Scud

When I did the clutch on my LeMans, I had a few sets of used parts available. The pushrods were identical in dimension, but there was variation elsewhere. The depths of the cups that sit in the pressure plate were different - so were the thicknesses of throwout bearings and washers. All of those differences make it tricky to get the right total length between the clutch piston and the pressure plate. And before you ask, I don't know what the right total length is... The problem with mine was a partial release. I could tell that the surfaces were rubbing with the clutch lever pulled in. I had a little success by adjusting the screw-plunger on the clutch lever. But then I went too far and the fluid would not return to the reservoir when it heated up (clutch lever got rock solid with no free-play). Hopefully a lever adjustment, extra washer, or thicker bearing will work for you. If not, read on... Eventually, I ended up taking the engine out again and alternating 5 stiff and 5 normal clutch springs. As I mentioned above, it's possible that at least part of my problem was the springs not being seated correctly. If you are not certain that the springs are totally inside the wells of both flywheel and pressure plate, it might be worth pulling the engine again. Also, if you got 10 new stiff springs, I think that is too much for the hydraulic system.

Hatch Green Chiles and Tarmac Tenderloin. We get 20-40 pound of those Chiles every year. Roast... freeze... stay spicy all year. Great report and pics. Thanks. Looking forward to meeting and hopefully riding with you and some more Scuristi at the San Diego not-a-rally.

Yeah - a more detailed description could help - or if you've mis-stated something, you could correct it. It's not clear to me whether you have neutral or not. Can you roll the bike freely with engine off and transmission in neutral?

No risk of gas flowing down from either nipple to drip down near hot cylinders? I would like to get rid of those tubes. Make for easier going when getting the tank back on. I suppose there is a risk of that if you spill a lot of gas inside the fuel door housing. If you are concerned about that, you could pour some water over the tank and see which vent it comes out of - then run a small hose from that one.

The thread you referenced was for my LeMans, which already had a twin-plate clutch. I used a RAM single-plate in my Scura. That said, if you already have the clutch slave out, it's not too hard to put a thicker bearing or an extra spacer in there. You should be able to test for neutral easily after that. My clutch problem may have been due to using all 10 stiff clutch springs (later swapped for 5 stiff and 5 soft). But I also have to admit the possibility that I had not correctly seated all the clutch springs in the wells in the flywheel and/or pressure plate when I originally assembled it.

I would not connect the two vents, even though I think several people have done so without any problems. I think one is to drain water away from fuel door, while the other is to allow air back into the tank as fuel is used. It seems the bikes delivered to European countries came with no hoses on either vent. That's how I'm running mine - just ditched all the hoses.

Thanks. I hope to ride through Stelvio National Park on Saturday. Stelvio and Gavia passes are both in the park. As you said, there are so many possibilities. I could easily imagine a week there. I'll watch for an e-mail from Martin. I'll actually be a bit SouthEast of Nurnberg. So many possibly and interesting ways to get there from Austria too...

I rented a big GS in the Rocky Mountains once. Had a great time. I had a KTM 950 Adventure for a while. And I've been thinking about getting a smaller ADV bike. I was hoping that I could live with one for a week. But hey, as long as I've got two wheels in the Alps I'll be happy. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks. I got a lot of good advice at WildGuzzi. Just confirmed an R1200GSA through Bike Travel Service and a two nights at Hotel Enzian in Austria. This hotel caters to motorcyclists in a way I've never seen before. Nice video on their website. I may have watched it more than once... I was getting a little nervous, as a few places didn't have any more bikes available. After perusing the rental options and the tight roads, I really wanted to rent a new Honda Transalp - a light V-twin that is not available in USA. But I only found one place that still had a bike, and they only had the big GS, which was a little more (bike and money) than I wanted. But heck - I'm just stoked to have a bike to ride and a couple days before work for exploring.

I just got a last-minute work thing that gives me the following riding window: Arrive Munich, Germany before noon on Friday, August 25. Get close to Nuremberg by Sunday night (for work Monday and Tuesday) Return bike to Munich Wednesday morning August 30. Not too fussy about what bike I would ride - so long as it's comfy and a little sporty. Anybody have advice about where to rent, some good ideas about where to go... or willing to be tour guide / riding partner? I was thinking about crossing the Alps into Northern Italy. A visit to Mandello del Lario is possible, but it's not the purpose. I just want to find some good riding, scenery, food, and drink. (probably in that order of occurrence and priority.) (cross-posted on WildGuzzi)

This would be a good time to consider replacing the electric petcock with a manual one. Seems the electric ones (if that's what you mean by "fuel solenoid") cause problems for some people. I just did this on my Greenie's tank. The electric I removed had a flat fiber washer, while the manual one I installed used a rubber O-ring. The tank surface is flat, so it's all about matching the recess in the petcock casting.

Well the Scura is the favorite for the Ohlins suspension, single-plate clutch, looks, and the fact that it was my first one. Between the two LeMans, I like the red 2003. But not a fair comparison, because we've got some memories and the 2002 champagne LeMans is not road-worthy yet. I'm not yet sure where the Greenie fits. I'm not going to get a good ride in till I take care of some stuff on the front end - and that could be a while yet. Got some more personal and business travel coming up. However, I got a little taste of how the red-frame handles today on a curvy little section by the lagoon near my house. It's got fresh sport rubber on (160 width on the read) and no steering damper... it tips in easier than the Scura. I liked that. The Titanium pipes sound great. Tell you what though... the Greenie gets attention. I combined a few errands with my shake-down rides today and I noticed a lot of people staring at it while parked.

