Skeeve

All very spiffy, but how do they expect you to ride that VRod anywhere w/ no air getting to the radiator? The poor thing is going to suffer a core meltdown in about 8 blocks, so you might as well skip the fancy adjust-o-matic frame trickery & leave it in the stock VRod running gear if you're only going to be able to ride from one bar (pub) to another...

At least in theory...

As our European friends are fond of pointing out to us geographically-challenged Murricans when we say/write something irrelevant, "This isn't the U.S.A." G-Moto is correct, the roadblocks can be challenged upon Constitutional grounds, at least they could be here in CA: that's the wonderful thing about the U.S., many state laws are different from the next one over - if you don't like it, leave! DeBenji's post is something to keep in mind: most state's began their licensing laws with regulation of commercial drivers, as almost 100 years ago when motorized vehicles began to become numerous enough to be taxable, the American public would have rioted & thrown the bums out if they tried to control individual liberty in such a way, whereas the states and Federal govt. definitely do have the right to administer/tax/control trade within their respective borders. So, almost all our licensing laws began as commercial driver's licenses, and then were gradually extended into the private sector. If you dig deeply enough, that's the legal basis for the issuing of driving licenses, and why commercial vehicles are subject to lopsided persecution while private vehicles are most decidedly not. [Just don't try to stand on this principle while driving a pickup truck: while 98% of them are in fact personal vehicles, states tend to give them commercial plates. It always p!ssed me off that my compact pickup paid an extra "weight" tax that my mom's Cadillac that weighed 1.5x as much did not... I'm a bit sensitive about road blocks because I got nabbed by an unconstitutional one in the past; the judge at the hearing even chided the district attorney for the fact at the (mass) hearing! [upwards of 20 violators all got arraigned the same day, same court room...] Still let the fine stand tho' - after all, the purpose of most fines isn't upholding the law, it's revenue enhancement! I still boycott Sonoma county to this day. Just say "NO!" to Sear's Point/Infineon Raceway...

^^^^^^^^^^^^ Um, I like your idea, but what is that? If I had any to spare, I'd happily hook you up. Unfortunately, that stuff is rare as unicorn sh!t around here...

Uh, you've mixed up 1/7th (roughly 16%) and 7%... Not saying that the population of sinister riders isn't higher among the Guzzisti than other marques, just that the average in the population as a whole is higher than what you've posted...

What about finding a speedo from a J4-branded bike or a Harley that is the same form factor so it is an easy swap out? Then it's just an issue of recalibration, vs. having to open up the PITA Vagueliar and replacing its guts & suture. A cheap, widely obtainable total replacement seems to be a more appealing solution vs. having to mess further w/ the stock clocks. Added bonus: you can keep the stock clocks for replacement when you're taking your Guzzi on the concours circuit 30 years from now...

An engine designed in the 60's using technology from the 40's is allergic to noise regulations from the new millenium?

A cool day on the hot sands of Malibu Adjacent? Nah, there's no grape-smuggling going on, so her feet must be positively sweltering!

Jesus Christ! A man could walk on water w/ a pair of those!..

I say, Guzzi needs to return to its roots: a lay-down single! As a concession to the need to modernize, it'll be a hybrid w/ advanced electronics driving hub-mounted planetary drive electric motors [2 wheel drive! Electric braking! ] The exhaust will drive a turbo, but since forced induction is a PITA on single cylinders due to the latency between intake openings on a 4-stroke [less of a problem w/ 2-smokes, hence DKW's success w/ the teeth-rattlers in the '30s], the turbo will drive a generator to recharge the battery pack. The latent heat in the remaining exhaust gasses post-turbo will drive a free-piston Stirling engine to provide the electricity for running lights, etc. Since the only real reason for a shaft-drive died with the advent of o-ring chains in the late 70s and the remaining reason of a longitudinal crank being eliminated, that huge mass of shaft & rear hub will be chucked for a shielded belt-drive: lighter than either chains or shaft, but looking much the same as the CARC, huge portions of the swingarm being wispy-light CF covers that can be easily removed when it comes time for belt replacement. Since the engine will be either off or running WFO, the entire complexity of TPS setting is a non-starter, and the 'lectrics for the motor are simplified to the max to compensate for the need for a battery management unit, rheostat throttle, etc. Naturally, Piaggio will f!ck it all up and have to offer repeated recalls, while continuing their policy of putting the good dealers out of business by opening 1/2 a dozen boutiques within a mile of each dealership with a functioning service dept...

Thanks for that link! The comments are running thick & fast [my post handle was "Scooter"] but the author of the piece [Wes Siler] botched the "in-line vs. transverse" tag again (as most non-propellerheads do).

A lot to be said for some of the push-bike disc brake systems settling on mineral oil; actively repels water, keeps the parts lubed! Of course, it may have too great a coefficient of expansion to be used in a brake system that heats up a lot; push-bikes aren't known for heat-related brake fade...

Thanks for that, but doesn't it beg the real question: How do we graft a Yamaha vr [recognized as being the most rugged/reliable of the J4-branded voltage regulators] onto our Guzzis so we can stop worrying about this sh!t once & for all?

