Scud

I like the wildlife signs, especially the Elk signs, because it means I'm getting into the mountains. Where you live, I suppose the deer are everywhere and can be a bit of a pest. Gotta be extra careful at sunrise too. Sometimes the fun starts just by loading a bike in the truck...... Road trip to Flagstaff, AZ tomorrow.

I guess spring, flywheel, and engine paint are also the Tenni Trifecta, which is alluringly alliterative. My RAM replacement flywheel and clutch assembly is still on backorder at MG Cycle - although I haven't called in while to see what's going on. I've decided to let the lucky dice keep rolling till the Scura hits 12,000 miles - do a major service and pre-emptive repairs at that time. Hopefully MG can come through in time. Meanwhile, I just loaded the LeMans into the truck for a short trip; this thread has reminded me that I need to transfer all my tools and supplies (including lucky spring) from the Scura - so as not to need them in Arizona.

I'm carrying my spring with a rabbit's foot, a horseshoe, and a four-leaf clover. Seriously, I'm hoping it lasts a bit longer so I can do a pre-emptive spring repair while I replace the flywheel and do the engine paint (due to bubbling). That's the Scura trifecta... Of course, the trifecta only pays out if you guess the order. Engine paint has already crossed the line... spring and flywheel are running neck-and-neck.

Great trip and great photos, thanks for sharing those, especially of Eiger. I enjoyed my vicarious euro-trip with a little mid-day coffee... How nice for you to be able to combine a motorcycle tour and a family vacation. Savings from not buying a plane ticket, minus money spent on gas and 50% cost of a set of tires = fun way to travel. I'm sure the electrical experts can help you with the charging concern. As for your running problems at high-elevation, that's worth looking into. Mine runs without any hesitation from sea level to nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 meters). Have you done anything to richen the fuel mixture to make it run better at lower elevations? If so, it might be too rich for higher elevations, and need to be leaned out a bit before the next high-altitude adventure.

You could do a photo essay: "The Bridges of Some County in Wisconsin." It could be about your four-day love affair with a voluptuous Italian motorcycle... poignant, riveting, compelling. I laughed... I cried... I've taken the Husky almost every visit to Flagstaff so far... cuz that's what trucks are for. Maybe it's time to take the Scura... she's got new shoes.

Dare we hope for some WI fall color photos in the next few months? That's as pretty as it gets. I'm grumpy.... I had a brilliant ride planned to San Jose up the coast and then back home over Sherman Pass... but not to be (couldn't quite make the schedule work). Took Southwest Airlines instead, middle seat both ways. Taking my daughter to Flagstaff, AZ next week for second year of college. Can't decide whether to take a dirt or street bike. As she says: "That's a first-world problem, dad."

It seems we have a useful guideline to inform our taxonomy of Torque, Mid-range, and Horsepower motors. This chart for a Harley Ultra Classic clearly shows a torque motor. The max RPM for the engine is only about 5,700RPM (so no ability to make peak HP at higher revs). Like the diesel truck I referenced earlier, there is more torque than HP at all realistic operating RPMs (but the difference is much greater in the Diesel). It really is impressive that the Guzzi pushrod v-twin can rev as high as it does. (preaching to the choir...) For past-bike comparison purposes, my favorite 4-cylinder, Japanese bike was a Yamaha FJ1100. I think that was probably a mid-range motor. It had power on tap everywhere and it never seemed to end. I recall that one magazine reviewer at the time nick-named it "The Velvet Sledgehammer."

Thanks - I got some stuff from them when I had my 96 RT, good service. Prices and availability (or lack thereof for some parts) on their site helped me decide to part it out.

Yeah, was thinking that too - except that changing the BMW air filter is a 2-minute job: just remove the seat and unscrew the lid. I think part of the motivation for pods on a V11 is ease of maintenance. It really was interesting to see how much the BMW has in common with the Guzzi - just in terms of basic mechanical layout. And how BMW and MG solved some things similarly and others differently.

Should the temptation strengthen let me know. It is very close my house. I would be happy to visit it and get acquainted on your behalf.

I decided to part it out - I bought the bike with a profit motive and the parts look to be much more profitable than net proceeds from a repair/resale. FYI, the problem was, in fact, the transmission input/clutch interface. Plus, I think it will be an interesting experiment. It was already cool to get way deeper into this bike than I ever did when I had one. Stripping the RT really made me appreciate the V11 (and was good practice for when I need to do a clutch job on one). Total strip time was about 16 hours including research to figure my way through a few disassembly puzzles. Only the frame, engine, centerstand, and forks/wheel are still together (so I can still move it and maybe sell that assembly with the title). The BMW has a very densely packed network of wires, cables, and hoses to support the electronics and ABS. Although I would imagine the current Norges are similar and would require the removal of lots of bodywork to do any significant maintenance. I think there were 15 body panels on the RT. As points of comparison: The transmission housing serves one function the same as our porkchops - big pivot pins for the swingarm. Look how clean the driveshaft is after 100,000 miles. There's some value in having that sealed up inside a swingarm/housing like the CARC bikes do. A mechanical (not hydraulic) clutch means one less reason to potentially have to break the bike in half for maintenance. One semi-entertaining surprise - you have to disconnect the shock and almost remove the subframe to remove the airbox. No wonder you don't see a lot of pods or other airbox mods the BMWs...

