Chuck

Ok, I have the "front fork specifications card" in front of me. It say.. 105mm. I've seen the number 90 bandied about on the interwebs. I still haven't found anything much here. Will someone that knows tell me which is right? Is it with the spring and spacer installed? From the fluid level to the top of the outer tube with it bottomed out? I'd like to do this once..

Ok, ok Scud. Put down the rubber hose..don't hit me again.. I'll do it. The last time I rode the Mighty Scura last fall, I actually unhooked the steering damper to see if it was causing the very slight "weird" feeling from the front end. It wasn't, so I looked at the shagged tires, and decided it was probably them. It may be, but I really should have a look. Thanks for the reminder. Fork off, indeed.

Jeeese, Scud.. I'm just getting over this blown disc in my back. I'm doing a little bit, then taking a break. I may or may not change out one of those fork seals yet today. Lubing the steering head bearings would remind me of work..but I should, of course.

A question. The manual says to use Ohlins grease when changing out the seals. When I asked the duck guy, the said they just used the oil for putting them together. Is this ok? I can wait and source some if I really *should* use the Ohlins grease..

Agreed. (1) Those things are way over engineered. There are people in those buckets. (2) The employees don't care. (3) The seals probably aren't made in ..uh.. Oh you know. I always put the safety bar in and let the pressure off the cylinder. If the seal would catastrophically fail.. not .likely IMHO..you won't see 550 lbs of Guzzi suddenly headed for the floor.

Years ago..

http://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=55&products_id=139

Looked up the suspension settings while I was in at lunch. This was what seemed to work on the Scura and Rosie the Rosso Corsa: set front shock compression +3 from full soft, rebound+6 from full soft. Rear suspension Rebound 24 clicks from full soft, compression 12 clicks from full soft. Give it a try.. I think you'll like it. This is after you get the sag right, of course..

Ok, let's pretend that someone (like me) that has never done this finds this thread with a search. I know most of you guys will give me the roll eye because it'll be very basic, but when I'm searching for a how to, I don't really mind. Back in the day, I had a Haynes manual for my duck, and it might say, "remove head." Uhh, ok. How do I do that? So, let's get started. First, I don't mind getting dirty.. but I hate staying dirty. I'm chief cook around here, and grease under the fingernails isn't an option. I also hate to wear nitrile gloves unless necessary. They make my hands sweat and get all wrinkley. For jobs like this, I have water soluble lotion. Apply it liberally, work it under your cuticles, around your nails, really rub it in. 2017-02-10_10-59-26 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Washes off with soap and water, and your sweetie won't get grossed out when you are tossing the salad with your hands. Loosen the two bolts on the clip on if you have these. That will take the pressure off the threads, and the little "Pittsburg..must be made in Ameri..what? oh? adjustable pin wrench will loosen the top cap with maybe just a tap or two from your copper hammer. 2017-02-10_11-00-00 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr There's really no reason for them to be particularly tight, the cap is sealed with an O ring. Fortunately, they weren't. Now we can take the wheel off. 2017-02-10_10-59-45 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Pulling out the two bolts and giving the calipers a wiggle will move the pistons back enough for them to come free. Carefully loosen the two screws that lock the axle. Just loosen one a little, then the other. The first will be tight again. Repeat until they are both loose. Remember that when you reinstall them. Many Stelvio owners found to their chagrin that you can break things. 2017-02-10_10-59-06 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr There is a stub allen wrench in your tool kit (Imagine that!) for removing the axle. 2017-02-10_10-58-49 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Note the spacer is on the left (port) side of the wheel.. 2017-02-10_10-58-32 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Pulling the axle will let the wheel drop down, and be removed with just a little finesse. That's why I have the 2X4s under the Pit Bull, it gives a little more height to get the wheel out. BTDT with the Centauro. Then, we can remove the 4 little screws that hold the fender on. Slide the fender forward then down, and it'll come right off. 2017-02-10_10-58-14 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Loosen the pinch bolts a little at a time on the bottom, and the one on the top triple if you haven't done it already, and the fork legs will come right out. 2017-02-10_10-57-46 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Suuuure they will. Especially if it's been sitting by the ocean for several years. Squirt some AeroQroil, or your favorite spooge on the triples, and bolt that tool we made yesterday on. That'll give some leverage, and a place to carefully tap with a big rubber hammer while turning the leg. A special tool, cleverly disguised as a Matco screwdriver tapped in to the lower triple will help. No need to be a cave man, just tap it in with your hand. You are only trying to open up that triple a couple of thousandths of an inch. Sure enough, the leg will come out. As it does, the clip on will want to fall. Tie it up with a zip tie. 2017-02-10_11-03-17 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Nothin to it. 2017-02-10_10-57-17 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Take off the other leg the same way. Total time? About an hour, including taking pictures. Tweeeeet! Lunch whistle, back later.

