Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Michael Branscombe /

May 20, 2020 08:57PM

Just picked up a Bianchi moped think it is from the late 70s. Has been in a barn for decades. Was starting to go over it and was hoping to find a manual, but searching didn't turn up an easy find - was hoping someone could point me in the right direction. This I found the motor manual, but was hoping to find something that could explain operation/controls etc.

on the frame it has BU*300213* I think the 30213 is the model number. Below the handlebars is another plate that may have more info, but wasn't able to read it yet.

Motor doesn't seem locked up. Frame and wheels have some decent surface rust, but not too bad. Looking to clean it up a little and see if we can get some use out of it. One of the tired held air, but - not even sure where to start to know what tube to get.(edited)

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Trent Anderson /

tanderson78

May 21, 2020 09:58PM

With any moped that has been sitting for years, don't trust the tires and tubes not to be dry rotted. Plan on replacing rusty chain, cables, petcock, fuel line, and add an inline filter. Check the light bulbs. This gets you moving down the road safely. Check the wiring harness for bare spots that can short, especially under the fender where the tire could rub. Grease the wheel bearings.

Plan on cleaning a rusty or gunk filled tank. Check that the exhaust isn't plugged. Plan on cleaning the carb, getting a new needle valve, add a new plug, change the clutch bath oil, non detergent 20 or 30 weight.

You are gonna need to check for airflow, spark, and fuel flow.

Engine has been sitting for years. So don't expect great bearings, seals, and piston rings, or condenser. Spark plug coil good?

The major component of a moped is the engine, and in that case it's probably a Minarelli V1. You might not find a Bianchi Eagle manual, but there's plenty of info on that motor.

All those pieces and parts might run you around $200. If you aren't comfortable rebuilding a motor, there's plenty of people here than can help. There's some specialty tools involved which make a single rebuild more expensive the first time you do it.

Try to find a mentor?(edited)

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Michael Branscombe /

film495

May 22, 2020 12:55AM

Well, I found a few manuals for similar models - and one for the motor (it is the Minarelli V1) - so, started kind of going over it. I've done a few old tractors and some 70s snowmobiles, so - not my first adventure in getting and old machine going, but my first moped.

The front tire holds air, the rear is shot. I'm holding off on purchasing anything for it, because it appears the motor, which I thought was free, seems to have a stuck piston. I put the bike on end and pulled the carb and head, and filled the cylinder with seafoam, so - we'll see if that gets it to loosen up. Other trouble is the screws/bolts that hold the housing to get at the ignition seem rusted solid, so - put some penetrating oil on them, if they don't let go - I guess I'll just drill them out.

Put oil on all the bolts, you never know what's going to get taken apart - so, I just always do that on an old machine that I'm trying to go over. The right foot rest is missing, and the front bracket that is on the frame is broken off.

No brake cables. Pulled the lights off, so I don't break them horsing the thing around, tail/brake light is missing lens.

Gas tank rusted, and had old gas. Pulled tank off bike and started juggling some old nuts and bolts to loosen up the rust.

Only had one chain, that was broken, so - would need new ones. No speedo cable.

Drained the oil and filled with fresh 30 weight.

Guess I'll have to see if the piston frees up. I've rebuilt a few motors, but never seen a stuck piston before. Cylinder seems to have light surface rust, but not terrible.

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Trent Anderson /

tanderson78

May 22, 2020 01:35AM

I hardly know my way around the engine, but I have been able to free a frozen piston on 3 bikes and get them running. It's a crap shoot, so procede carefully, which you seem to be doing.

Invest in an impact screw driver to free rusty screws. Deal with the tank and engine first and worry about trim and tires last. I have been able to use bicycle cables for brake and clutch cable replacements but they aren't as thick and the ends break easily if you have to keep loosenibg and retightening them . I would get a 4 pack of cables at Wal-Mart for $10, throw away the shortest cable as it won't fit anything and make sure I cut the correct end off so the other fits in the hand control.

Definetly get the clutch lever working first if you free up the piston because it's tuff to engage the clutch, pedal the bike, have your hand on the throttle, and start it by yourself. If the throttle cable is bad, probably best to buy a new one as I have never been able to cheat on that one.

Don't get discouraged. Soak stuff in penetrating oil and don't force things to the point that they break.

