"a pipe or chamber branching into several openings"

Apparently that's what it is anyway, the definition of manifold I mean. There are many, as you would expect, but in the context of the manifold(s) I am talking about, that was the best I could find. I have to say I don't think its an accurate description of what I will be talking about, but I am not inclined to look for a different definition at this point in time, you are welcome to, if you wish.

I started with a pic of Izzy too, how unusual, well it is compared to the last few posts. Although, I made such a fuss about the definition of manifold and how it doesn't really fit with the manifold(s) I'm talking about, but there isn't even one in the picture. There is an inlet, that's clear for all to see, but no manifold, not yet, its coming though, be patient.

Coming back to the post, this is just a (relatively) short one that will cover the 2 manifolds, no more no less. Remember I said there were too many pics too put it all in one post, well this post is an example of me dealing with the overflow, surplus, excess, it's ok I wont go on.

The first pic (as I am sure you know) is the inlet (carburetor/fuel in) on the barrel, with appropriate gasket in place. I know I say "I'm sure you know" but that's only because I assume (possibly wrongly) that if you are looking at this blog and have got this far, you have an interest in the subject matter and therefore a knowledge of it. Perhaps I shouldn't assume that at all, I apologise if I am wrong. I will keep explaining things as I go on, as if the reader knows nothing (I know nothing) just in case someone reading doesn't (know) and for those that do, ignore it, you already know.

Above pic is the opposite side of the barrel and the outlet (exhaust/gas out) again with gasket in place. I like this pic, its nice to see a new barrel, new copper gasket and also the piston (with rings) inside the barrel. A steel barrel topped off by an aluminium head, all attached the the aluminium engine casing. You've gotta love a contrast of metals. The material, not the music, thought a lot of the music variety of metal is good too. I never knew there was such a contrast of metals (music wise) until i just looked. Some real doozies in this list, one could dedicate a whole post to just that alone. I wont, not here, not now, but may do on the other blog at some point, depends how bored I get Inspired I feel.

Once again I have gone off topic, so back to the post and next pic. This one finally contains the fabled manifold of which I spoke earlier (and this post is about) how magnificent it looks in all its splendour. OK its just a manifold, but its there, bolted on to the barrel and awaiting an exhaust to be attached to it, I sense the theme of a future post developing.

The last pic, well, that has not 1 but 2 manifolds, see, it was worth waiting to the end of the post for te big "manifold" pay off wasn't it. You can see the inlet manifold in the foreground, awaiting a carburetor and in the background, the outlet one, minus exhaust.

Neither of the manifolds are standard items as the parts (carb and exhaust) going on them aren't standard either. Well, it would be silly having a standard carburetor and exhaust when the barrel etc and other bits inside the engine casing aren't, wouldn't it?

More soon, don't ask how soon, you know how it works by now with regard to frequency of posts :-)

Gori Elaborazioni

No, I am not speaking gobbledygook (I didn't realise that word is actually in the OED until I checked) gobbledygook I mean. I have titled this post as such as I wanted to do a quick post about some of the bits that are going on/in the engine.

Before you ask (although to be fair its not likely anyone will) yes, that is the ceiling in our lounge at the top of the picture! The reason, well, the garage isn't the best for not getting damp and I didn't want to leave it (the exhaust, yes, that's what is) out there where it may get wet. Everything else is in plastic boxes with lids, to keep any potential leaks/water out, but the exhaust wouldn't fit, so it had to stay in the house (much to DB's dismay). The garage isn't actually too bad, only when we get a lot of heavy rain in a couple of places (already patched up a lot of it) but it gives me an excuse to have an exhaust in the lounge, on top of the unit, which I can see whenever I look up a few feet from the telly, which is nice :-)

So tuning wise, Izzy is having a few tweaks, to become less of a standard 175cc, fifty (plus) year old engined scooter and something more modern, and also hopefully more reliable and nippy.

I will add pics and more detail in further posts of some of the individual components etc (this was only supposed to be quick post but my rambling has yet again got the better of me) so for now I will just list a few bits instead of adding more pics and details.

Electrics wise I have upgraded everything to a full BGM electronic ignition set up, including, coil. stator, regulator and a beautifully crafted one piece lightened flywheel from Twisted Rods, all of which need to be fitted but are sitting there waiting to go.

As previously mentioned, all bearings, oils seal, o rings, circlips and gaskets are new and/or uprated along with brakes clutch and suspension. In addition to all of the above, we have the following:

New crank (uprated GP Mazzucchelli)
New barrel, piston etc (Gori 200cc "Sport" kit)
New exhaust (matching Gori "Sport" exhaust)

I went for the sport combination as opposed to the racing one to keep things more sensible (a novelty for me, must be my age) and allow for a more original look (carb/airbox wise) also, an important factor (DB may be looking), it was the cheaper option :-)

I bought the Gori stuff directly from Italy (as opposed to paying more to get it all from a UK supplier) and dealt (through email) with a guy called Andy, who was absolutely brilliant and very helpful, I would highly recommend doing the same if you are after anything Gori related.

So, that's a relatively brief (for me) synopsis of what's going inside (or attached to) the engine cases and I am going to finish the post with one final link.

When deciding on what kit and exhaust to go for I did a lot of reading and deliberating around various options, views, performance specs etc. While doing that I stumbled across this video (ignore the music and scroll to around the 40 second mark) and the sound of the exhaust is something I am hoping Izzy will have when finished :-)