jam

Thank you both for responding!! G, i'm speaking from memory coz the bike is at the mechanic's, but yes, there was a rubber partial sleeve on one of the lines. I say "partial" coz it only went half-way around the line - in fact, it looked disheveled - not exactly all chewed up, as in chopped-up or cut-up edges or anything, but it didn't look right. hard to describe. And the rubber was only on one line. do you have the rubber sleeves on both lines? I'm getting some new lines thru Todd E. at Guzzitech.

Was out on a Sierra Nevada "pass-bagging" jaunt last weekend, and 15 miles from the end of the day - after we rode Tioga and Sonora Passes - my 2003 Rosso Corsa started puking oil big-time. turned out that a nut on the horn assembly rubbed thru the oil cooler lines and made holes in the rubber. Has anyone else had that happen? Just curious.... Btw, it was a glorious ride thru the Sierras, and I was VERY lucky that this happened where and when it did. Had it happened up in one of the passes, would have been much more problematic. As it was, I slipped a bit 1-2 miles before we stopped to look at a map (and then noticed the oil), but didn't know why - thought I must have not seen some gravel in the shade on the goat road we were on.... Of course, the oil on the rear tire was the cause. Really lucky.

Thanks all, for your commments. Felix is totally right - there is a BUNCH of great riding here in CA. Also true that the hardest part is getting outta LA to get to it. Crowded freeways for miles and miles.... but once you escape.... So, depends on what kind of riding you want to do, to answer the question Harley vs sport-tourer, etc... If you think you'll just be slabbing mostly, then I suppose some type of cruiser for comfort could be justified..... haha!! But it would be a crying shame not to hit up the superb sportbike/sporttouring roads we have. I live 3 hours north of LA, at the western base of the Sierra Nevada, which mean lots of twisties just to the east. There is also heavenly sportriding in the whole northern part of the state, north of San Francisco. How much time will you have to ride? A tip: it will be hotter 'n hell in July/August, going to Las Vegas from LA. Central Cali is also very hot, unless you go up in the mountains. Northern CA - less hot in general. California coast: not hot, but trafficky in the summer, tho beautiful, scenic, and twisty riding along the coast. I'd also be more than happy to suggest routes, etc as you know more details. I'm pretty familiar with most of central Cali and northern CA. I don't know rental shops, but Todd Eagan, the guzzi guru in LA, might be able to help you with a moto hire. If nothing else, I'm sure you'd enjoy making contact with him. he's at todd@guzzitech.com Happy to help in any way possible. Just let us know.... Cheers!! Thanks, that is a really generous offer. I will let you know how I get on with the hire shops. I am going to sit down and plan a route - perhaps you would be kind enough to cast your eye over it when I am done ? I want to go to Vegas just to say I have been there and then maybe head North. I want to see as much as I can. I have been to the States several times before (I work for an American Company) but never California. Very envious of your planned trip to Belaggio. I aim to take my Guzzi back to it's place of birth one day. Maybe in 2013. Look forward to the photos. Consider it done, on all counts.

This wasn't a long trek, but it was a particularly enjoyable ride on one of my favorite goat roads, here in central California. Didn't see one other vehicle during the entire length of this little gem (about 20 miles) called Drum Valley Rd. Maybe not surprising considering the conditions, tho with my Gerbings plugged in, I was very comfortable. I think the RC was enjoying the ride as well....

Well, in the name of "research", we went out for a nice central California early-winter ride in the foothills: David on the Scura and me on the RC. weather was nippy, but the sky and scenery were gorgeous. Used my gerbings on and off. There's a nice curvy section that we have ridden quite a bit, so today we rode it, then switched bikes and rode it again in the same direction. We both noted major differences. Yes, the ergos, which I hadn't really noticed the other day: I felt much more stretched out over the gas tank on the RC. Scura actually felt better applying some pressure/a little weight on the handlebars (a la going downhill); opposite of the RC, where I try to keep weight off the handlebars. Scura felt more secure when i just stayed on throttle, no matter what speed or rpms. Scura felt much more snub-nosed, but maybe that's just an optical illusion, coz of no fairing. David said the RC felt more stable, the Scura more nervous. Scura probably needs to have suspension set up properly to give a fair chance. I do think it would take some seat time AND a very good rider to make the most of the Scura. I admire those of you who ride that bike well. A few pix from today's ride.....

