Scud

If that wasn't such a beautiful bike I'm sure you would have kicked her out of bed by now. Other than the known "Scura Issues" which I have addressed, she's been quite reliable. And I think this electrical problem could be my fault (related to battery charger) - I'll try to summarize the problem in a different thread. I'm done with my temper-tantrum now, but it was annoying to have two electrical failures on two different Italian bikes on two consecutive days. At least the Ducati had the courtesy to fail in the dealer parking lot, where they had the sensor in stock, causing only a minor expense and a 20 minute delay.

I went for a short ride into San Pasqual Valley, the site of a battle in the Mexican-American War, which nobody seems to know who won... but a somewhat arbitrary line got drawn on a map only 150 years ago, which makes where I live San Diego, California, USA, instead of San Diego, Baja California, Mexico. Today, the valley is the site of the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park. The white sphere at top right in the photo is a balloon-ride attraction at the Safari Park. Battle of San Pasqual https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Pasqual Safari Park http://sdzsafaripark.org/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwuYTYBRDsARIsAJnrUXC6DmbIfkS0pMDFEMjZiIq11j7Nvc9OyELLU1OsW4WoT5KNgPoZxDUaAm-zEALw_wcB Then I went up what turned out to be a very long dirt road to a winery I had never stopped at before and had a complimentary drop of a lovely big red. Must go back with my wife and have lunch. Then on the way home, I lost all my electricity, checked 30 amp fuse, swapped relays around, pushed 1/4 mile to a safe spot, called AAA, got a ride-of-shame trip back home, took out the battery, cursed, threatened to buy a Honda, etc. Yesterday, a sensor went bad on my Ducati. I effin' swear if my Husqvarna has an electrical failure this weekend I am going Big Red for wines and motorcycles.

I'm still amazed at how great your bike looks with 100,000 miles. Those fresh panniers must be a real treat for you. Yesterday I decided not to ride my Scura to the Ducati/Husqvarna dealer, because I wanted to strap a large part on the bike to bring back home (so I took the ST3). When I started the ST3 in thr dealer parking lot to head home, the oil light came on and stayed on. Long story short, Ducati oil pressure switch failed (right in the parking lot of the Ducati dealer). And they had one in stock and only charged me $20 labor to install it. I rode home with no issues - with the Husky's new plate strapped on and new fuel-level sender on order. So... while this is not a Guzzi story... perhaps we can take consolation in the fact Ducatis suffer the exact same bothersome sensor failures as V11s. The dealer is Moto Forza - and they have a nice V7 there right now. Plus I got to see the three new Husqvarnas: 401 Vitpilen and Svartpilen, and the 701 Vitpilen. they look like a lot of fun and are super lightweight. Need to get a short romp in on the Scura later today. Riding during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend will be limited to the 701 Enduro - but it will be in the Eastern Sierras (with new skid plate to guard against volcanic rock abrasions). Hopefully I can plow it through some snowbanks.

Sounds like you had fun. I bought a super-deep socket and was able to use the impact wrench for removal. I used the tensioner from MG Cycle too. It makes a cool sound, which is a bonus.

Glad to see you on the forum, Kevin. Looking forward to a ride together at some point soon. I just got some Halford's Tool Box Red touch up paint from a friend in the UK. I'll give you one to cover those couple spots where there are paint chips on the frame.

You might prefer the specs on the Ohlins shock, which causes the bike to sit a bit higher in the back. I think the spec sheets are somewhere in the fileshare section of this site. Manufacturers, such as Wilbers, Penske, and Hyperpro, can make a shock to the original or Ohlins specs.

Walter - maybe first try cleaning the oil seals with a seal-saver or home-made version cut from thin plastic. Sometimes the fork seals leak when some dirt gets past the dust seals.

Fine by me. I should probably post the spring in the "En-cycle-pedia of Compatible Parts" too. I just got an order for 4 springs to the UK and still have a bunch.

That's a great way to waste a Saturday. Was it only vintage trials bikes on the trails? Were any of those rocky sections the ones the "beginners" were asked to avoid?

A clean bike is a happy bike. I kind of miss the Greenie. But the cans are on the Scura now - and I have the same fender on the Scura.

This is the GB CF fender. It is a lovely swingarm and shame to hide it.

I just gave away an old helmet, gloves, boots, and set of leathers to the fine young man who bought my BMW K75s. I've given other gear to other new riders, but I still have some stuff I don't wear much. I got some new summer gloves this week. So nice and comfy... and the velcro works. Then we need dirt gear and street gear......

