My Falcone Saga

[bobka...@verizon.net]

Hi Folks,

        Through the years, I've written in to this group, to tap the collective reservoir of wisdom, as I struggled to turn my 1953 Falcone into an easy starting, easy running motorcycle.  As many bacon slicer owners seem to have no problems with their bikes, it has long been a frustrating experience.  I've been involved with Guzzis for many years having owned (and often restored) 2 Stornellos (Sport & Scrambler), a Cardellino, a Zigolo, a Lodola, a V7 Sport, a couple of Californias, and an El Dorado. We split our time between the coasts and currently keep the V7 Sport and a modern V7 II in Rhode Island and the Eldo, a V9 Bobber Sport and the Falcone in SoCal.

        I came across the Falcone (advertised as a Sport , in Walnecks, I think) in Trenton, NJ in 1997.  So my long suffering wife and I drove down (from RI) to have a look.  It was sitting in a fellow's garage in excellent physical condition but had not been run in some time.  So I likely overpaid for it, trailered it home, then contacted Dave Jackson about doing a mechanical restoration of the drive train.  Some may remember Dave.  Given the inaccuracies of my 81 year old brain cells, I believe his shop, Juniors Restorations, was in a Chicago suburb.  A very nice and capable guy, Dave had already restored my V7 Sport and later built me the El Dorado.  How anyone could earn a living restoring only Guzzs always amazed me.

      So off it went to Dave's shop and in a couple of months, I retrieved it, with copious notes on work done and starting procedure.  And it would start as directed, but with other, seemingly unending bike projects, it didn't get used much.  Though it did have a New Jersey Title, dated 1955, in the name of the seller (first owner ?), I never did title or register it in Rhode Island.  Eventually, I shipped it out to California here where it remains un- titled/registered in my name.  I did want to confirm whether it was really a Sport or a Tourismo and remember asking this group how one could tell the difference.  More on that later.

        Every couple of years, I'd drag it out and try to get it started.  Without luck.   I sent the magneto out to Mark's Magneto Service for a rebuild and it came back with a good spark.  I set the timing for the 22mm BTDC along the flywheel circumference as per recommended for a Sport.  I probably pulled the carb 3-4 times for cleaning but all looked OK to my unsuspecting eyes.  It would sometimes fire up bump starting on a downhill run but never reliably kick starting.  I did quiz the group here as per an effective starting routine.  As a result, I have a page of notes here before me detailing the starting procedures used by  Paul Marx, Alan Comfort, Rick Yamane, Dave Jackson, Derek Wardell and Antonio Ricciardi.  Nothing seemed to work.

        Carbwise,, I read advice on using several types of modern DellOrtos, AMAL Monoblocs, AMAL 276 models with remote float bowls, and the Jakov (sp?) though the latter only with Airones

        More recently, I contacted my friend, Glenn Bator.  Glenn runs the motorcycle sales/auction site Bator International, was the motorcycle curator/restorer of the Otis Chandler Museum and has restored just about everything on two wheels. So I dumped the Falcone in his lap and let him have a go on it. Firstly, Glenn contacted Alessandro Altinier in Italy (Anyone know him?), evidently a Bacon Slicer expert there.  Then he made some magneto adjustments, lessened the spark plug gap, and plugged an opening in the carb that was supposed to be plugged, but was not.  I'd imagine that was letting unwanted air in that would certainly affect starting and idling.

        The results, with fresh fluids and gas, it's first kick starting now.  I'll be very excited to get the bike back next week.  This time, I'll Title and register it in my name.  Glenn's starting routine is: open petcock, hit tickler 4-5 times, no choke, no throttle, squeeze decompression lever, give good kick and release the lever and she comes to life.

         Alllesandro said there should be a shutoff valve at the oil tank outlet to prevent wet sumping.  Have any of you heard of that?  He's going to try to find the stock one for me.  Also he said that I have a Tourismo and one can tell by the threaded boss shown on the engine in the photo below (assuming I can send the photo).  That's the story, condensed.