I think it's just a piece of heat-shrink that goes over the cut end. There's nothing special about the line - it's not even pressurized.

...and bonus points for making the BMW GS park with the cars across the street.

A little post-mortem inspection on the fuel pump revealed that the space between the brass fitting and threaded plastic body of the pump was clogged with bits of black rubber. It seems the fuel line was disintegrating from the inside and had partially blocked the inlet. Thinking back to my original experience with the problem, that it seemed like fuel starvation... I now know that I should have asked myself - "What else could restrict fuel flow?" The braided hoses that go from the petcock to the external fuel pumps are no longer available. I think I might take one to a hose shop and see what it would cost to get a batch made.

It works! I gave it full throttle all the way up to 7500 RPM - and the cutting-out is gone. Such a relief - I was getting anxious that I wouldn't be able to find the problem. So, it seems the primary problem was the aftermarket fuel pump not delivering adequate flow or pressure. But there were a bunch of little problems too - such as exhaust leak, loose electrical connectors, etc. Anyway - now it needs the TBs balanced and some attention to the front end, where there is a leaky fork seal and some other stuff to clean up - and maybe stick on some chrome bar-end mirrors. But first... re-organize the garage and put everything away before starting another phase.

Time for a new thread in the "Older Models" area...

Well, if gentleman's bike is used as a compliment, it can mean that the bike is somewhat civilized and suitable to everyday, real-world use - as opposed to a hyper-sports machine that really belongs on the track. The "Distinguished Gentleman's Ride" has some fun with this concept. Sporting BMW airheads (S, CS, and RS versions) were often referred to as gentlemen's sports bikes. The old-style Krauser saddlebags looked like briefcases that a gentleman could remove from the bike and carry into work. I confess to having done that while I was practicing as a CPA. The little BMW roundel gave my motorcycling (R100CS) some legitimacy in that conservative 1990s culture. If gentleman's bike is used as a pejorative term, it can mean that it is somewhat underpowered, plain, and boring (criticisms also levied at BMW airheads). At worst it could have connotations of pretentiousness, or weakness. Think of characters Hugh Grant has played in movies. If that's the personality of a gentleman's bike, I want nothing to do with it. I think that whoever said "Last of the hairy-chested Guzzis" about the V11 series was more aligned with the blue-collar theme than with the gentleman theme.

My friend with the S1000RR also has some very fast cars. He's really into the cars and just dabbles with the bike on the track. He liked all the traction control and electronically modulated stuff because it helped him go faster and reduce the risk of operator error. I think he's also fascinated by the technology - and I must say, it is very interesting. I was just in awe of the BMW and the clutchless, rev-matching shifting. On the other hand, there are so many switches on the handlebars, and so much information on the dash that there's quite a learning curve. But hey, I'd love to have a "miles till empty" number on my Guzzi dashboard. I think the motorcycle manufacturers who add all this technology are also aware of people (like us) who want to control the bike. The BMW allows you to turn off most of the electronic assistance. Ironically, you could save your programmed "user mode" to use the least amount of tech features. It was a cool experience to ride that BMW, but to me, the V11 is still more satisfying as an all-day sport-touring mount.

What? Say more about the CX100? When did that follow you home? Whatcha gonna do with it? I ride a Husqvarna TE450. Pics and an adventure here if you are interested: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19705&hl=%2Bgrand+%2Bcanyon I'm also enjoying my BMW K75s as a commuter and errand runner. Here she is after loading up the saddlebags with frozen pies from a shop in the mountains - conveniently only about 50 miles from home...

I needed to do this again today. Here is how I got a little leverage from the battery tray, not the battery. Also, it is much easier to get the threads started if you partly or fully remove the metal sleeve from the rubber grommet. Once the threads are started, the big washer will force the metal sleeve back into the rubber.

A cautiously optimistic update after a long non-wrenching hiatus: Reflecting on the earlier crank but no-start, I pulled the fuel line off the pressure regulator and it was dry. So I replaced the electric petcock with a manual (but as I posted earlier, it ran poorly with the green tank and with the champagne tank which has a manual petcock). I put in the manual petcock "for good measure." I noticed that the fuel pump didn't look original, so I took it out and flow tested it, it pumped only a small volume of fuel. Then I took the original fuel pump off the champagne project and flow tested it - much more fuel. So I installed that one on the Greenie. She started up and I was able able to ride it in the neighborhood without any of the dramatic hesitation that I experienced before. I even gave it a good dose of throttle and she was strong all the way up to 7,000 RPM. The neighbors love me... Maybe this whole poor running problem was due to low fuel volume through the pump. If all works out, there will be a short shakedown ride tomorrow.

I think there are a few fork rebuild threads. Have you tried searching the how-to or technical topics (instead the whole site)? Also, you might try a Motion-Pro seal-mate or home-made equivalent before you take the forks apart. Sometimes that little device can clean out some debris and stop a leak.

Just shipped the last one to kid that that Chuck knows... Anybody else who wants one should contact Pete Roper directly to see if he has any more in stock.