Yes, G, I'm the same as jami. I joined the forum awhile ago under jami, then forgot my password or something, and was having a hard time getting it all sorted out. So i just rejoined as jam. maybe not kosher, but seemed easiest at the time...... Well, too bad the hubby didn't dodge the bullet of wrecking the Scura on the track coupla years ago, which is why it's been out of commission for so long. Only injuries were to the bike. Time to get reacquainted.....

Well, I just found out today after telling my husband about your post, Skeeve, that this Scura has an Ed Milich modified steel Cali clutch. He said Ed put one in after the stock aluminum clutch grenaded in Jean-Mark's driveway (as you mentioned!!), right when Jean-Mark was finishing a ride. Didn't know that. Ed shaved the steel one down, tho maybe it's still not quite as light as aluminum, but still lighter than the RC's. So your theory still applies?? (Sounded good to me anyway....). And I think you all made a good oint, in that the fairing does more than I realized, especialy since I'm short (5'3"), and so am pretty much completely tucked in behind the windshield, which is nice. Anxious to do more side-by-side testing, especially sans rain. I got in a good, 250-mile ride on the RC today, and was thinking of taking the Scura out tomorrow if it doesn't rain, but my husband said he may want to commandeer his own bike tomorrow. The nerve.... Yes, the RC felt like an animal today - an animal in top shape, and on a mission. I am absolutely addicted to it. Merry Xmas, all!!!

Just came across this a few days ago, and it's been an interesting read. The shift lever on my 2003 Rosso Corsa started sticking only on the downshift, on the last day of a 6-day, 1800-mile ride around northern California/southern Oregon in October. The bike had about 40,000 total miles on it by then - I bought the bike with 750 miles on it 2 years ago, so all original lever, springs, etc. I had ridden a few dirt and gravel roads on the trip, and rode in the rain the last 3 hours of the trip. The bike was pretty filthy by the time the the lever started sticking. After I got home, I gave it a good bath, including squirting and hosing off a fair amount of Simple Green up in the shift lever and environs, and it didn't stick any more after that. Have ridden another maybe 2000 miles since then. Just wanted to share this with you all. I had heard about the dreaded pawl-spring issue, and consulted with Pat Hayes, who had just helped another Rosso owner deal with what was definitely a pawl-spring issue. Helped him replace it, in fact, after watching a similar emergency operation get perfomed at the rally in John Day this summer. I'm sure Pat would be happy to discuss his experience with you - he posts on some other guzzi forums; he doesn't have a v11. Very good information here, though - thank you!!!

Well, S-Kitty, I don't know if you were kitting (haha!) or not, that the Scura can sense fear, but I swear I had that very thought riding it on Sunday - that it would be able to sense any fear on my part, and that would make things even worse. So I tried really hard to be brave - but not stupid. One other little factor I left out in the original post: it was raining pretty good during the ride, and some of the non-freeway foothill curvy sections were starting to flood a bit, so conditions were dicey to start with, on top of the new tires. (Does one actually scrub in tires in the rain?? I'm guessing not quite as quickly, coz less friction...) I'm hoping the bike will give me another chance soon, under less "complicated" condtions. Anxious to try to isolate some of the various factors.... I've ridden a 2007 Griso, and (I think) same-year Breva. Rode a 2008 1200 Sport for a little bit on a track. It felt almost too smooth and not classic-guzzi-like, the little bit I rode it. (I thought the brakes were really soft, also.) Those rides were all several years ago, though, before or right when I got my RC. Would be interesting to try them again now, after having so much more seat time on the RC.