[Dave Knaack]

That procedure sounds good for starting.  I usually use the enrichment lever when cold and maybe a little throttle when warm. As for the oil valve, that was never on the bike when new and not necessary if the bike is ridden regularly as it was intended.  For a lot of us we don’t ride the same bike everyday.  The bike will probably wet sump if not ridden regularly. Although my airone does not   The valve is just to prevent wet sumping 

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On Nov 27, 2025, at 2:38 PM, 'bobka...@verizon.net' via Guzzi Singles <guzzi-...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



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[Dave Knaack]

Btw, from the limited photos the bike looks super clean !! 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 27, 2025, at 2:38 PM, 'bobka...@verizon.net' via Guzzi Singles <guzzi-...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



[Alan Comfort]

Sounds like you are well on the way to having a well sorted 'slicer. It is my humble opinion that you need to have a proper oil shut off valve because these bikes will wet sump if not ridden daily. Wet sumping will result in excess oil getting into the clutch case and escaping the felt "seal" behind the flywheel. The clutch will slip and the flywheel will fling the oil everywhere. Oil shut off valves are fraught with perils and there are all kinds of ingenious reminders and devices that have been concocted to prevent riding away with the oil supply turned off.

Alan in Roberts Creek

[guzz...@aol.com]

here are two versions of shutoff valves ,,,,,,, to prevent wet sumping

Tim

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[andrew schmid]

I thought my 1950 Astore clutch slipping might be more of a worn or failing clutch issue but after reading that last entry, even though I always shut off my oil valve I’m wondering if I’m getting some wet slumping and if so, how to prevent that in the future and where I might evacuate any sump oil?  Thanks. Andy Schmid

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On Nov 27, 2025, at 10:52 PM, 'guzz...@aol.com' via Guzzi Singles <guzzi-...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



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[Paul Marx]

Hi Bob,

I have an oil tap on my Falcone Turismo. It is not 100% efficient and some oil gets past it finding it's way into the sump, and on the floor.

What you call a threaded boss is the location for the gear change lever spindle.

Alessandro Altinier wheels and deals in "classic" Italian bikes and is very present on social media.

I think that it is he who sold the ex Francesco Togon Laverda V6 with the mostly empty engine to Cor Dees in the Netherlands who went on to make one of his replicas with it.

Paul

[Patrick Hayes]

On 11/28/25 05:16, andrew schmid wrote:
> I thought my 1950 Astore clutch slipping might be more of a worn or
> failing clutch issue but after reading that last entry, even though I
> always shut off my oil valve I’m wondering if I’m getting some wet
> slumping and if so, how to prevent that in the future and where I might
> evacuate any sump oil?  Thanks. Andy Schmid

Andy: Clutch slipping in the Guzzi singles is very rare. Excess oil
leakage usually appears as sticky or grabby clutch when the oil is cold
and more viscous. The clutch discs are coated with oil when installed
brand new so oil contamination isn't the issue with slippage.

I would be more concerned about your clutch spring pressure adjustment.
As the clutch components wear, the pressure spring relaxes more and more
until you begin to detect slippage. I would start by verifying the
adjustment of your pressure spring. The resting dimension of the
pressure spring should be 27mm - 27.5mm. The pressure spring base rests
against a flat surface just outside of the drive sprocket. The outer
end of the clutch pressure spring rests against the flat inner surface
of the knurled adjusting disc. What is your current dimension measured
from flat to flat?

The knurled adjusting disc is threaded in reverse or left handed or
counterclockwise. Have someone stomp on the rear brake to lock the
wheel from rotation. Turn the knurled adjuster disc counterclockwise to
further compress the spring and bring the flat to flat dimension into
specification.

--
Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA
Falcone-NT and SuperAlce
www.motohayes.com

[Patrick Hayes]

On 11/28/25 05:16, andrew schmid wrote:

> some wet slumping and if so, how to prevent that in the future and where
> I might evacuate any sump oil?

