Moto-Guzzi "Neva-Lost" Board Track Racer

This is my first attempt to build a board tracker, so as we move ahead, I may succeed in some areas and some larger parts will end up as my Grumman canoe anchor.





With the snow coming down and no chance to ride, things got a bit boring and I decided to do something with one of my Guzzi Chiu mopeds. I don’t think anyone is really going to miss it??? Starting point is a 1976 model Guzzi Chiu, partly due to being already registered and insured. I never really used it, since I have 2 that are in better shape than this.

After reading this forum, I decided that instead of a restoration, it was more fun to cut it into pieces and make a unique Guzzi Board Tracker. I saw many great pictures on this website and more and more I thought about it, this definitely was going to be a good project!
Here’s the poor Italian organ donor. To take motor out was about 3 minutes, since its hanging from the frame with 2 bolts and 3 wires. Now I know how to be faster with next motor removal, the rotating nuts are on right side.



The motor will be fitted first as is, but I have a Polini 65cc kit for it. This makes peddling uphill’s a bit easier.

So, my intension is to glue, weld and duct tape together a Guzzi Board Track Racer, similar to the old 1920’s velodrome motor bikes. Living in Pennsylvania, which is famous for 1920-30’s board track racing such as Altoona and Uniontown tracks this approach makes sense.

In reality, there were no Guzzi bikes running on 2x4 wood planks, mostly just HD’s, Indians and other domestic ones. The real ones did not have brakes or gears, I will cheat a bit and will install drum brakes and use the Guzzi automatic transmission.

Why use a running moped?
With just bicycle frame, I have little luck explaining to the LAW that it is a moped. To register it is expensive and time consuming.

Now… what do you do when you wreck a motor cycle and your tail section of the frame is bent? You buy another frame, however this will have a different VIN number. By welding a steering tube from your original MC to this "new" frame will legally result being the “old and original” bike, with old VIN. So, if this is the case with motor cycles, it has to be the case with mopeds. Since there are not much of legal limitations, why you cannot weld a hard tail on your new Harley, (its only seen as "customizing") and state does not mandate inspection of the welding quality etc. So… if you can change the steering tube and you can customize the frame as much as you wish.

The way I look at this, I have customized the complete frame from neck backwards. I’m not a lawyer, so I advise not to follow my sample, but that’s what I’m going to do. As soon as the wheels are on it, its ROAD legal, ready to go and insured. Motor and frame numbers will naturally match too, as they should. If I get pulled over, I can refer OCC TV series and mine being similar so there is little what the “LAW” can do legally to prevent me from driving or issue a ticket. State has already a stensil print of my serial number in files, feel welcome to compare it to my current bike…. WIN-WIN.

I will use several parts of the Chiu, such as motor, axles with the vicious drum brakes and electronics (although wiring will be done in 1920’s style on outside of the frame with colorful cloth wiring).

I got a late 1950-60’s Murray 26” frame. I chose this type of frame due to dual tubing on top and I had an idea to build a protruding tank into the frame, fitting closely into the triangle. The front will be a Monark Springer. Unfortunately I ordered the “un-welded” unit just before Christmas. Then E-Glide sent me an e-mail that a beefier fork was available, bigger springs, heavier drop outs and most importantly already welded and fitted with bearings. I contacted David at E-Glide and he promised to credit mine and supply a new one. Great news, this way I don’t have to weld it and it will not disappear under the bike at first street corner. I would only have to pay the difference, so that’s the route I went. I am currently waiting to get the new and improved fork back! Thanks David, good customer service!!!

The intensions is to keep the built “Vintage” looking, so it will not be shiny or chromed. I will be searching old, used parts from antique cars, tractors, MC’s and boats to get what I need. Yes, boats too...
For example tail light is old Farmall tractor tail light, looks kind of a bullet with red glass. Air filter will be either a Christ craft bilge pump section or Farmall oil pump pick up screen. Its about what looks great and "seems" to be authentic. Although no one would think that the 49cc Guzzi motor is from 20's...

Paint will be semi-gloss or flat. Maroon, that is, being actual Moto-Guzzi racing color.

First I had to “see” my vision in reality, so I draw few on paper and finally decided to make a full size drawing.

After the first mock up, it was time to waste my daughters color pencils, hopefully she'll never understands that the maroon disappeared mysteriously ;-)
All measurements are 1 to 1, so I can work on almost everything from this cardboard wall hanging. Once you slice the lower tubes out and slap the wheels on it, it should look exactly like this one, within minutes… or close?



Close up of the tank, gas lid and steering.







Burning rubber on kitchen floor at 80 miles per hour, motor seems to have plenty of torque!
At this point the dog and wife had enough….I’ll show the dogs disgusted look, but not wife’s.