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Michael Branscombe /

film495

May 22, 2020 12:40PM

Today I think I'm going to pull the exhaust off and spray some penetrating oil up in there that way too. Then forget about it for a while if I can. The clutch cable seems to work correctly and engage, and before I started pulling it apart I spun the pedals and engaged the clutch and it just dead stops. Not really sure how much force I can apply, but I'm going pretty easy so far.

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Trent Anderson /

tanderson78

May 22, 2020 04:55PM

Definite sign that motor is "frozen". Could be rings rusted against cylinder wall, bearings, or more. If you remove the head, you might be able to find movement in the crank and bearings if the cylinder can move up and down a little regardless of the piston being frozen. The amount of movement will be determined by where in the stroke the piston froze.

Get a block of wood that fits in the cylinder that you can tap with a hammer. You don't want to tap the top of the piston with anything metal that can crack it. Sometimes the break loose easily, sometimes you screw up the whole works, so go slow and careful. Plan on new rings at the least.

I had 2 V1 pistons tap loose easily enough that I was able to get them running, one just in the basement, the other I was even able to take it for a couple rides. If the rings aren't terrible, then you could they and clean up the cylinder a little and reassemble the motor to tinker with.

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Michael Branscombe /

film495

May 22, 2020 06:15PM

couple pics, right off the trailer when I got it to the house

2nd pic, in the garage, seeing about unsticking the motor

I was able to move the cylinder up and down with the piston stuck in it, so - not that this means the bearings and such are good, just not frozen, it is certainly the piston stuck.

What shape is the top of the piston supposed to be? I notice this one looks sort of like it has a little bit of an egg shape with the middle of the piston being raised up. Made me wonder if this thing hadn't been seized up, and that is how the piston distorted.(edited)

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Trent Anderson /

tanderson78

May 22, 2020 06:17PM

No, they normally have a curve to them.

Dang, that's got some "patina" to it!(edited)

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Michael Branscombe /

film495

May 22, 2020 06:49PM

yea, it's got a little seasoning and character, some sweet gum and grime, and a nice coating of speckled surface rust, but it was free.

piston looks like this one I found a pic of, this isn't mine, just a link to one that I think looks like the one in my motor.

http://www.myronsmopeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/22mm-upper-height-piston-Minarelli-V1.jpg

I did find a 3/4 inch dowel to tap the piston a little, but it didn't move. I'm not hitting it very hard. My experience with stuck things, is usually you end up having to hit it hard enough to risk breaking it to get it to let go, but I'll let it sit there for a while longer with penetrating oil in the cylinder and I filled the exhaust port as well.(edited)

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Trent Anderson /

tanderson78

May 22, 2020 09:19PM

You are doing every thing right.

I'm surprised experts aren't chiming in. Once you get that piston loose, I won't be much more help. I don't know my way around spark, points, clutch or flywheel. I tap the piston loose, put the engine back together, and see if it runs. It's worked for me 3 out of 4 times, so I've been lucky. The 4th time, the piston was so frozen that I pounded on it so hard I broke the bottom of it and put a gouge in the top of the case.(edited)

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Trent Anderson /

tanderson78

May 22, 2020 09:46PM

If you have access to a hydraulic press and can rig something up to press the piston out slowly, that would be a good way to go. I've used woodworking clamps to compress brake calipers...

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Michael Branscombe /

film495

May 22, 2020 10:45PM

I've done a few different two strokes with points and such - timed them up and completely rebuilt a few. 70s Rotax for Skidoo sleds; twins. Did points/condensers and times a single Kohler in an old tractor I have; far from an expert, but not my first old motor.

Never had a stuck piston before so, always something new. Thinking I'm going to tie a weight off the pedal and tie off the clutch just to keep some pressure on it while it sits.

I did manage to get the side cover off, and then started on the fan. All the Phillips heads on the bolts that hold the fan there were rusted out, so - I tried to easy out them, 2 out of 4 on the fan came out - gave up on the others for now. The bolts that hold the cover just had the heads break off so, the other end is just rusted in - not sure if they'll tap out the other end of the housing, or what the fix will be there, but - whatever it is it will be new hardware.

Crank will rotate if I lift the cylinder up and down by hand.

