John O'Sullivan

I fitted a center stand to my bike, a 2002 Scura, this weekend. Purchased from Teo Lamers for €150 plus tax. The stand for 2002 models is different to older models and goes under part number 014300000013. The stand seems well made and the paint finish is a high gloss black. It folds up nicely and is hardly visible under the swing arm. I'm going to have to get a digital camera

The full story on the problem starter: I got a call from the repair shop that was repairing my starter, they said that the bendix was in poor shape. They could not get a replacement bendix but would clean it and reassemble with the new solenoid. I have re-installed the starter with a 15Amp fuse on the starter circuit, it works fine so far I can trace the problem back to a sticking starter button which gave me some vexing moments one day about three months ago. The symptoms were a screeching wail (Is there a witch in the clutch?) every time I pulled the clutch lever. I figured out the problem after about five or six such wailing events. The little red starter button was sticking and each time I changed gear the starter engaged. This did wonders for my starter. The moral of the story; If your starter circuit starts to blow fuses.....ask Carl

My significant other toured Northern Italy last July with me having caught a flight into Bergamo. She is of the opinion that the rear pegs are too short and she's only 5'2". I agree with her that the pillion position is not comfortable for anything more than 2-3 hours. It was bloody hot 35+ centigrade and riding in full gear was almost unbearable until moving rapidly. The Mountain Roads were great for an old codger getting back into biking.

Well, the saga continues: Today I had some fun starting and had to rock the engine while in gear to get the solenoid/starter to engage. I have ordered a solenoid (50 Euro) from a local shop and I am replacing the current one that is sticking.A full post mortem will be available next week.

Well, I've been to see my mechanic and his opinion is to wire in a relay actuated by the current solenoid wire with a heavy guage wire from the battery. My 20Amp fuse is starting the bike without a problem. I will do this over the coming holidays. Regards and thanks to all, John

Carl, That is unfortunate, you are lucky to have spotted it. How long have you been riding with that damage? Ride carefully John

Carl, Did a Google on Valeo Starters and look what I found: http://www.airheads.org/index.php?Technica...Valeo%20Starter This Guzzi with hanging tits :-) site details troubleshooting and repair of Valeo Starters . Regards, John

Carl, I'll go see my car mechanic tomorrow, he takes Mondays off. I'm going to get one of the local repair shops (recommended by said mechanic) to sort it out. I believe that the Valeo starter is also fitted to a Renault 5. In the U.S. its called "Le Car" as far as i know. They are fairly common around here, in fact we owned one about ten years ago. The bike is still under warranty but unless the repair is very expensive I will get it done locally as the dealer is in Holland! Teo Lamers no less. Will let you know the outcome of this saga. Thanks for you excellent help, John

Carl, I printed off your instructions and found what I think is my problem on the first test. Having removed the ECU for safety, I disconnected the spade connection on the solenoid and pressed the starter without blowing the fuse, so I have eleminated the starter switch, relay and clutch switch as per your instructions. I then bridged the solenoid terminal to the main positive connection on the starter, the starter spun without hesitation, this leads me to believe that the solenoid is the problem. I should have mentioned that the symptoms of my fuse blowing problem were after pressing the starter button that I was getting a short hesitation before the starter would engage or the fuse would blow. I now think that the solenoid is faulty, how do I check it? Regards John@Witha20Ampfuseinhisstartercircuit.com

Carl That is really an excellent reply. For an electrical "virgin" it is most welcome. I will spend a few hours tomorrow running down the fault as the weather forecast is for rain followed by more rain and then some showers, really we only get 80 inches a year! Will let you all know how I get on. Regards, John

Kieth, You got it exactly right, Agostini's say that the Scura single plate clutch is an improved model over the Rosso Mandello's clutch, only its noisey and don't we know that Especially for Jaap and his Dutch friends I include this O.T. Joke: A guy walks into a bar, orders a beer and says to the bartender, "Hey, I got this great Dutch Joke..." The barkeep glares at him and says in a warning tone of voice: "Before you go telling that joke you better know that I'm Dutch, both bouncers are Dutch and so are most of my customers" "Okay" says the customer,"I'll tell it very slowly." My starter circuit is blowing 15 Amp fuses and I'm not having any luck finding the problem. I have checked the starter and its connections, they are fine. The starter button and kill switch are suspect but I cannot open the switches as the seem to be sealed. I have upped the fuse to 20 Amp to see can I get any smoke/spark to show the problem. Any ideas ? Regards, John

Keith, I checked with the head mechanic at Agostini's when there last summer. He told me that the single plate clutch on the Scura is different to the Rosso clutch. I bow to his superior knowledge My clutch was making the usual "two cheese graters on Viagra f*cking in a galvanised bucket" and I was concerned about the reliability as it was only 2,500kms from home. He gave me the most unusual "they all do that sir!" and changed the oil "O" ring behind the alternator in 30 minutes. I had got a set of adjustable clip-ons from Agostini earlier in the year and once I gave them my name and address they were most obliging, as I was a returning customer, and did the repair on the oil "O" ring as a warranty claim. I have only 21,000kms on my bike as yet, I will give a reliability report on 200,000kms in 20 years time Have fun, John

What model year is the center stand fitted to? I tried fitting a TLM supplied centerstand to my 2002 Scura but the stand was for the earlier models without the lower brace to the engine. This stand looks to be different to the model I was supplied with. They did say that they were having another stand fabricated.

