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Depends on what you want- a fairing or better suspension. You've had an ST4s (I had one too) and the suspension is fabulous. It is better than the stock V11 suspension (not 'light years better'- just 'better'). Just based on that experience, I would say go for the Scura and add a fairing to it if that's what you want. However, the fairing on the LeMans is supposed to be nice (I have no experience) and you could add aftermarket suspension or have it tuned to your preference, so that might be the direction you want to go. Crap, I just talked you into getting both. Bottom line- they are both good bikes and you would enjoy either one.

Andy, Carl Allison has drawn corrected schematics for many, many models, including the V11 Sport/LeMans. They are hosted at Greg Bender's site: http://www.thisoldtractor.com/guzzi007/sportissimo.html Way better than the one's in the manual.

Roy, you the man! Thanks for your contributions. J

Either you are a big dude or that's a little bike. It is a pretty little bike, that's for sure. Not to take anything away from you...but I can't bring myself to say you are a pretty dude. I'ts me- not you.

You do realize that green is the slowest color? ducks....

I've read many reports of doing the clutch flush. Frankly, though it might work, it gives me the heebie-jeebies to put a low-flashpoint solvent in the bell housing (call me crazy). If it is a one-time contamination issue, you'll probably be fine and happy with it. If you have a leaky seal, then the clutch will be re-contaminated and then you'll know you have to replace it (and a seal). I've never seen any mention that it contaminates other fluids (same as what fotoguzzi says) And- I've never read of anyone's bike catching on fire while doing this, but again....it strikes me as weird and unnatural. But that's just me.

It doesn't take much oil on the disks to start slipping. I've had it happen on my bike (not the V11, another Guzzi), and I didn't know I had an oil leak until I took it apart. Sorry, J

Pass-out? That's great! If you have several days, do you call it a coma?

Just be aware that using full synthetic comes with certain risks- >Found on rec.crafts.metalworking Subject: Beware synthetic oil Beware of synthetic oil, it can do terrible things to you and your beloved motorcycle. It will not only leak out of your engine faster than you can put it in, but it will also cause your oil filter to clog and implode, dumping debris and dirt into your lubrication system. It also will make every part of your bike permanently slippery because of its linear molecular chain dispersion action. Then it will leak onto your kickstand causing it to retract automatically, dropping your bike on the ground! But that's not all... Synthetic oil will round off your gears and spin your bearings. It will also splatter onto your seat causing your girlfriend to fall off in the apex of a turn and she'll never ride with you again. Synthetic oil coats your sight window and your timing window with a whitish pro-emulsification additive that is both non-removable and highly corrosive. Synthetic oil will completely leak onto the ground overnight and your dog will drink it and die. Synthetic oil will wear out your tires and make your battery leak. It will give you the desperate need to urinate after you put your full leathers on and then jam your zippers shut. It will contaminate your gasoline causing your bike to stall on railroad tracks and accelerate uncontrollably near police cars. It will make it rain during rallies and on weekends. It will lubricate four timing belts causing them to jump teeth and break your valves to bits. Synthetic oil chemically weakens desmodromic valves and causes the clearances to change every six miles. Then it melts the black soles of your riding boots night before you walk across your new carpeting. While riding past groups of attractive women it will cause both of your handlebar grips to slip off at the same time so you smash your windscreen with the bridge of your nose. It also causes your swingarm to crack, your studs to break, and your rotors to warp, and then it voids your warranty by changing your odometer reading to 55,555. It also dries out your wetclutch and wets your dryclutch. It makes your clutch slave cylinder seal fail in the heaviest traffic on the hottest day of the year while putting an angry wasp in your helmet for good measure. Synthetic oil hides your 13mm socket and puts superglue on your earplugs. Synthetic oil will scratch your faceshield and make your gloves shrink two sizes night before trackday. Synthetic oil stole your neutral and sold it to the Chinese for $1.25. Synthetic oil will make you grow a tail. Synthetic oil will write long crazy e-mails to your Internet friends and then sign your name at the bottom!

