Scud

From what I gather, the OEM oil pressure sender unit is not highly reliable. A basic mechanical gauge can be installed for not much more cost than a new sender. Then you will also know how much pressure you have under various conditions - such as whether the bike is getting oil-starved on hard acceleration or steep inclines. Some people just prefer gauges over warning lights - because gauges give you more warning. @JB - I have an external gauge that you borrow if you just want to test pressure and are not concerned about a full-time reading.

I do like the Cafe Sports... This black, red-frame has been on and off Craigslist for a while. Asking price of $2,400 - I think it was higher before. https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/mcy/5427412417.html FWIW - I paid about $1,400 for a wrecked 2002, quickly sold $1,400 in parts, kept lots of spares for myself, and still have quite a lot to sell later.

There are electric and mechanical types. I have an electric gauge on my LeMans; it's by Speedhut. The benefit is that I got the gauge face to match the other gauges I bought at the same time (also speedo, tach, and volt). However, this was more costly than a mechanical gauge in two increments: The electric gauge cost more than a mechanical one, and I ended up upgrading to Speedhut's next level, in part because the pressure sender unit for the basic model was huge - while the sender for the next model is quite small. I replaced the OEM sender (thereby disabling the oil pressure warning light). While I like the look of the four matching gauges I ended up with, I'm not sure that I would do all four again. I'd probably go with a simple mechanical oil pressure gauge and leave the warning light connected.

The 33 North of Maricopa is not fun. I remember thinking "this place is shit." -- then the next sign was for "Brown Material Road." True story, true street name. 33N>58W (fabulous small mountain pass) >some minor roads (La Panza and Creston) NW to Paso Robles>101N>exit at King city to join 25N (but you better fill up in King City) per your plan above. I can't join any time in the next month. Another time though. This is expert-level thread-drift by us!!!

Congratulations. Looking forward to a full report... I just drove through LA and Orange Counties on the way home today - raining hard in spots. Good call not to ride it home today. Regarding the fast idle lever: I find it quite useful, now that I've got a correct rate and length spring in there (at the throttle-body end). I think a lot people find the fast idle lever useless, which it can be with the wrong spring. The front brakes are good!

...and yesterday's conversation (in Pismo Beach) after I let her drive on the beach: "Dad, what makes it four-wheel-drive?" So we lay on the sand to look under the truck and discuss transfer cases, driveshafts, differentials, and locking hubs.

243!!!!! One the best ascents around. When are you doing LA>SFO?

Try turning your damper to the loosest setting to see how that feels. I have mine in about 2 or 3 clicks. I was thinking about a tank bag too - but that carbon fiber tank pad makes it a challenge. Ended up with a BMW K75s instead of V11 luggage.

Is it possible to have too many Scura pics? I think not. Despite some claims that red-framed silver, or red-framed greenies are sexy, the darkness speaks only to we special few... and when it calls, we must answer. Should we expect to see any modifications/personal touches soon?

Glad to hear it worked out. I noticed you posted elsewhere that it's not a 30-minute job. Well, it might be a 30-minute job for someone who's done it before, and if there is no gasket glue. Removing that damn glue adds a lot of time. Now you can whack the throttle open with reckless abandon while you ascend steep mountain passes.

Disconnect the oil lines at the front. They will swing forward. The "plumbing" (which includes oil filter connection and pressure relief valve) can be removed separately - and if I recall correctly, it can also come out with the upper ring. When you remove the plumbing, there will be two small metal pipes (they look like little dumbbell weights) with O-rings that go between the plumbing and the upper sump ring - where the oil lines come in. You can remove this with or without the oil filter. It may have bonded to the gasket, or someone in past may have used some type of adhesive (which is not needed). A little tapping with a soft mallet will be OK - but first run your finger around the upper ring to make sure you have all the bolts out. If you tap the plumbing from the front, toward the rear, it will free itself from the O-rings. Or you can just tap the upper ring downward. Consider putting something underneath to catch it in case it lets loose all at once.