Yes, the reviews in moto rags always slag the BMW switchgear as being horrid, when what they mean is "different," with the emphasis placed on "I can't deal with the fact that my muscle memory doesn't work with this setup." Harleys have gotten the same treatment, too. Buell finally switched to a J4-standard a year or so before H-d pulled the plug on'em, just to stop getting such niggling reviews. I've never found the switchgear on Harleys to be anything less than intuitive when I've test ridden them, & wondered if there was a way to just put everything on a weight loss plan [their buttons were HUGE! ] and graft it onto a bike with some pretensions of performance [i don't need actual hyperbike performance, that's not my cup-o-speed... obviously, or I wouldn't own a Guzzi! ], but kinda sorta recognize why the reviewers are the way they are every time I hit the horn to start the Guzzi! - that sh!t drives me nuts. : Still, one wonders why none of this stuff ever came out in reviews back before 1972, when ALL the bikes had different control setups, so you never knew going in whether the brake was right or left, shifting likewise plus whether it was up or down, and switchgear wasn't even mandatory and you had to use hand signals! Kinda puts things in perspective, don't it? Ride on!

Obviously, they had a bit of a rethink on that since on a couple of the "specials" made prior to the move to an in-tank pump, the pump was relocated to under the steering head [Tenni, & iirc, MR? Centauro?] where it could get some cooling air flow...

Huh? What are you going on about? WSBK is the only series w/ particular relevance to real motorcycles; I can't be bothered by MotoGP...

My turn to apologize; I focused on your next line where you said, "Where it got stupid..." and went on to combine assertions from different experiments. I wasn't really accusing you of slagging him, just that he got slagged in general at the time for his sharing the results of his experiments. All water under the bridge now. When I have time I'll likely follow in Ratch's footsteps and swap out the sensor for something w/ less time-delay/greater responsiveness. Other, more pressing projects intervene however, so it'll have to wait.

'Moto, you're combining assertions that weren't related, & misquoting as well. His mod was specifically targeting the problems that many forum members have reported w/ excessive fuel consumption in cooler weather, while simultaneously running too lean in hot weather. His proposed mod to wire in a pot so that he could dial in his own fueling corrections was an initial foray into resolving this issue, a "brute force attack" if you will. The later replacement of the hot water sensor used by the factory in a "less-than-ideal-despite-official-factory-part bodge" by a GM air-temp sensor placed closer to the head so that it can react more quickly to cylinder head temp changes was entirely inspired and seemed to correct the empirically derived faults with the factory system. The fact that he's still getting slagged for his vociferous support of his mod that certain individuals w/ personal axes to grind tried to belittle says more about our community than it does about the validity or efficacy of the mod. Thanks to Docc, we now have another data point on the "the factory setup is a craptastic bodge & the v11lm.com community can come up w/ a better solution" graph. Ride on!

Lots of discussion of this over the years. Years back, someone did a run of stainless shims for the balance pipe; I bought one [you only need one side tight to keep the thing from shifting; the other side can use the stock carbon gasket...] but haven't installed it yet. Other folks have pointed out that the front balance pipe is more trouble than it is worth, and the short-frame V11s do just fine w/o them! There are aftermarket straight headers available, and others have taken their stock headers to have the BP flanges welded shut, w/ no complaints [other than looking odd.] Personally, if I had the money, I'd go for the guzzitech straight headers, get'em ceramic coated and call it a day. I like permanent solutions!

There should be a rubber "nose" that attaches to the bottom of the cap, so when you crank the cap closed it seals against the opening in the tank.

If appearance isn't a priority, you can seal the cracked manifold w/ some E6000. Shoe Goo would also probably work, but it dries clear so it would look more like snot on your intake when it cures.

Because someone must think your Scura has one of the "hydro" motors [hydraulic lifters, which are self-adjusting, were experimented with by the factory on the '02-'03? Cali cruisers...] The hydro motors require a special, non-"friction modified" super-wide grade multi-vis oil; there's only a couple of factory-approved options out there in the wild, both expensive, iirc. This goes hand-in-hand w/ Guzzi not doing their homework on the development of the hydro motors & staying w/ a flat tappet instead of taking the opportunity to go to a roller tappet, having to replace a bunch of grenaded motors under warranty, doing a massive recall & retrofit, & generally destroying buyer confidence in the hydro motors. Which is too bad, because once the upgrades were done, they were a pretty sweet motor as long as you use the special lubricant. Your Scura will work fine on standard non-friction modified multi-vis. Read the oil threads to find one w/ a lot of ZDDP in it, buy an additive & spike your regular oil to bring it up to par. The ZDDP is key, since that's what keeps the verdammt flat tappets from wearing out in a hurry, & it has been progressively removed from motor oils the last 15 years or so to keep the catalytic converters in car exhausts from going T.U. too soon...

IIRC, the engine temp sensor is a blind hole in the aluminum of the head: if you've got an oil leak coming from there, you've got bigger problems than a mere oil leak! Check your valve cover gasket & the connection of the oil breather to the frame; those are more likely sources for the oil you're seeing.

Is there still enough threads that the bolt can get purchase & hold everything together securely? If so, you don't really need to drill & tap: give the bolt & anything else you don't want the JBWeld to stick to a light but thorough coat of grease or oil and then put it together, mush the JBWeld in place & wait for it to cure. Voila! You've got threads in your JBW... Gotta be "vewwwwy carefuw" [as Elmer Fudd likes to say] not to JBWeld everything together so you can't get it apart again, which is where the "thorough coating" w/ release agent of everything that may come into contact w/ the JBW that you don't want it to stick to comes in.

300 Fdeg will deactivate red locktite. Cheap (sacrificial) allen wrenches in the correct size and some epoxy will give you a new handle on the bolts.