Scud

You should only be worried about how much you're not going to want to ride your other bikes once you start riding your swooshy Green V11.

I'm looking forward to YOUR trip. I hope you're being a little playful in your comment about tucking behind a local bike to lane-split. Lane-splitting is an "acquired taste" and takes a little while to get accustomed to. I don't intend to make this a lane-splitting thread (because there are a few on Wild Guzzi that might be worth reading). But for your safety, try lane splitting between stopped cars at first. Getting to the front of every signal is a HUGE time saver. On the freeway, go between the carpool lane and the next lane - that's where you'll find all the experienced motorcycle commuters. Some of them will be hauling ass between the lanes. Please don't try to keep up with them - and watch your mirrors so you can move into a lane and let them pass. You should probably not split lanes faster than 20 MPH while you're "learning."

I didn't know him personally either, but I felt like I knew him a little because of this forum. That's just tragic - and like Chuck said, it's a reminder that tomorrow is not guaranteed.

It's only when it's my friend. He's still kind of a new rider and he appreciates it if I give him a few pointers. I keep trying to give him the "get a Moto Guzzi" pointer... I mean... he could sell the Harley and pick up a few nice cruiser-style Guzzis, and still have some cash left.

Chuck - I try to ride very much like you described. The constant speed game is fun - and generates less wear. In fact, that's how I enjoy riding behind one of my Harley buddies. I let him get away in th straights and catch him in the curves. All that said, I still trail brake on steep downhill twisties. Ride smooth... ride all day.

The throwout bearing is US$15.00 at MG Cycle: http://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=193&products_id=224 I understand that they make noise if they go bad, but I've never heard it. Replacing the bearing now is just a preventative idea for you - I'm sure you could get it from wherever you're going to get the rear seal. Speed Bleeder: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19514&p=214100

The rear cover with the output shaft seal can be removed without special tools. There are two different size bolts (which have different torque specs). One of the large bolts fastens the battery ground cable (so you could install that with the tranny and just snake it back up to the battery). The cover will probably be a little bit stubborn - I needed to work around it several times and tap it with a soft hammer to break the seal from the adhesive. A few "while you're there" things to consider: Disassemble and clean the breather. Replace the throwout bearing and O-ring on the cylinder that rides in the rear cover. Since you have to take the clutch slave cylinder off, these two inexpensive items are otherwise very difficult to access. Install a speed-bleeder on the clutch slave cylinder - to make future fluid flushes easier. You only need special tools if you go further than in this picture and decide to take the case off the gear cluster.

+1 on all the compliments. You say you just finished it. What did you do? My LeMans also has the Ohlins shock with the remote preload. I removed the helmet lock and used it to mount the pre-load adjuster - it tucked up neatly behind the LH exhaust mount.

Remove bar-end weights. Grind flange off supplied nut or find a smaller one. Cut rubber insert down till it fits. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My butt-dyno says there is no difference between having a front crossover and not. I removed it from my 2003 LeMans and put pipes from a 2002. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dave - see the parts diagram at top of this thread. The cap can be deceptive as it looks like one piece but is actually two pieces. #13 is threaded and has a hex-shaped hole - maybe about 6mm. #14 is the small plastic plug that you can pry out of the hex-hole with a knife blade. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Parks' book (newest edition) is quite good. I learned to trail brake on an airhead BMW for "smoothness." When I first got my Scura it reminded me of the BMW because it was smoother in the corners with some front brake applied. However, (and this is point coming up) after I set suspension sag correctly I don't really need to trail brake to ride the Scura fast as I want to on the street. I have no track experience. To reiterate the point..... be sure your springs are right and can be set in spec before trying to adjust your habits to overcome a possible flaw in the bike's setup. I only learned about sag recently, from this forum. Need to do it again twice soon. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I used a flat exacto knife blade - not the standard triangle kind, a rectangular one that is like a chisel. The blade will slip between the plastic button and the metal nut, which will let you gently lift that plastic button out. JRD's homemade compression fitting is a clever idea. Before reading that, I couldn't imagine how you would get the mount attached there. I have bar-end mirrors on my Scura, and fairing mounted mirrors on my LeMans. So I am simply using RAM balls that screw into the mirror perches. I have two different length arms - depending on what I am using. The RAM system is quite good - I have a RAM ball on each motorcycle.

I think it's due to swelling. Nothing but ethanol here in CA. Had file a bit off tail piece front mount to get tank to fit. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hopefully you can fish the wire. On my bike the tank rubs on the rear panel when I lift it. I remove the rear panel because I don't like forcing things. When you remove the seat you will see what I'm talking about. If you just want to be sure you have power for your phone on the return trip you could bring a spare battery - the kind that uses a USB cable to recharge. Then you can take your time with the wiring at home. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The obvious conclusion from all this data is that Scuras are the best.

Sure, blame me... then let me know her reaction. Maybe there would be a new piece of jewelry in the cleaner? That could improve the reaction. I bought a magnasonic brand cleaner. It's only 850ml capacity, but the piston fit. Now that I figured out to use solvent in a plastic bag, it will be super easy to clean little parts - and cheaper too, because I can fill the cleaner with water instead of solvent.

That's what it looks like to me too. I've seen a few comparisons and the conclusions seems to be that it's very hard to improve on the stock airbox. Although expanding the intakes on the stock airbox (as you have done docc) makes an improvement. I'm surprised that the stock crossover produced 10HP more than the aftermarket unit - or you could say that the aftermarket crossover robbed 10hp from the top end. However, it seems that the majority opinion is that the aftermarket crossovers provide a smoother power curve in the midrange (and tend to eliminate a midrange hiccup).

