Scud

The bike does look good in the one picture you've posted - but close-ups can tell a different story. I like the idea of keeping it original. Like Chuck, I don't care for rust, but I'm also not a fan of other people's dents. Once you start powdercoating, you're moving toward an expensive, show-quality restoration. In my experience, a rolling restoration is a lot of work. You end up removing/reinstalling the same parts multiple times as you chase various problems. In the long run, stripping the whole bike and re-assembling it once will be a time-saver. You can inspect/clean/replace/restore each part based on what you find. After sitting for so long, there will be surprises. I think some of the older bikes had chrome bores, which caused a lot of problems - other models were trouble free. Advice? Consider starting a project thread over on WildGuzzi to benefit from the collective experience over there. This might be the time to buy a copy of Guzziology from Moto International (if you don't already have it).

Well, somebody should rescue it. I thought the price on my Greenie was suspiciously low, so I went over with cash and brought it home. PO just wanted it gone so he could buy something else - but it still doesn't run right... Very little "discretionary wrench time" time lately... birthdays, graduations, and too much "mandatory wrench time" like my recent shifter spring failure. And scheming for my next big mountain pass... At this point, Chuck, the "aisle" would be outside, where my daughter's chew-happy puppy spends a lot of time.

That sure looks like a good deal. You'd pay nearly that much just to get the suspension on eBay. Alas, all the beds in the V11 hospital are taken at the moment...

I carry relays - haven't needed 'em. I carry a tire puncture repair kit and inflator - haven't needed 'em. I carry some cash - haven't needed it (till recent camping trip when I donated it to the family for a trip to the camp store). I carry a spare plug and cap - haven't needed 'em. I failed to put a spare spring in my under-seat repair kit after doing the pre-emptive replacement recently - and I needed it. See? CAUSAL relationship established.

I didn't measure it. But I do remember noticing that the spring I installed had a very short length after the 90-degree bend (as compared to the original). I think the oversized boss causes a failure at a different location on the spring. I'm gonna chalk this up to a manufacturing flaw. But if I have to open it up again I think I will try that modification with the long spring that pulls the lever down - that Japanese kit that's no longer available...

I had a spare spring, but it was at home, not on the bike. I am certain that if I was carrying the spring under the seat that the one in the transmission would not have broken. There's clearly a causal relationship between parts under the seat and non-failure of related items.

Yeah - after all the work I did recently on the Scura, I figured I was good for many trouble-free miles. Fortunately, I had a spare new spring on hand and was able to make the repair in just a few hours. I'm scheming on a proper ride soon - glad it happened close to home. There was no warning whatsoever - just happy happy happy then no shifting.

I've been riding with mesh gear for long time and recently got myself a set of full leathers with good ventilation. The leathers are great without a fairing - I sweat a little and can move around to get a cooling effect. With the mesh, everything evaporates instantly and there is no noticeable cooling. It's good to have a hydration backpack too - I mix Accelerade powder in my water if I'm going far. The more you drink, the more you can sweat. I had a cooling vest for a while - the idea was to soak it and let it evaporate under the mesh. The problem was that once it was dry it turned into a heat-retaining layer.

I just put one of those springs in this weekend. Took me about 3 hours, including dry time for the adhesive. I never had one fail before, as I have pre-emptively replaced them. Ironically, my pre-emptive replacement broke within a couple thousand miles. Here's a thread with a lot of detail on the shift pre-selector and how to replace the spring - and a lot more fine-tuning if you are so motivated. http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19547 And yeah, the spring is a known weak spot, but failures aren't that frequent. I was VERY surprised (and kind of pissed) about mine breaking so soon.

Saturday night Scura canyon/lake loop... broke shifter spring about 5 miles from home. Made it back in 2nd. Sunday... replaced the spring. Here's the little bugger stuck to the magnet on the tranny oil drain plug. At least I know it's not in the gears. This was a new spring less than 2,000 miles ago.

Short term plans are to paint it 'Guards Red' (Porsche color) which is a bit 'redder' than the Corsa red, according to my paint guru. I bought an ebay V11 tank that was all scratched-up... already stripped it and primed it... ready for paint. (gold-black emblems) I will keep the OEM 'grape Jelly-Belly' tank unless someone here wants it or put it up on ebay. After removing and painting the remaining bodywork it will look something like this, in this somewhat-poorly photo-edited image: (please visually-omit the plastic swingarm cover and heel guard over rear master cylinder) BLIGHT Hmm... all that darkening reminds me of something. How about some black passenger pegs, foot levers, alternator cover, fluid reservoirs... welcome to the dark and slippery slope.

Fun chart, thanks. 364 days a year in San Diego, where I live. I wonder why one day got excluded while San Francisco and Hawaii both get 365 days? I guess SF doesn't get penalized for the fog being so thick that you can't see. I have parked near the world's tallest thermometer before. I don't know if I can find a picture.

Rubber fuel lines can rot - so that seems legit. But I think you can get into the tank. The fuel door can be removed, and so can the fuel pump. Both of those are large enough for small hands to get into the tank. I haven't had occasion to do this myself, but here's what I believe: if something can be installed in the tank, it can also be replaced. It's not like the tank was molded around the rubber hose - somebody installed it after the tank was formed. So no, this does not pass the sniff-test. Also - a little water in the fuel is not such a big problem with fuel injection (as it is with carburetors). The water will just mix with the fuel as it recirculates - as opposed to pooling up in the float bowls of carbs.