I saw something on a special split washer recently. Here is a test that shows several more locking solutions, including the Nord-Lock. This test also shows that nylock bolts do pretty well.

I don't think there is enough slack in the chain to completely clear all the teeth of the oil pump drive gear. And if I recall correctly, the oil pump gear requires a little key that goes in the slot of the shaft... which could turn the whole "time-saving" thing into a longer ordeal than doing it the "usual" way.

I think my Scura dropped about 15 pounds going from stock exhaust to the Guzzi Titanium exhaust plus FBF crossover. And the sound... simply glorious. Now I need to bell the intakes to get even more cool sounds out of it. Yes, Dave, you need louder pipes. Not to save lives, just for enjoyment.

Yeah, still has the regular fuse in the original fuse block. I installed a Maxi in my LeMans, and I have an extra Maxi holder in a drawer. I suppose I should install it... I also have an Electrosport regulator, which I was ready to install today if it was overcharging.

Tested charging on the Scura today. Why? Because when I last attempted to ride it three weeks ago it took a long time to start, then it died about 1/4 mile from the house. A quick investigation revealed a slightly deformed (not totally melted) 30 amp fuse. I replaced the fuse, and verified that it's not overcharging (14.something volts at 4,000 rpm). So, not being sure about the cause of the overheated fuse, I blasted out for an "Italian Tune-Up." She ran great and restarted easily after stops for gas and at Cycle Gear. At Cycle Gear (where I got some new summer gloves) I was approached by a "stereotypically-dressed" Harley rider who was curious about the Moto Guzzi. He said he always wanted one, but was worried about reliability. I tried to steer him toward a V11-engined cruiser, such as an EV/Bassa/California, etc. He loved the sound of the Scura with FBF crossover and Titanium pipes. But I'm still nervous about that fuse and not sure why it overheated.

JB - what you wrote above makes good sense. I'm going to try it at next opportunity. I found setting balance at 3,000 kind of tricky - then fiddling with the air screws to get a balance idle. It all seemed like a compromise. Good idle = good WOT... Sound simple and it's working for you.

Welcome. Enjoy it. It does look it has the dark brown wheels, rocker covers, and porkchops like a Cafe Sport, but the paint is more like a Coppa Italia. In fact, I like the way the tail was painted on yours more than I like the Coppa Italia.

If "sense" = "makes you happy" then yes, I agree with Dave that it makes sense. Does it makes sense to have a Griso instead of V7R? I think so.

Hey - that looks like a great condition Sport. Congrats to new owner. Shindy makes a decent replacement steering damper.

The off-road stuff was purely exploratory; I'm not sure that I could have planned that. I went to three different forested areas. There are many logging roads and dirt roads that lead to campsites or hunting screens. It's a beautiful part of the world and I caught a lovely warm spring week between two rainy weeks.

Navigation: See a bakery, pull over, drink coffee, eat pastry, study map. Seriously, that is literally what I did. As for the map... I had the Garmin Earthmate app on my phone and had downloaded the maps of Germany and France. Nice thing about that app... it does not require a data connection. It can even use the GPS receiver to lay down a track when the phone is in "airplane" mode. I had the fully charged GPS as backup, but was able to navigate each day just with the phone. I had stuck some pins by key destinations and junctions that appeared to have interesting (aka twisty) roads. I just kept the phone in my pocket and stopped whenever I wanted to check the map. Then there was a lot of luck... and navigating by the position of the sun... and just going down whatever road suited my fancy. I had only two "must-see destinations" The Fleckenstien Castle in France (Monday) and the German city of Heidelberg (Saturday). I went there and got the T-Shirt. University of Heidelberg, founded 1196... exactly 800 years before my first child.

Oh, now I recognize it. Mike takes good care of his machines. I have his ex Ducati ST3 now - and he has my ex Red LeMans. I would, without hesitation, buy a bike from Mike.

Here's a video of my adventure in Germany (with a jaunt over the French border) on the wee-GS. I found it a pleasant and reasonably competent machine. I did not expect it to perform like a bigger bike, so no need to compare. It also does not perform like a smaller dirt bike. It's got only one annoying feature: It only starts in neutral - there is no clutch switch. This was a problem for me on the first few days because I stalled it a few times (being used to bigger engines that don't need a lot of revs to get moving). It's no fun hunting for neutral when people are honking at you. But I got the feel of it after a few days and didn't stall it any more at the end of the trip. Overall, a fun bike, but not one I'd like to own. However, I'm glad to see sub 400cc dual sports in the market that actually work on both street and dirt. It does very well on poor asphalt.