bbolesaz

Found a pic of what the neutral switch should look like. Apparently, on my bike, a P.O. decided to put red RTV pookie all around the switch and fill up the hole. I guess it was leaking and this was their bright solution. I'm sure it's going to be big fun to dig all of that pookie out of the selector cover when it comes time to replace the switch.

Checked the prices for stock and Electrosport. Electrosport ESR515 (stock copy version) on order. I was surprised to not see star washers where the eyelet of the ground wire is bolted in with the regulator case. A star washer between the case and eyelet will ensure a good electrical connection there.

Pulled the tank to have a look at the regualtor wiring. There was only one (I assume the stock) ground on the regulator bolt. But the wiring has no sign of overheat. So, I'm thinking I need a new regulator. Should I go stock or Electrosport ?

Well on my ride home from work Friday, there was no neutral light except when I was actually in neutral. Today I tracked along the wiring and found no problems. The switch itself looks odd. I don't see how it gets threaded into the tranny case and it's an odd red color. Does anyone have a pix of what the neutral switch should look like?

At least that what the little green light thought rolling down the Loop 202 this morning. Guessing a shorted wire somewhere or maybe the switch is backing out of the hole. Add it to the list for this weekend.

My Scura came with those tankpads also. I assumed they were cut out of a sheet of material. http://techspec-usa.com/motorcycles/general-sheets/62-0006-ss.html

Errr. . . Le Mans

Honda GL1200A Aspencade, after the rally.

Eh Scura, oh Scuzi. Since I was in the neighborhood, I had to make a run down US-191, a.k.a. the Devil's Highway. Sunday morning there was spotty rain, but most of the best parts were dry to slightly damp. Only caught a bit of drizzle a couple of times. When it was wet, I just kept the pegs an inch or so above the pavement and all was OK. This is Hannagan Meadow. Here's a tasty tidbit of tarmac tenderloin ! Old mine equipment from Morenci mine. Got home by mid afternoon avoiding most of the Phoenix heat. Did 337 miles Friday. 188 miles Saturday. 359 miles + US-191 Sunday. Scura ran without a hiccup.

Saturday morning I rode out of Quemado on NM-32. Went and visited Quemado lake. NM-32 had some interesting sections. Andy was helping Matt set up Guzzidiag on a windows machine. I helped with some driver install for windows. After that, I rode over to the Very Large Array (VLA) to snap some pix of big antennas. Yep, that's a big antenna. That needs a very big hangar workshop to be fixed in. And gets moved around traintracks by a very big rail tractor. Saturday afternoon, a few monsoon thunderstorms were wandering around. Also Saturday afternoon, all of the bikes are lined up for the bike judging. Here's the lucky winner of the giveaway bike. Hey, I've seen that guy at the AZ Beemer Hannagan Meadow event also ! Evenings were spend winding down and drinking up at the Largo. Gotta love the old time painted roof. Gratuitous New Mexico sunset pix.

So, I'd heard a lot of good things about the New Mexico MotoGuzzi National Owners Club (MGNOC) rally held annually in Datil, NM. Always game for a ride, I hooked up with some of the Zonie Guzzi riders to attend. Left the east valley early Friday morning with a Norge rider, coincidentally also named Brian. The plan was to ride up Salt River Canyon and hook up in Show Low with JJ, Mike and Andy. Had a great ride through the SRC, didn't get slowed down by any traffic. The Salt River was flowing strongly at the bottom of the canyon. We stayed at the Largo Hotel in Quemado. It has been revonated recently and was quite comfortable if a bit of a ride from Datil. (42 miles) Went over to the rally site in the afternoon. The guy behind the table on the right is Matt who puts the rally on. That trailer is a home/workshop that he stays in and also does wrenching on Guzzi bike needing some help. The Zonie gang is sitting around. The bike in the foreground is the door prize. Yep, an entire running bike as a door prize. Lots of space for tent camping at the rally. Rally dog. Not often you see 2 Scura's in one place. Mine's on the left. Mike's on the right. Friday dinner. Hot dogs and a yummy Hatch green chili stew. By Friday night, there were 67 attendees. I think 87 was the total for the weekend.

Where does one splice the supplemental ground wire at the regulator? Just do a strip and tap as close to the unit as you can? Any pixxies?

Considered that, but the "less bright" is the normal condition and if it was low voltage, I would have drained the battery long ago. A ride with the voltmeter will clear the issue. And no, AFAIK there is no supplemental ground (yet).

So, I did my 1st extended night ride on the Scura over the weekend. I noticed that occasionally, my lights would get very bright. All of the lights, headlight, brake, gauge faces. This would happen randomly, no rhyme or reason that I could figure out. They would stay bright for a few seconds to a few minutes. Didn't seem to affect any other systems. I'm guessing I have the bad regulator ground syndrome. The theory being that without the ground, the regulator cannot establish the voltage reference and lets the full generator output pass. Can anyone confirm this hypothesis with their own experience. BTW, it has all new super duper relays, installed with di-electric grease (a.k.a. Vaseline) so don't go there. BTW2, haven't had a chance to hook up a voltmeter and go for a ride.

Ah, yes, the 7mm is the old BMW's. That ruins it, I've only ever seen the 7mm braided hose at VW shops.

Saturday, took the mighty Scura up to an Arizona Airheads campout. After all, the Scura is technically an airhead, even if the jugs are bent up 45 degrees. And yes, if you are looking closely, those are raindrops on the bikes. Summer in the Arizona mountains ! And no, I didn't strap on a bunch of camping gear, I just visited for the evening then did a night ride home.

That braided hose, which is 7mm and not 1/4 BTW, is sometimes available from VW bug specialty shops.

The fact that the V11 has a "choke" is a clue that the ECU on the V11 is quite primitive. I'm guessing it doesn't have a "startup" code routine, which on more modern bikes fires the injectors right at crank start with extra duration and loose timing to get the quick "one rotation" startup. My V11 at best needs 3 to 4 spins before it catches so it probably only has the normal running code and needs a few turns to get the timing synchronized for the injectors.

I got one from Harper's back in February. Part # 01909931 $74.83 Lot of $ for a not great tool kit, but it works. You may want to consider one of the Cruz Tools kits also. Better quality, less bucks, but not bike specific.

The "friction modifiers" thing only applies to wet clutches which share the same oil as the engine. The "zinc" thing has some basis in fact, as it is a lubrication enhancer to help with metal to metal contact when the oil film is missing. So, if you let your motor sit for a month or two, then fire it up and immediately rev the shiz out of it, you might need some zinc. Or, you can just turn the motor for a few seconds on the starter or idle.

Still available ?

What do you coat it with? Slosh sealer?

They can do pretty much any color combo they have threads for. Email them a picture. The "Sport" version I had them do is a bit more flexible than the "Le Mans" version already on the website.

That's them. There's an arm that straddles the area where the bearing is pushed into. Haven't looked at a V11 swingarm personally, so not entirely sure this will work.

http://www.boxer2valve.com/motorcycle/6461222-362.html