Thanks again for the reminder about ultrasonic. I did a little more reading to figure out how to use it correctly. And here are two excellent results: The piston on left is the one that I soaked overnight twice and did a lot of brushing and scraping. On the right, this piston spent 20 minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner with diesel fuel. I also read about an interesting technique. You can place small parts in a plastic bag with just a few ounces of solvent, and fill the ultrasonic cleaner with water - and drop the bag in the water. I put these head nuts and washers in a bag of CLR (calcium, lime, rust remover) and ran the cleaner for 10 minutes. One of the cylindrical nuts was so rusty that it pulled the stud out of the block. Now even the inside of the threads are spotless.

So... I soaked it Simple Green for an hour last night, then chipped some away deposits with a plastic scraper, then put it in the ultrasonic (with only water) and ... then soaked it face down again in a shallow pool of Simple Green overnight... and this is probably as clean as it's gonna get. Phil - are you using some kind of solvent in the Ultrasonic cleaner? I just used water for three 10-minute cycles and it didn't break much loose.

1200 miles? It's going to be more like 700. Well, unless I get lost going to the coast... You could just hop on that LeMans and meet me in the Bay Area on Thursday. There are plenty of wonderful roads up here. Only stipulation is that you would have to have extra relays. 1,200 miles by my calculations: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Palo+Alto,+CA/Portland,+OR/@41.6701547,-124.3122492,6.25z/data=!4m49!4m48!1m40!1m1!1s0x808fb07b9dba1c39:0xe1ff55235f576cf!2m2!1d-122.1430195!2d37.4418834!3m4!1m2!1d-121.5491146!2d37.3530605!3s0x8091d41080f64161:0x589ec17009af5c5e!3m4!1m2!1d-119.8121972!2d38.5441099!3s0x8099e03080090365:0xfe6a43d10d4ac0e2!3m4!1m2!1d-120.1809967!2d39.167028!3s0x809bd7ce62b7d3e9:0xaac7612be74e6c5!3m4!1m2!1d-120.8393835!2d39.9271618!3s0x809c576d0b09598b:0xa5afa19376e91ac8!3m4!1m2!1d-123.6066592!2d41.2619135!3s0x54d198ccc38b8adf:0x140b6733da86102e!3m4!1m2!1d-121.834472!2d42.8184426!3s0x54c627073fa307cd:0x9d087be887ae928f!3m4!1m2!1d-124.1101638!2d44.2231468!3s0x54c18e20d867884f:0x636bb4ff4f2c2185!1m5!1m1!1s0x54950b0b7da97427:0x1c36b9e6f6d18591!2m2!1d-122.6764816!2d45.5230622!3e0 Tempting as that ride-along offer is, it's spring break for my kids this week and we have a campsite at the beach this weekend. As for the cable. Just remove the seat and rear body panel. Then the tank is an easy-off - a couple fuel lines and wires and only one bolt. I ran a battery-tender cable from the battery, up the spine to the headlight area. Battery Tender makes a USB adapter. With that, I have easy access for charging (or measuring battery voltage) and can power any USB device with the adapter. While you're there... you could run a supplemental ground to the voltage regulator. The reason to do so is that the supplied ground wire is a bit thin and can overheat the harness if other grounding points weaken or get loose. In this picture, you can see the supplemental ground at bottom center, making a backward C shape to a bolt on the frame. At that point, I split the battery tender's ground wire, which goes back to the battery and forward to the connector near the headlight. Now the voltage regulator has a direct ground to the frame and battery and it's outside the main wiring harness. Transmission removal not required...

Ya know... if the bike's a good runner and the owner is being straight with you, then it's probably going to be fine for 1,200 miles over a couple days. Just bring some basic tools and the AAA card. Pop the new Omron relays in when you get home. Maybe install Tapatalk app on your phone so you can shout out to this forum if you need help. And San Francisco to Portland... OMG, there are so many awesome roads up there. I really must go someday. Mountains, ocean, redwoods, volcanos...

If you want to strap on a large or heavy bag, take something to wrap the seat cowl in. Then you can put the cowl in the bag and strap the bag to the pillion seat. Fly and ride. A proper adventure! For the record, I would not tie the bike that way. The tabs for the footpeg brackets are welded to the frame and I don't think they'd hold up to strong lateral force. The rear rack attaches to those same tabs. ...and the the relay was made in China., but the sticker was made in USA. You should find at least two 5-pin relays and take them, which will guarantee that you will not need them.

Yeah - I think we posted at same time. Great minds thinking alike...

I found this one. $123, but then $400 for the bracket... https://www.harpermoto.com/front-fairing-ballabio-grey-01575383.html The Scura and other small fairings on the sports mount directly to the headlight. My Scura has two little metal braces that go to the top triple clamp - not a big bracket. http://www.harpermoto.com/parts-by-motorcycle/2000-up-moto-guzzi-motorcycles/v-11-le-mans-sport-naked-1100-2001-2002/naked-windshield-en-v11-lemans-sport-naked-2001-2002.html In 2003 and 2004 the Ballabio, Cafe Sport, and Coppa Italia have similar flyscreens - but the headlight was mounted on a bracket to the frame. The later bikes' headlights stick out too far (IMO) and do not turn with the bars.