I agree: "just buy it" Don't pay too much attention to my oil-pressure issue (although I would be happy to lend the gauge). My LeMans had all kinds of stuff done wrong by previous owners. If the seller knows the history and everything looks original, you'll probably be fine. It's a "buyer's market" in winter - demand goes up in spring.

Got a little play-time today. Here are some recently powder-coated (flat black ) bits: Alternator cover Valve cover Plug guard Pork Chop Shift lever (if you can't see it, that's the objective...) Footpeg (and bracket) (previously powder-coated: sidestand and bracket, passenger peg and bracket) I may not get it going this weekend - and I have more business travel over the next two weeks. I am soooooo curious to see if my oil pressure will be higher with the new gaskets (due to missing bit of old gasket posted elsewhere). Note ubiquitous and obligatory mallet in photo for tapping connecting rod through lower sub-frame (bottom porkchop nuts). Thanks to Goose/Zoup - you made me remember that I need to install a speed-bleeder on the clutch slave while the swingarm is out of the way.

You americans definitely blur the lines between car / ute / truck! I look at my humble triton ute - a 98 model with a diesel that feels more like an elastic band than an engine. That Tundra is , er, overkill. Or impressive? I can't quite decide. The Tundra is a girl-truck compared to this 1997 Ford F250 4WD with 7.3L turbo-diesel: I found it in Idaho and drove it 1,100 miles home this week. It's got some nice add-on goodies: double-overdrive/gear splitter (makes it like an 8-speed); Jake brake (exhaust compression), air-adjustable rear suspension, on-board air compressor... Best feature? The bed is 6 feet, 10 inches. Long enough to accommodate a motorcycle with the tailgate closed. It's also the last year of non-regulated diesels in California (no SMOG-checks). And on the topic of girls... my middle daughter (who impresses the neighbors by being able to parallel-park the Tundra) is very excited about the bigger truck. First day home she says "Dad, can I see the engine?" After opening the hood, she asked "What does all that stuff do?" ...and she listened to the answers. I'm raising her right.

Original size was 44mm - no change from soaking in brake fluid or brake cleaner. I've been thinking about the implications of this. Even a little swelling of the seals would cause the pistons to get sticky - which might require more force to activate the brake, but more importantly (I think) it could make it very difficult for the pistons to retract, which in turn means overheating, excessive wear, or maybe worse.

This turned into a two-week test, because I was away on business travel and snuck in a little adventure, which involves a diesel truck and a snowstorm on a mountain pass in Idaho. So today (finally) the results are in. Brake fluid - seal has 44mm OD Engine oil - seal has 52mm OD - this is an 18% increase in the OD. Brakleen - seal has 44mm OD - it should be noted that the Brakleen evaporated, even though I had covered the jar with plastic wrap. Therefore, I have no idea how long the seal soaked in the fluid. WD-40 - seal has 59mm OD - this is a 35% increase in the OD. The measuring caliper on the engine oil seal is set to 59mm so you can see how much more the WD-40 caused the seal to swell - compared to swelling caused by the engine oil. Conclusions: Cleaning calipers with WD-40 is even worse than cleaning with engine oil. Despite the WD-40 "secret recipe" and some mystery about whether WD-40 includes any petroleum, it seems reasonable to assume that WD-40 does, in fact, contain petroleum distillates. If brake cleaner has any negative effect on seals, it probably won't stick around long enough to do any damage.

