Scud

...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.

I'm rebuilding a pair of two-pistons calipers, so only four seals are available for this experiment. Apologies to blue Dawn. I expect no change to the one soaking in brake fluid, because the seal is what keeps the fluid from escaping the cylinder - it's soaking in brake fluid all the time. I chose petroleum oil because everyone seems to agree that petroleum products are bad for these seals. We'll see how bad it is. I'm most curious to see the affect of the brake cleaner and WD-40. Other than a visual and manual inspection after the soak, what sort of test should I apply? Perhaps hang weights off them till they break?

Several months ago, I used WD-40 to clean my brake calipers and we had some discussion about the risks involved in that. For reference, the discussion is interspersed with other stuff in pages of 2 through 4 of this thread: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18967&page=4 GStallons suggested I do a test. Being curious myself, I said I would do so at the next opportunity, which has arrived. Here is the experiment: One brake piston seal in four different fluids: I'm going to let them soak while I am away next week. The used seals are Brembo, from a BMW K75s. They are from inside the cylinder, the ones that the pistons slide against. The fluids are: DOT 3 brake fluid (our control subject) 20w-50 petroleum oil Brake cleaner WD-40 What's going to happen? Step right up and place your bets....

The original clip-ons go above the triple clamp. The triple clamp is different too. Mine has threaded holes to position the clip-ons, but no holes for the standard bar clamp studs. That's why I suggested you might be able to find someone to swap top triples and all hardware with you. Or you could figure a different path to accumulate the parts. You would not need to move your forks at all - you have plenty of room for the clip-ons now - and will still have room to move the forks a bit to suit your handling preferences. Here's mine, when it was still factory-fresh:

I just ordered BatteryMINDer #12248. It is supposed to work with AGM and other types of batteries. I think it will be useful for car and trailer batteries. I have a few old batteries in the garage and I will experiment to see if this charger can improve their condition.

Todd DOES sell Penske (but not Hyperpro). At the time I was shopping, he only a offered a Penske unit with a remote reservoir for about $1,000. That was more than I wanted to spend, so I went with the Hyperpro from another vendor - found a special offer that included a free rebuild in future, so I'm holding onto that coupon. Todd's Guzzitech website now lists a less expensive ($650) Penske shock (no reservoir) that Todd knows works on V11s. But Penske does not officially list this shock for the V11; they only list the direct replacement with the remote reservoir. http://www.guzzitech.com/store/product/penske-racing-monoshocks-8900e/ To restate/simplify: I am 100% happy with the Hyperpro shock. I would get the Penske if I was shopping today for two reasons: I think the Penske might be a little better. I would prefer to give my business to Todd. If you think you might have Todd do your forks, it makes sense to have him do front and rear at the same time.