Scud

Isolated the Scura's oil leak using baby powder - just let it idle till the oil started oozing out. Definitely the timing chest - but I had already snugged up all those bolts. Snugged 'em again... still leaking. Cleaned it up and forced some silicone gasket maker into the area. Hopefully that will hold for a while. Replacing a timing chest gasket looks like a hassle. Getting baby powder out of blistering engine paint is a joy...

The roads there are great. There aren't many places where the mountains pop up 2,000 feet right next to the ocean - and with road on them. Expansive views from every corner on the downhills - almost all of which have severe drop-offs and no guard rails. Here is the famous Rock Store, which gets super-crowded with motorcycles and sports cars on weekends. It's on Mulholland Drive, named for William Mulholland, the man who is credited with the vision to bring water to Los Angeles from the Sierra Nevadas, which made it possible for Los Angeles to become a major city. And three motorcycle-only parking spaces on Pacific Coast Highway in front of Neptune's Net (good fish & Chips).

37-degrees when I left home this morning. About 100 miles of slab to get past Los Angeles and 100 miles of steep and twisty... Here's Tuna Canyon - an 1,800 foot drop in 4 miles. Rox must have thought it was Fish-Fry Canyon, because he had his rear brake fluid boiling when we got to the bottom. This is first time I've ridden with other V11s and I really enjoyed riding in the last position to watch them through the turns. They are lovely and graceful machines. Finished up with a visit to Todd at GuzziTech - this is the view from his shop. Been there, done that - bought a T-shirt. I like Guzzi people. And you may have noticed... not a whole lot of Scuras... Mine's spitting oil at the timing chest and Rox is still awaiting delivery of his. So it turned into a V11 Rally. A BMW rider at The Rock Store came up and said - "Three Moto Guzzis? Is this is a rally?"

I took my LeMans' starter switch apart - all the way down to the spring and contacts. Took a small file to the contacts to get a good connection - and some steel wool to the spring, which has to conduct electricity. Hoping for more reliable starts.

Here's a topic for whatever you feel like sharing. I've seen similar on some other forums and it seems like a nice way to chat about whatever comes up: little tasks, maintenance, washes, rides to the grocery store, added an aftermarket accessory, ordered some supplies, whatever... Maybe one person's little task will serve as a good reminder to someone else. So.... what did you do to your V11 today?

and you got the Christmas model - Red and Green. Looks great.

Tomorrow, 10am At the Union 76 Station in Pacific Palisades where Sunset Boulevard joins Pacific Coast Highway 17299 Pacific Coast Hwy, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 https://www.google.com/maps/place/76+Pacific+West/@34.0446101,-118.5691453,13.93z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0x7546611975ff16fd

Open also to Scura-appreciators.... Leave Union 76 station at intersection of PCH and Sunset at 10am, Monday, December 28. Chuck In Indiana - owner of "The Mighty Scura" - will lead us through the Santa Monica Mountains. More details and tantalizing photos of Tuna Canyon Road on WildGuzzi. http://wildguzzi.com/forum/index.php?topic=80770.0

Welcome - feel free to post the offensive joke here: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12226&page=1

Wrap those rascals in electrical tape till your rubber boots come in. Maybe you can temporarily cure the problem and enjoy the bike for a few days. Loosen hose clamps from airbox side of TB Push airbox tubes backward, into airbox Loosen hose clamps between TB and head Pull TBs backward and take out the boots I can't remember if you need to disconnect the throttle cable or fast idle cable - so watch those when you pull the TBs back.

Very nice. I got a few sample colors from Jet Hot, but I ended up deferring the decision - partly because I like that initial golden color too. Something in the Cafe Sport color palette could really do the trick.

Glad to hear you are getting closer. I was really frustrated for a while too - and frankly, I'm still a little nervous about doing it again (I don't want to mess it up). Based on your description, I'm wondering if you might have a little play in your throttle linkage. At higher speeds - say 3,000 RPM - there is one type of pressure on the linkage - the throttle cable pulling against the pressure of the throttle-body springs. The throttle bodies should stay in about the same balance while riding. Then when the throttle is released for idle, a different pressure is applied to the linkage - this time from the mechanical stops against the idle screws. So that's theory... and here is an idea about application: After getting balance at 3,000 RPMs, test to see if the throttle stops are resting equally on both idle screws. If not, maybe you could adjust one of those screws to even out your idle - it will not affect the application of the throttle. I don't have an idea regarding backfiring. If you do end up taking it to the shop, you'll be in a great position to understand what they did. And share the "magic" with us.

You're almost there. It does seem there are multiple paths to the same destination. The white knob adjustment at high RPMs should take care of your balance while riding. The air bleed screws and idle screws are about getting a nice, smooth idle. It took me a few tries, that's why I wrote up the instructions - partly so I can remember what do next time, and hopefully to help somebody else. I think I mentioned before - but it's possible that I have a step or two in there that doesn't make a difference. But my favorite step is "clean up and go for a ride." Make sure not to skip that step.

Not TMI - well-stated. I thoroughly relished the experience of taking delivery of an unused Scura (185 miles, $6,995 at a dealer) - knowing that all the miles on it are mine, and knowing the full service history (because I created the service history). Surprisingly, the Scura had very few issues from sitting idle for over 10 years.