Looking forward to the project. I also found the bright rear brake master cylinder guard distracting (over the black drivetrain). I dealt with it by powdercoating it flat black. I like the small carbon fiber rear fender by Ghezz-Brian (they also sell belly pans if that interests you). Not everybody likes that fender, though. Here's a thread about it: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18833

Just a screwdriver shaft - a round one that matched the diameter of the notches.

Because when you go on a "fun" ride you take the one with the freshest tires. When you zip around for errands or take a long, straight trip, you take the one with older tires. Or when you're working on one, you can take your time and ride the other.

Hmm, 183 MPH 183. Coincidence? What does it mean?

Free-fall is probably the only way my LeMans would ever see 183 MPH. I figure that top speed is so unbelievable that it could not be used as evidence against me - so I'm not gonna reset it. Plus it's fun to answer the "how fast will it go?" or "How fast have you gone on it?" questions. "Hmm... I dunno, but my speedo has a max speed setting... let's see what it says. Oh wow, 183. I thought I was only going 160. I guess the speedo pegs-out at 160." Step back and watch the eyes pop and jaws drop. Respect for the Guzzi. On a serious note - the Speedhut GPS speedo has a lot of information available including clock, 1/4 mile times, max speed, etc. When you cycle through the display options the needle moves to the exact peak speed (unless it pegs-out). My pic is of the same display function as Docc's. Obviously, my bike is faster than Docc's, mostly cuz it's red.

I'm not so sure that I like having the peak speed recorded. Obviously, this is the result of some sort of GPS calculation error...

+1 ...and you really threw me with the mention of going to Sierra Nevada. I was just in those mountains last weekend... in fact, I posted a selfie and somebody thought it was you. Good beer - and I do remember hearing about them setting up an brewery in the East. Sierra Nevada and Anchor Steam were my early micro-brew favorites - before the term was coined, I think.

That was coincidental. The K75 was overdue. With four drivers in my house these days, the maintenance needs can pile up - and two more years till the youngest can drive. Glad my wife's Subaru has all maintenance included for a while longer.

Three vehicles due for service at the same time. Two bikes and my daughter's car. Her Toyota Highlander has over 150,000 miles on it and the used oil still comes out clean. That thing is amazing. Now onto the bikes... I was struck by similarities and differences in the K75s and the V11 LeMans. Sort of funny thing - both have Ohlins shocks from other bikes that I bought to fix-and-sell after removing the Ohlins. Final drives - the Guzzi fills through the top and has a special plug to determine the oil level. The Beemer fills through a hole is at the correct level - so if you measure the oil it comes up to exactly the threads in the fill-point (in other words - nearly impossible to overfill). Transmissions - oil changes were basically the same, but the Beemer runs straight into the pan, whereas the Guzzi has an exhaust crossover in the way. Engine oil - they both use a man-hole cover on the bottom of the oil pan. But the Beemer's cover has three tabs with three normal bolts (vs the Guzzi's fine threads on the edge of the spin-on cover). This was actually the first time I ever changed the Guzzi filter through the manhole cover (without dropping the sump). I found it interesting that they both orient the filter vertically - but I have never heard of anyone dropping a sump or using a hose clamp to secure the oil filter on the BMWs. Special note re UFI filters. Last time I did the oil my LeMans I used my last remaining UFI filter. When I removed it, the gasket stayed with the engine, instead of coming out with the filter. I had to reach in and remove it to prevent doubling up on oil filter gaskets. I'm using the WIX filters now - 1 1/4 turns past first contact. Plugs - they sure are easy access on the Guzzi - and they are way deep in the K75s, behind a metal cover and between the overhead (side-head?) cams. And they both got much-needed washes. The Beemer's tires are worn down the center. She gets most of the commuting miles and the long freeway runs... saving the tires on the Guzzis for the fun rides.

There's a starter switch on the handlebars, a push-button. I assume that's what you replaced. Czakky is suggesting that you look at the ignition switch, which is operated by the key. I had some difficulty with starting my LeMans recently. Other symptoms included that the headlight would flicker and it even turned off a few times (just the headlight, not the whole bike). All symptoms were cured when I installed new relays and made sure they were making good contact in the relay bases. In my case, the most forward relay base was very loose - so it started when it made good contact and didn't start otherwise. You could just try wiggling the relays in their bases while you try the starter button to see if you can cause the problem.

I seriously doubt that your GPS is learning anything. GPS total distance measurements can differ based on how frequently they read your position. For example, when I set my handheld GPS to 30 second or 1 minute intervals, then look at the track-log, it cuts off a lot of curves and corners and calculates that I have ridden in a straight line, which is less distance than I actually travelled. Was one measurement on a twisty ride and another on a straight ride? If so I would expect the difference between the two units to be greater in the twisties. I further *assume* that the Speedhut needs to take very frequent (nearly constant) measurements in order to calculate changes in speed. Therefore, my hypothesis is that your Speedhut reads a greater (and I think more accurate) distance than your Garmin navigation GPS. How are we doing, Dr. Venkman?

Hey Mike - It turns out that I have an extra one of those levers, which I would sell for way less than the dealer price. Send me PM if you're interested.