Thanks for all of your replies!! Let me try to answer them. Both of the bikes have PC IIIs and have been custom-mapped, but by different people, both of whom I trust a fair amount to do a good job on the dyno. Neither bike has the MG TI exhaust kit; the Scura has a BUB setup (no crossover any more) and the RC has custom-made pipes (no crossover either). I think they both have K & N intakes now? (the Scura used to belong to Jean-Mark Arechiga/Dr. Know, whom some of you might know and remember, and maybe even know the bike??) I was comparing the rides freeway to freeway only (trying to keep it apples to apples as much as possible), and was mostly surprised by the difference in the feel of the power - felt like a qualitative rather than quantitative difference, but just based on feel, not any numbers. On the Scura, I felt more like I was riding IN the power/pull, where as on the RC, I felt more like I was riding on top of it somehow. I've always felt like I was riding astride a big, powerful warmblood stallion on the RC, as opposed to feeling like I was in the actual belly of the beast on the Scura. Handling: a whole different story. At low speeds, the Scura feels very squirrelly to me: the front end feels like it's wandering all over the place. (Tho it did just get revalved with a supersport kit, but maybe not totally dialled in??) None of that wandering feel on the RC AT ALL. The Scura felt much better at higher speeds, but I haven't ridden it enough to develop confidence on it in the curves. They both have Ohlins, of course. And I'm embarrassed to say that I actually got a Sigma bike speedo about a year ago, after reading about that solution here on v11 (thank you all), but have not installed it. I'm embarrassed to say that it's lying around the garage somewhere. I've gotten so used to no speedo, and using my gas-stop logbook system, that I kinda lost the incentive to delve into installing the Sigma. Just kinda kept on riding. And I've actually liked riding the RC by feel and vision, and getting rid of the tendency to look at the speedo in the twisties. Yes, it'd be handy for staying out of trouble on the straights and the freeways, but I've kinda developed a bit of a feel for the legal limits, etc. So, I'll have to keep doing "field research" on the 2 bikes, and see how my impressions of the Scura evolve. Of course, I welcome any additional thoughts anyone has.... Thank you all again - very interesting stuff. PS - And yes, MOST important thing is that I love my RC. I felt like a piece of me was missing when it was down for the engine rebuild. I had other motos to ride, but they just didn't fill the hole in my heart.....

Btw, this is the same RC that I burned up the left cylinder on, requiring an engine rebuild this past summer. It's been fine ever since - have put probably 5000 miles on it since then(odo is gone too, but i keep a logbook at every gas stop; just haven't added up all the miles recently...), including an 1800-mile ride thru northern California and southern Oregon in Oct. Great 6-day ride.

Today, I rode my husband's 2003 Scura for about 50 miles, on some foothill sweepers and then the freeway. As soon as i got home, I jumped on my 2003 Rosso Corsa to do an immediate comparison, but only on the freeway. Was mostly interested in the differences in the power feel, delivery, etc, not handling differences. I was surprised at the difference between the 2 in the feel of the power. Wondered what anyone's thoughts were on this. Both bikes have power commanders, custom mapping, and aftermarket pipes: the Scura has BUBs and the RC has custom-made pipes (I've posted pix of my beloved RC on here before.) I looked up the specs for each bike; they seem to be identical, except the RC is supposedly 11 lbs heavier. My impressions of the Scura: planted, powerful, obvious, beastly, almost-brutal pulling power. got to 90 mph very easily, with room to spare. thought i was in 6th, but thought I'd check just to make sure. Nope, was in 5th!! put it into 6th and it kept pulling a freight train. The RC: power and pull were both there, but somehow it feels more refined, lighter (even tho it's a heavier bike), more dancing on the road, more subtle??? (my speedo's been non-op for a long time, so i couldn't compare the speeds, but i've put a bunch of miles on the RC, and i think my speeds on the RC were comparable to the Scura's on the ride). No less power, pull, or speed - it just felt lighter or more subtle in doing it. don't know how else to describe it. Anyone have this experience, or can explain??? Was an interesting (and very pleasurable) "test".... Oh, the Scura had new tires on it - Dunlop 616s, and the RC has fairly fresh Dunlop Roadsmarts, but i don't think that explains the different feel.....

just wanted to post these pix of the damage to the left cylinder of my RC, coz they're so graphic. The amazing thing is that I rode another 800 miles after this damage was done, I believe. A testament to the strength of these bikes, as well as my stupidity (not necessarily in that order....). Re potential cause(s): consensus seems to be maybe valve adjustment issues, maybe mapping issues, maybe???? I'm getting an engine rebuild done. Can't wait to get back in the saddle.... (Not sure the pix are getting shown....)