Andy: You can prevent wet sumping in three ways. First, ride the bike
more often (daily?) and you won't have enough time for oil to drain down
past the pump. Second, you can add a manual valve to the gravity
supply line from the oil tank to the pump. There are appropriate valves
available from European sources. They are not necessarily perfect
valves and may still leak down over long time like months. I'm crude
and use a simple gas line valve from the hardware store. Third, you can
disassemble and verify the sealing quality of your existing automatic
shutoff valve. That little valve seat can be polished. Don't be
tempted to mess with the pressure of the little spring that controls the
auto-shutoff valve.

If you do have a puddle of oil in the sump now, it will quickly be
removed by the scavenge side of the oil pump and pushed back up into the
oil tank as soon as you start the motor. It could be messy or smokey if
you have a lot of sump oil. If so, consider pulling the spark plug and
kicking over a dozen or more times to slowly scavenge the oil without
starting. Lastly you could always just remove the very short curved oil
line which goes from the sump to the lower side of the oil pump and sump
oil will just drain out.

If you have excess oil in your clutch chamber, you should find a small
drain screw at the bottom/rear of the cast clutch cover. Look at the
flywheel and search the casting around the 5:00 o'clock position. It is
occasionally helpful to do a "clutch bath" with mineral spirits and this
drain screw is where you will drain out the bath solution.

[Alan Comfort]

There is a drain plug at the bottom of the clutch case. If you get more than a cpouple of ounces oil when you pen this drain, it might be wqorth the effort to flush the clutch with some kerosene.. The clutch is naturally lubricated with oil mistr from the engine/gearbox, but if there is too much oil between the plates, they can slip.I think that it is good practice to flush the clutch as part of your regular maintenance routine: maybe twice a year or every thousand miles. I do clutch flush at every oil change and/or before any long ride.

Alan in Roberts Creek

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[pouma1954]

If it can be of any help, oil gets into the sump of my Falcone, and the clutch sticks horribly. I even put a bit of oil in the primary to try and prevent that, and the clutch still doesn't slip.

Look elsewhere.

Paul

Envoyé depuis mon appareil Galaxy

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De : andrew schmid <crossm...@hotmail.com>

Date : 28/11/2025 14:16 (GMT+01:00)

À : guzzi-...@googlegroups.com

Cc : guzzi-...@googlegroups.com

Objet : Re: [guzzi-singles] My Falcone Saga

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[Andrew Nahum]

Patrick’s advice on clutch washing has always worked for me. The bike may not be wet sumping at all - does it smoke like a ***** on first start up?
I always add the solvent wash and pull the clutch in and out while kicking over slowly. (Fuel off!). I want to make sure the solvent goes between the plates. Not just around them. I’ve found my Guzzis have varied enormously in how much they oil they put on the clutch.

> On 28 Nov 2025, at 16:36, 'Patrick Hayes' via Guzzi Singles <guzzi-...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

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[Alan Comfort]

I have yet to experience a sticky clutch on any of my 'slicers.However I have on occasion experienced a slipping clutch. This malady has only been noticeable on uphill grades in top gear. I find that a clutch rinse will usually cure this malady. If not, them a quarter turn counter clockwise on the spring adjuster will do the trick.

I do not use oil with anti-friction additives in my 'slicers. I am pretty sure that your clutch will not perform well with synthetic oils or oils with slippery additives. 

Alan in Roberts Creek

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[andrew schmid]

Thank you again so much for your detailed explanation
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> On Nov 28, 2025, at 11:36 AM, 'Patrick Hayes' via Guzzi Singles <guzzi-...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

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[Turboguzzi]

Know Alessandro Altinier pretty well from my days doing vintage racing, he runs an important collectible bikes dealership and has a big private collection of important models.

He's not connected to the vintage guzzi world ASFAIK, but surely has the right contacts to give info, 

https://www.carandclassic.com/user/ccts5349