For ground wires, you needn't worry too much about making them weatherproof. They carry ground, after all. Keep in mind the color scheme for wires also. Don't run a ground through red wire or (worse) a hot wire through black. Might not matter now, but if anyone else works on the bike, they could be in for a shock. (ha ha, I'll be here all week....try the veal)

Cool- but definitely check the source. If the wire is frayed, then just trim it back and crimp on a new connector. Hope this works out better for you than the thread I've been following on the Ducati forum. Poor fellow wired his battery in backwards and fried his $500 ECU. J

I used a timing cover bolt as ground point. It's easy to get to. While you are at it, run a ground from the triple trees to the engine. I think the original ground path of the headlight goes through the steering head bearing

Another option is the The New England Moto Guzzi Club, which is very active. On Yahoo, the group name is: NEMotoGuzzi You could probably find someone close to help out.

That's interesting. I really like my wife's '04 Breva (except it looks too modern). They are very predictable rides, though not very exciting. They do not have as much 'soul' as the big twins. I like them for their utilitarian nature and hope the new models are even better.

Well, good for you then, because you actually want to learn something. That's real, BTW, I'm not being snarky. I'm sorry, but I don't have a wiring diagram handy. What does fuse #6 serve? In general, if you want to improve the grounding scheme on these bikes (and they need it), then run a ground from the regulator (between the horns), to the second or third bolt down on the engine timing case (just because it is conveniently located). Also, run a ground from the triple trees to the same bolt. The first improves the ground path from the regulator, the second distinctly improves grounding from the headlight. Do you have any modifications on the bike? Have you set the TPS recently or at all? Have you balanced the throttle bodies recently or at all? Answers to these questions may help with your running issues.

I've heard Yak fat works pretty well. For these motors, it would be good to use something that has zinc organo-phosphate additives (like ZDDP). Valvoline VR-1 racing oil has it, and I just picked up a couple quarts of Kendall oil, which the bottle reports to be formulated for flat tappet engines (higher concentration of zinc additives). Not sure what kinds of oil you can get in your part of the world.

Um, that's not the regulator- that's the ECU. You really should bolt it back down on rubber mounts. Yes, although it is kind of a PITA to get there. I ran a ground wire to a relay from the reservoir mount. You will need to remove the paint, so you get a good contact. You could also just obtain a longer piece of wire, a couple of crimp-on fittings and attach the ground to the battery.

I just bled the clutch on my bike, which has an edge guard. No need to drop the rear swing arm- a small wrench fits just fine. Here's a weird bit of trivia-you need three different sizes of wenches (12,11,10mm) to bleed the front brakes, the clutch and rear brake.

Assuming you have the old one out- lightly lubricate the shaft of the main bearing. Carefully put the lip of the new bearing over the shaft so it rides properly. Fit it up to the tunnel and then use a drift to seat the seal properly. Use a large socket or something that fits on the edge of the seal, and maybe use an extension, so you can see that you are driving it in straight. That's probably not all that helpful...

That Scura input hub looks a lot like the RAM input hub I have in my Eldo. Michael, after you put on the 'edge guard' (you'll love it, btw), put a rectangular piece of rubber in that overlaps the guard and the inner fender piece above it- it protects the shock absorber eye from overspray. There are two bolt holes that make it very easy- you'll see.

If you want to look overseas, we have 'Forking by Frank'. http://www.frankmain.qpg.com/ No idea what the prices would be though.

I'm pretty sure mine will fit now that I"ve seen your pictures and looked at the workshop manual pictures. Just be sure to knock back the tangs on the washer if it has any. I seem to recall that they do. Check your messenger- I sent the tool off this morning. Good luck!

0.7 mm sounds about right. A pretty standard spark plug gap is 0.025 inches. 0.007 mm is damn close- my vernier caliper won't even measure that.

You have the clip-ons? Get yourself a pair of Napoleon bar-end mirrors. You'll have to sand down the rubber bushings to fit inside the bars, but they are a lot cheaper than CRG, they fit the style of the bike, and you can actually see behind you (somewhat).

You're talking about the castellated nut? I have a homemade tool (ground down a socket) that you can use. PM me your address and I'll get it in the mail to you.