Al, I think you'll hear this when pushing the bike around. I cleaned my rear pads and reinstalled them giving the assembly a good wash with brake pad cleaner as I'd read that rear brakes wear quickly. The posting I cross posted from the Aussi site was written by Bernd who works at Stein Deinse (Sp?). Another John

For those of us with a rear brake squeal: This posting on the Aussi site makes sense. this is a common problem on the sport models, the bike was delivered with not enough clearance on the brake lever.. (claim it on warranty) the brake lever needs at least 5-8mm clearance before it touches the master cylinder piston.If it's too tight, the brake fluid cannot expand in the master cylinder direction, as a result, the pads get some brake action, the whole system gets even hotter and it can become a complete lock up (there have been a few) Bernd is the author of this piece.

Gentlemen, Just to let you know that those beautiful Irish roads have managed (with my help) to get a set of Scura's Ohlins fork seals to leak in just 10,000km or 6,000 miles. Our roads are BRUTAL, Toyota uses some Irish road to fine tune their European spec Landcruisers, therefore I don't blame the forks. I had a friend make up a tool to open the tops. With a very competent local mechanic we went to work. First slack off the springs which were 13 full turns clockwise. You will need to count your own as your milage may vary. On removal of the core spring unit, push down the collar just inside the fork head and unscrew the nut to dismantle the fork leg. My mechanic who has good experience with Ohlins remarked on how clean the fork oil was after 6,000 miles and the fork legs were unmarked. They take 350 ml of oil each leg. Assembly is the reverse of the dismantle process. Regards all, Another John

Ray, I guess it is about the same as yours I did not use the torque wrench on it last time as I used locktite on the nut and tightened while spinning the wheel, when the wheel started to get "tight" I backed off a little to get free wheel spin. The locktite gave me plenty of exercise when I took off the wheel to replace the tire, will put on a little less this time to avoid the HERNIA Regards and safe riding, Another John Scura #150

Ray, I also had a dose of bearing failure, the exact same location but my problem was the spacer/bushing was putting lateral pressure on the bearing when the spindle/axle was torqued to the specified 120nm. The wheel would not rotate exept under pressure, so I reduced the torque on the spindle/axle after putting locktite on the securing nut. On replacement the bearing race cup is a little big so I have used some locktite to hold the bearing also. This has cured the problem as I have had the wheel off again for a new tire and everything is fine. The new tire recommended is a Dunlop 205 Sports Tourer, anyone have any experience with them? Regards, Another John Scura #150

Speedtrifle, This is indeed bad news and I wish you speedy resolution of your problems. Where are you living? I have seen reports from the Aussi site of Scura's requiring clutches but have no first hand knowledge as my Scura is running fine (exept for my ohlins front forks leaking and being currently stripped in my shed). I have just 10,000km travelled and was thinking of doing a trip to the Guzzi birthsite Mandello this July for the festivities, a round trip of about 4,000km in total. I'm going to rely on that 24 hour roadside assistance that came with the bike. Regards, Another John Scura #150

I have just half your milage on my scura, no movement in the stay arm, firm in all directions. You might like to check your rear wheel spindle and the roller bearing in the bevel box. Another John

Jaap, Try the Aussi site and you'll get some V7 owners without a doubt. http://guzzi.com.au/forum/guzzi/

I have had two rear wheel bearings fail in 10,000km due to the torque setting being too high on the rear axle nut at 120nm...the factory setting. I have installed the 2nd bearing today and fitted the rere axle nut with locktite but with free rotation of the rear wheel this time. A bushing will place lateral force on the bearing at 120nm and then you get premature falure. Check your rear wheel and pull the axle as there is a roller bearing at the bevel side which was dry and rusty when I checked. Hope this helps. John in Kerry

Last week when I had the starter out for inspection I greased the gearchange pivot bolt and the two 90 degree knuckles. This has improved the shift and I have had no false neutrals since. Its worth a try and costs about 5 cents worth of grease and maybe 2 hours labo(u)r maximum. **warning** before going near the starter, disconnect the BATTERY. Have a good one, John

The screws are flush to being a little recessed. I took off the carbon piece to check it and found a nice little hide for a spare key or more! The carbon piece is molded with very deep screw holders at least 25mm. The carbon piece is surrounded by a rubber on the edge of the carbon which when the screws are tensioned keeps the unit snug against the tank.

I have just completed 7,500 kms trouble free biking and I blame myself for this problem as I overtightened the start/kill switch when I changed my clip-ons. The starter button stuck on the ("in") contact position which does not come to mind immediatly when the symptoms of the problem become audable! On taking off from stopped, I heard this unbelivable GRATING NOISE. I stopped immediatly, left the engine running and when I pulled in the clutch I got the noise again....I had a clutch problem or so I assumed. I continued home to find that when I went to start the bike that the starter button was stuck. Every time I engaged the clutch I was engaging the starter also. Cleaned and adjuster the starter switch and button, took down the starter for inspection, lubed the gearshift pivot bolt as it was easy to get at with the starter out. Greased the kickstand pivot as I was greased up. Time 2 hours. Result of starter motor inspection.....a few marks on the starter engagment gear but nothing serious. Mind how you go!