That *was* courteous of her. Nope. No doubt it'll go belly up as soon as I finish up the forks.

My understanding is the seals that don't leak have more stiction. (?) At any rate, I have these, and they are going in. Looking at it realistically, they could be the last ones. These lasted 8 years and 14K miles.

That's very elegant, Roy. In my dumbassosity, I put a separate relay for high and low beams on the Aero Lario..

Sure. I've known Mark for years. He hasn't been a "dealer" for years, though. I was there when he finally got fed up. "I love the machines, but *hate* the company.." Guzzi had dumped a bunch of leftover bikes to another dealer near him for $2K below his cost. (!) He's a good guy, but doesn't know much about anything with a computer. Honest to a fault.

That's very kool, Coppa. To me, the stock fairing looks a little "added on." No offense intended to the purists, I'm normally one, myself.

Alrighty, let's dive into this. Here's the patient, nervously awaiting surgery.. 2017-02-09_05-00-03 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr The local Duck dealer had the seals.. 5 bux cheaper (Guzzi content) than Dan Kyle, and no shipping. Ohlins is *really* proud of their fork oil, however. 30 bux a liter? At any rate, knowing full well that fork oil does not = fork oil.. some manufacturers 5 wt. might equal another's 10, etc. I coughed and paid. 2017-02-09_05-00-35 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr The adjustable pin spanner is for my angle grinder. It fits, but may be too wimpy to do the job. My pup, Tylon, has the cnc mill tied up for a while, though, so if I have to make one, it'll be the hard way with layout, drill press, and band saw. Yuck. I *did* make a fork leg holder that way out of some engineering plastic, but that went pretty fast. 2017-02-09_04-57-04 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr Hopefully, the pin spanner will work and we'll get into those fork legs tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Ok, thanks again. I'm surprised at the lack of info on this site. Probably everyone already knows how to do it, but I'm going to do a blind leading the blind thread. This way, if I'm screwing up, somebody will save me, and everybody will learn.

I hate to be so needy, but I *have* searched here to no avail. The local Ducati dealer has the seals. Which fork oil should I get? 1309?

It's really pretty easy after you've done it a few times. Just push it on to the lift from the left side, hold it up with your right hand, and tighten the vise with your left. It *is* harder to put the rear wheel in. I prefer to have help for that.. but the rear wheel won't go in chocks I've seen.

I uhh... afro engineered.. some kind of rig that did that the last time the Mighty Scura was in for surgery. It utilized C clamps, pieces of engineering plastic I always have laying around, etc. I still had the front wheel in the Mickey Mouse HF "vise".. and.. tie down straps. I'm awfully careful when that sucker's in the air.. Just installed a sort of real vise. We'll see how well it works.

Thanks for that..

Let me tell you a story, Docc. I had been riding in the SoCal canyons for a year or three. When the serious twistys started, the A and B riders disappeared. About 2 corners, and they were gone. I thought I was a decent rider.. like everyone else does. Fortunately, one day I was riding with Todd Egan. He followed me a bit, and said, "You're doing everything wrong. Charging corners, getting on the brakes, upsetting the chassis.. etc." He pulled his bike out about 10 feet in front of me and said, "Follow me. Don't touch the brakes, you won't *need* them. Stay the same distance from me." We proceeded down the Snake and back, then down and up Decker canyon road. Faster by far than I'd ever gone. (!!) It was truly an eye opener. Flick it into the corner, start adding throttle all the way through the corner, don't mess with the bike, it is stable. After that, I practiced *a lot,* and could stay with the B riders, and the slower A riders. (!!!) As the years progressed I've slowed down again, but am still much faster than I ever was 20 years ago. Brakes? Still don't use them much..

Hey. When you gots it (hammers) flaunt it.

Didn't actually *do* anything, but put a new vise on my HF lift. Made it wide in case in my dotage I decide I need a chopper. (ahem) Note to the Kid. Just shoot me. 2017-02-06_02-56-35 by Charles Stottlemyer, on Flickr

Thanks for that, Scud..

I know.. I'm being lazy, but does anybody know of a good source? Is there a tutorial here? TIA