Thanks for posting, keeps me interested and it is a reminder whatever the outcome, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Today I was wondering if I just really like taking things apart … lol(edited)

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Trent Anderson /

tanderson78

May 23, 2020 12:58AM

The 3 pieces of the fan system are costly to replace. There are 3 types, 2 plastic and 1 aluminum (never the fan, just the outer pieces), and the different sets don't intermix. The aluminum ones are certainly more durable and I've never broken bolts in them when removing. I've only had that one motor so rusty that I broke some of the screws on the flywheel.

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Michael Branscombe /

film495

May 24, 2020 02:25PM

managed to get the housing and fan off. electrical looked decent, at least there wasn't a mouse nest in there. Sprayed some oil into the crank, and up into the cylinder and hung a weight of the pedal with the clutch tied off. There it will sit for a while.

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Michael Branscombe /

film495

May 25, 2020 03:38PM

I put the head back on and took the weight off and released the clutch, took the fan off to get access to the flywheel nut. I marked the flywheel to the housing, and with a wrench on it, I can see the flywheel move back and forth 1/8 inch in each direction, but it does not move and stay, it moves back to the mark as soon as pressure is released. Couple questions -

Am I just noticing play in the mechanics, or is the piston moving slightly as I try to rock it back and forth? I tried to look in the plug hole, but I can't see well enough with the head on to see if it is moving. My guess is it is just play in the mechanics, but I don't know, maybe just pessimistic.

How much pressure can I put before I bungle things up? I did loosen the flywheel nut, so - figure that much pressure is OK, but not sure. I've always just put rope in the cylinder to remove fly wheel nuts before, so - my experience is pressure enough to turn the flywheel nut off is fine, but don't know these motors.

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Michael Branscombe /

film495

May 25, 2020 08:55PM

maybe tomorrow I'll put a pen in the plug hole to see if it moves when I put a wrench on the flywheel nut. I thought I was going to just let this sit for a few weeks, but can't help myself … lol

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Michael Branscombe /

film495

May 26, 2020 06:59PM

motor still stuck. decided to take the front wheel off and see about servicing it and greasing bearing etc. There were 10 ball bearings on each side. It was so dry they kind of fell out, so - I assume 10 were from each side. Didn't pay complete attention to the assembly sequence, will probably have to look at a parts manual to see how it goes back together. Inside of hub where the brake pads would run, had a good rust spot, think that needs to get cleaned up. The rest of it looked decent after a quick clean up. Maybe tomorrow I'll see if I can figure out how it goes back together, and try the stuck motor again. Thinking of putting some heat on it to see if that helps.

Oh, I did find a resource that said if the piston is stuck, but the crank is free - you'll get a touch of play on the flywheel nut, so - don't think I'm moving the piston at all yet.

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Rob P /

robertpolicastro

May 27, 2020 05:23AM

Take the carburetor and intake off. Then you can put some oil down in there from that side. If there is no gasoline around you could heat that cylinder up with a propane plumbers torch. I did this on a puch worked great.

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Michael Branscombe /

film495

May 27, 2020 09:35PM

motor still stuck, was going to put some heat on it today, mucked around with the wheels trying to clean them up and grease the bearings instead.

forgot to take pics of front assembly, figured I'd remember how it went together, or be able to figure it out, but I was wrong. There are 3 shims washers, in addition to the 2 lock washers that go with the outside nuts. The very thin washer goes inside the brake. The other 2 shims I can't figure out where they go.

One is thin, maybe 1/8 inch think, and about as narrow, thinking that might go inside the speedo? The other one is maybe 1/4 inch thick with much more diameter and a narrow end on one end. Thinking that is a shim for the brake side, but not sure where it goes. Any ideas?

Aside from having the wheel on backwards in these pics, the moped is upside down, I can't believe the speedo should sit that far off the wheel, see pics. Really annoyed with myself for not taking better pics as I took it apart.

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Satan 666 /

pepilapeau

May 28, 2020 06:29AM

Love that moto ski. I forgot what model but same as a skidoo elan

Re: Bianchi Eagle - 1979?

Michael Branscombe /

film495

May 28, 2020 10:16AM

> Satan 666 Wrote:

> -------------------------------------------------------

> Love that moto ski. I forgot what model but same as a skidoo elan

Nuvik/Olympic and Futura/Olympic, from 76-79 are my old snowmobile interest. I like others, but have narrowed down to those models and years of the Moto Ski / Skidoo models. The moped is leaning on a 78 Moto-Ski Futura. I figured if I can get those old sleds going, I should be able to take a whack at this moped. Motor still stuck though … lol

MOPED ARMY

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