It seems they are asking a big premium for the low mileage, but this is not one of the premium models with Ohlins suspension. Those look like the original tires (the same as I got on my super low mileage Scura). If you're interested in that bike the date codes on the tires can provide additional evidence for low mileage.

I think where he is at right now is trying to determine if there really is a problem to begin with. So far there is only a lower oil pressure reading than expected along with this small amount of wear. That's a good summary, and yes, I've verified the oil filter is on correctly (twice) and am using high-quality synthetic oil. Rocker covers (and some other bits) are off at the powder-coaters - so need to wait a bit before I can run it again. I will run it first with only the washers changed - to see if that made any difference. Then I will look into the oil pump, pressure relief and related bits.

Thanks guys. I think I will try swapping the oil pump and pressure relief valve from my spare engine. While I am there maybe I can inspect some of the other bearings - will try to figure out from the manual, but I haven't done that type of work before and may need some hand-holding. Re leak: I replaced the O-rings when I re-torqued the heads in March (9 months ago) - the current leak is very small. A little Simple Green and toothbrush takes care of it. It seems to be coming from the rear outside portion of the RH head (like it's a head gasket leak). This isn't bothering me very much. Re oil break down: the previous owner had a cheap car-store filter in there, and I therefore assume he used cheap organic (not synthetic oil) - so maybe that's part of the wear puzzle. Re oil source for those washers: I think they might get pressurized oil. This is what I think is happening: pressurized oil is pumped into the pivot rod it goes though the center hole to lubricate the rocker arm/pivot rod contact area (inside the rocker arm) it escapes between the two washers and the ends of the rocker arms (in the grooved area in picture above) The top washer and spring must rely on splashed oil, but it seems the contact area between the rocker arm and washer gets some pressure. I can start it again this weekend to see if the new washers make any difference to the pressure readings. That would be good, fun science. I really would rather not rebuild a motor if not needed. I'll see how much more evidence I can collect.

Thanks Andy for the comparative data point. I was planning to swap out the oil pump from my parts bike as an experiment soon. But by that point, I will already have access to the big ends - and it's only 6 bolts to pull a head (one of which has a small oil leak)... I think I can do all that with the engine still in the frame. While I'm there, I suppose I may as well look at the main bearings - and if I'm not mistaken, the engine has to come out of the frame for that, right?

Assembly - everything goes in as laid out. That picture is of the LH intake (other 3 are similar). When installed on the bike, the left of the picture is the bottom. The deep grooves in the washers are from the motion of the rocker arm; the flip side of the copper washers are smooth, they go against a cast part of the head on the bottom and against the spring on the top. Pressure - the spring (2nd item from right in picture) puts pressure on the assembly. The copper washers are the softest parts and are intended to wear so the rocker arm does not wear. Pivot rod - the part that slides inside the rocker arm is in nice condition. The two things that look like wear are: the dark band lines up with the oil journal in the center, and the striped bands near the hole is where the spring seats. There is no noticeable wear on the pivot rods (sliding fingernail for test). Miles? - It does remain a mystery... but however many miles are on it - it's still a really strong motor and does not burn oil. And I have a spare low-mileage motor in the garage ready to volunteer or donate parts if needed. Has anybody else seen this level of wear on these washers? If so, how many miles and what else (if anything) needed attention at that time?

Here is a picture of the copper (I think) rocker arm washers from my 03 Lemans. I just replaced all eight of these and they were all deeply grooved. New washers also pictured for comparison. If you've seen some of my other posts about this motorcycle, you might recall that I am uncertain about the mileage and have been riding with known low oil pressure for a few thousand miles (and it was probably low for a long time before I measured the pressure). The wear on these washers is not new; I noticed it when I re-torqued the heads and before I had measured the oil pressure. Thread about the bike here Thread about oil pressure issue here Given this amount of wear, it seems to suggests either more mileage than I thought, or some time running without enough oil, or perhaps some other explanation... My question: how concerned should I be about wear to other soft parts, such as connecting rod bearings and main bearings?

Looks like it was a year ago, per this thread (which has prices in it): http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18778&page=2 The Euro has weakened against the dollar since that time. Rox & Keith should get together and share shipping costs from Italy to SoCal. FYI - G&B takes PayPal now (a year ago you had to do a wire transfer).

http://www.ghezzi-brian.com/en/tuning-moto/tuning-moto-guzzi/v11-1100-sport-daytona-centauro/belly-pan/

Glad to hear you got it sorted out. I think the price might be similar to some of the Speedhut units, depending on options selected. But it's certainly less work than fitting a Speedhut into the stock gauge cups - and you don't have to replace the tach in order to get your gauges to match.

Great bike and it seems like we are going to have ourselves a fun project to watch. Bummer about the brake lever, but the Harper's lever is stronger, so that's an upgrade. You're going to love the Ti exhaust and I'll reinforce that there is no need to keep the front crossover - I ditched it on my '03 LeMans by having the cross-pipe holes welded closed, but I have a used set of headers from an '02 bike waiting to on with my new Ti exhaust and rear crossover. One of my favorite, although completely unnecessary, modifications to my Scura is the carbon fiber belly pan from Ghezzi-Brian.

Yup - living dangerously.