I think you're looking at this bike, which has been for sale at that price for a while: http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/mcy/5354629286.html For comparison purposes: My Scura sat for 12 years didn't even have 200 miles on it. Literally, the break-in service had not even been done. That was only about a year ago and it has 9,000 miles on it now. I have only just recently noticed an oil leak in the timing cover that I could not fix just by re-torquing the bolts. I was worried about all manner of problems from sitting, but other than a sticky throttle return linkage and a small oil-seepage that was corrected by tightening bolts, I had no issues at all. My LeMans had a broken odometer and an uncertain, multiple-owner, past. She's been giving me some persistent challenges. However, I enjoy the process (most of the time) and I've been riding it a lot. Compared to your price range, I paid quite a bit more for the Scura (dealer) and a bit less for the LeMans (private party). I'd guess the condition of the silver sport is between the starting points of my two V11 - so it seems reasonable. In retrospect, I should have tested the oil pressure on the LeMans before buying it. I now own an external oil pressure gauge and would be happy to lend it (I live about 50 miles from that silver sport). Or you could probably rent/borrow an oil pressure gauge from a local shop. Here are a two easy things to look at as age/wear indicators: Tire date codes: If the tires are old, then you can be more confident in the low miles (and add new tires to your budget) Footpegs and foot levers: If these appear worn down from boots, then the bike has a lot of miles on it. If you can't see any wear at all, then the low mileage claim is probably true.

Zoup - I wish you had posted a few days earlier. I was in Colorado Springs (US Army Fort Carson) Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. I threw the relocation bits away, along with the abundance of washers required to make them work.

@Lauri - my RAM clutch has been on backorder with MG Cycle for about 6 months, with no expected delivery date. However, they said they received and sold a couple just before I placed my order. Supposedly, the new RAM design is much longer laster (like over 40,000 miles for plates). I like the fact that it's a complete kit and easy to install (if you ever get one). There are a few threads with lists of all parts need and good photos of swapping out the single-plate for dual. I intend to put the RAM clutch on my Scura, but if that doesn't show up before the next major service, then I'll install a twin-plate instead.

This is almost zen-like in its simplicity. I received the wrong charger - returned and reordered. Hopefully that will waiting for me when get home at end of week. I'm looking forward to doing some tests on a few older batteries - including an Odyssey that was in the wrecked LeMans. I'm sure it sat for a while, but it started the bike after being on a battery tender overnight. And it's just been sitting since then.

But last week it hailed so hard that it accumulated in the crown of my sago palm. Heck, it even knocked some of the flowers off my orchid tree. You can see a few flower petals mixed in with the hail. Brrrrr.... Then the sun came out. Sorry, snow-bound guys. I couldn't resist. Back on topic - if I ever need my gauges serviced, I am taking that idea about the yellow and red ticks. I wonder if they could put a small KPH ring inside the MPH ring of the speedo. Or maybe a big KPH ring and little MPH ring for a little more Italian flavor?

Looking sharp. Very clever with the yellow and red ticks. Our collective design work is getter better with each iteration. Why wait for spring to install? That looks like a nice cold-day project.

You might also hear breaking glass after someone yells "Flying Brick! Duck!" But then a BMW and a Ducati ride by... I just rode my little brick 100 miles last night - home from Los Angeles airport. 90MPH midnight run down I-405 and I-5 the whole way, and I hardly heard anything. The brick aficionados relate to the shape, but also to the bikes being as simple, sturdy, and reliable as bricks.

True, I should have mentioned that. If you can't achieve the correct sag measurements by adjusting spring pre-load, then you need different springs. I was able to get my Scura and LeMans set correctly without changing springs (although a new spring came with the new shock for the LeMans and that was selected by Hyperpro people, based on my data).

Czakky - I found the Ohlins manuals to be very helpful. The same principles apply to the Marzocchis, but I like the illustrations and explanations in the Ohlins. The manuals are in the downloads section here. I got a serious forum-provided education while I was setting up my Scura's suspension - it made such a difference that I swore it would be the first thing I do to any future motorcycle. I recall GuzziMoto said something like "setting sag correctly is the first, and most-often overlooked, step in suspension tuning." After the dramatic change in handling I experienced, just from turning some adjusters, I'm convinced. No spacers needed - it's all within reach provided you have some tools (a metric measuring tape is handy), a competent accomplice, and a way to get your wheels off the ground. It would be worth doing on your current setup just to either verify that it's in range, or to correct it and see what difference you notice.