I was going back and forth if I should put white walls or knobbies on it and decided finally to go with knobbies, these Bontrager mud tires will look MEAN in it… as mean as a moped can be;-)



Here is the frame and Monark (the old one) first time together and the new 26” rims are quite aerodynamic, right?? Had a **** of a time to mount the knobbies on these…

foundmydog said:

Your idea seems very well thought out, and it seems you know exactly what you want in terms of the finished product

The drawing is not scale as I imagine, but the wheelbase seems kind of short??? Are you looking for a more compact version, or the scale is just off being a drawing?

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Scale is correct, angle is weird, I was on top of a chair, holding a lamp with left hand. Ther's a better picture in next post.
Wheelbase is compact and bike will be as narrow as possible.

Since the OCC guys can make gas tanks, so can I. How difficult can that be, you need only 2 hands, one round tip hammer and case of Italian beer, right??? More specifically, one hand for the hammer and the other one for beer. It has to be Italian beer to provide proper “inspiration” and to insure a genuine Italian building process. I’ll check in the morning if the steel pieces remind more Vespa fairing or Fiat 500 bumpers than a Guzzi gas tank. If that’s the case, I’ll have to switch quickly to Peroni or Moretti!




The Flea-Bay donor, worth a whopping 25 bucks. It is a wrecked and wrinkled 600cc Kawa tank, here already cut. One of the forms later seen in the tank is visible in this picture. It was later altered a bit, but 90% remains.




After few hours of beating the **** of it with 2 rounded tip nylon hammers, it started to look like this. Not bad that you can work outside in January, considering this is Pennsylvania. My right hand is getting tired already.



More and less finished, or left and right half. At this point you can see the “slicing” of the bottom going on, I later cut all of it out, since it was too much welding and served as my welding “test”. The bottom of tank was replaced with one solid piece, welded at both sides. Much cleaner this way.




After 6 hours of beating the sandbag (most of the time actually with a chunk of steel on it and few times one of my fingers), I had one half tank ready. The other side went a lot faster, since I freed up left hand from beer drinking. At this point you don’t need “Italian inspiration”, since now I only need to copy what I have already done one, but in mirror image. I should have had some Sapporo and the copying would have been perfect. Not having any Sapporo, it took a while longer. For some odd reason, they actually look surprisingly similar..., not same, but similar….;-)

brett7777 said:

dont understand why the dog was disgusted tho...dogs usually love to chase mopeds....

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Being an English Bulldog, it will bite all moped tires and lawn tractor tires and succesfully puncture them. He absolutely hates all 2 wheelers, but loves car rides, specifically to Dunkin Donut... What can I say, he is dumb as a brick, but excellent watch dog. Then again, anything that hangs from bull's nose for living, is not known for its intelligence....

Not that complicated, two halves make a full gas tank. This one however seems to have a hole in the middle, so I cannot fill it up yet. At this point I decided widening the tank in front, for better visual look. I also cut the complete top and bottom off and started to weld again, good thing is that I’m getting better with my welding skills. Not that they are good to begin with, but there is only one way up from the bottom of the barrel!
I’m still considering whether I should go with these tank mounts, they look definitely cool and race inspired. Does anyone know if 2” painters tape existed in 1922?



The painful part was to try to fit the BOTH halves through the opening, leaving reasonably equal gaps on top, bottom and front. This took hours to get it even remotely right, still isn’t exactly correct, but I have the hammer ready and tank is still far away from being ready.
BTW, I do not have an English wheel, the surface was produced by hammering harder and reducing force to lighter and lighter;-). Yes… that took also hours. I probably could have made the wheel in that time?



Upside down bars and brass T-Ford radiator cap, model “Neva-Lost”. Now you all know where the name “Neva-Lost” came from… Suitable name for the project! Gas tank is not yet ready. I just received today 1920’s radiator bleeder valves, brass, of course. BTW, This is NOT the correct motor positioning...

harry76 said:

AWESOME!!!!!!!! This build is progressing nicely..... and great work on the tank. It looks good, makes me wanna go beat on some metal ...... think i might......its a nice change from our regular squarish tanks. Hopefully you havent beaten on it too much thinning out the metal and later causing stress fractures??? I think you should be right though.

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Not a chance with the nylon hammers.... I'm more worried about welding seams leaking;-), so far I have not been able to test the tank.

fasteddy said:

Moped Army has your name and number. Expect to be swarmed at any time.
On the other hand I feel that it is the perfect use for a moped. Sweet looking tank. Darn it the Moped Army has my name and number too.

Steve.

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Who cares, I AM IN THE MOPED ARMY. I ride often with the Lancaster moped guys, few of them actually know what I am doing. Then again, I did not mention hacksawing the complete frame though?

SWARM AND DESTROY!

Really!! This is the better one, that did not end up in slaughter house...