Not really. The guzzi has a fairly flat torque curve - sitting between 50-60 NM from 3k all the way to 8 K , hence the relatively linear increase in power. So if you take a higher revving bike that also has a flat torque curve of 50-60 NM , they'd be neck and neck right up until the guzzi hit 8K , then the HRB would start pulling away AND STAY IN A HIGHER HP RANGE with every gearchange - so it'd keep pulling away. Like they say... "that's why they run the race." IMO - a big, fat torquey motor is more fun than one that has a huge HP hit up high. I like a big, forgiving sweet spot, not a rush that makes me worry if I'm going to hit it unintentionally. It's a good point (earlier) that the V11 is really a mid-range motor, not a "tractor" or a revver. I think I'm just going to keep it at 5252 RPMs all the time now... then I don't have to wonder if I have more HP or TQ.

Here's a fair price on a low mileage 2002 Champagne LeMans. It's only a few minutes from my house......... http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/mcy/5169525254.html

Truth and coffee - no sugar needed. My ITI was DOA. I think the Veglia on my Scura may already have exceeded MTBF (mean time between failures). I have high hopes for long-term reliability from my Speedhut GPS speedometer. It sure is pretty.

Here are a couple links to charts for two Fords: a 5.0L Gas Mustang and a 6.7L Diesel Truck. They both make similar peak HP (370 for Mustang, 390 for Truck). The Mustang peak torque is 352 ft/lbs. The truck makes 735 ft/lbs of torque with a remarkably flat curve. The diesel only goes up to 3700 RPM, while the Mustang goes much higher - and you can see the HP/TQ intersection at 5252RPM. Note that the HP and TQ curves intersect on the truck's chart at 3000 RPM, but that's because the HP and TQ scales are not the same - if the scales were the same, the HP curve would be far below the TQ curve the whole time.

Cheers to Bob. May your repaired speedo last much longer than my six-pack of Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin IPA.

Space in the garage is the problem? Problem solved: http://www.loft-it.com/

I didn't know there was Honda Kool-Aid. I assume it's red? The way torque and horsepower get to the street are, of course, also affected by gearing. For shaft-drive bikes, this is generally fixed. But it can be altered on chain-drive bikes; changing the sprocket sizes has a big affect on how much torque we perceive - or at least when we perceive it. Building on Phil's explanation - this is also why two vehicles with the same horsepower might be able to tow different loads. A diesel truck with 300HP is going have a lot more torque (and at lower RPMs) than a sports car with 300HP. The truck generates more force and can pull the trailer. So back to bikes - I think this is why we hear references to Guzzis being tractors or freight trains. And I like it. I like the brutish power on a steep ascent. I think I am talking myself into a night-time canyon raid...

I was curious about that too. This is what I've concluded - but it's not an official explanation: The left screw is for your primary, day-to-day, adjustments. The right screw is like a minimum, or a backstop, so you don't accidentally set the left screw too far closed. For higher-mileage bikes, which have some play in the linkage, two stops can help keep things in balance at idle, because you synch TBs at higher revs. I ended up setting the two screws so they both make contact at the same time. My theory is that it will reduce fatigue or wear on the linkage. This is probably unnecessary, but it made me feel better. Also, being Italian, not everything needs to have a rational explanation. All part of the character...

Every little bit helps. GIven the low miles, it probably sat for a while. You've run plenty of fresh fuel through it, which is good. It might also be good to run some injector cleaner through the fuel and clean the throttle bodies.

What does that mean in numbers? Were both cylinders set the same? I think you were looking for some consensus on correct valve settings earlier. I think the only consensus is that the specs in the manual are too tight - and that looser is better. .006 Intake and .008 Exhaust is about as close as you'll get to consensus, if you search this forum for Raceco specs you'll find them at .007 I and .010 E. The looser specs seem to work well for me - and although I live near sea level, I do ride high elevations regularly. Nothing so high as Trail Ridge Road of course...

Great bike. Congratulations. Riding that bike in a straight line for a long time can be uncomfortable. I find it much more comfortable when the roads are curvy and I can move around. I think you're going to love it when you get it into the mountains. It's probably worth doing a tune up and fluids - hopefully the tune will take care of the issues you noticed.

I tried this LED. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HJEGQQ2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00 It fit, but I could not get it to maintain contact, so sometimes it worked and sometimes not. Obviously, it's out now and I'm back to the standard bulb.

Not everything that CAN be done SHOULD be done... but now that it WAS done, it's very hard to look away. He's fortunate to be alive. Teahupoo (the massive wave he rode at the end) breaks into shallow water over a reef.

When an Irishman asks for luck, you know it's troubled times. Good luck, sir.