has been to make the finished result look &qu...