Scud

I ran my Battery Tender plug up the spine and terminated it behind the headlight (had to splice on an extension). Then I got a Battery Tender USB adapter. I think most things that use "cigarette lighter" power sources can also be powered by USB cables. USBs are standardized (U=Universal). I use it for my phone or GPS - which mounts on a RAM ball on the RH mirror mount (stock mirrors removed). See... if you just want a little plug somewhere, you also get to remove the gas tank and get new mirrors. Isn't this fun?

I’ve had the bike about 3 months, and totally love it. The bike now has about 3,000 miles on it – 2,800 of them by me. I thought I’d summarize my experience, now that I’ve moved to the “just ride it” phase. Overall: I started with a bike that was basically a museum piece. It felt like a privilege to be able to own such a rare and pristine motorcycle. I never had a vehicle with a limited edition numbered plate before, so I didn’t want to screw it up. I don’t need it to be louder, faster, or lighter, so I avoided the most expensive aftermarket modifications. Single Most Important Thing: Getting the suspension dialed in (which probably accounts for about half of the posts in this topic) was transformational. I am grateful for the help on this. Out of Storage Issues: I was a bit nervous that I would experience some failures due to the extended storage. It was an interesting experiment to see how things would shake out – and it seems to have hibernated quite well. The only real problems were: Sticky throttle linkage (throttle failed to close, which was unnerving) Leaky valve cover gaskets Cracks in rubber intake boots (hiccupping is now temporarily cured with electrical tape over the cracks) Small oil seepage from timing chain cover. (Given that most of the pressure from the sidestand goes to the timing chain cover when the bike is parked, this is not surprising – I think maybe a front wheel chock is in order for the garage.) Many bolts made that “snapping” release sound that indicates corrosion – and then revealed some corrosion on the threads when removed. Getting most of the bolts out to darken them had the unplanned benefit of cleaning the threads and re-assembling with anti-seize compound. Obsessive Compulsive Darkening: My goal was to darken all the little bits and allow the big pieces to show – to accent the original design by de-cluttering the bike. I stopped counting after I got past 100 parts (which was quite a while ago). I estimate that I darkened about 250 parts, many of which were silver bolt heads and washers. In the pictures, it’s kind of hard to see everything I did (and that was the point – to not see things). The coolest stuff (IMO) were the midsize parts like the fuel door, passenger pegs, shift and brake levers, side stand, alternator cover, brake light base, and spray-tinted turn indicators. Favorite (mostly cosmetic) Bolt-on Bits: Ghezzi-Brian carbon fiber rear fender and belly pan (the belly pan serves no purpose whatsoever, although the fender does offer superior protection from road spray to the lower shock mount) Napoleon mirrors (also wider view) Rizoma tanks for clutch and brake fluids (from what I can tell, there is absolutely no functional reason for these to exist – they’re perfect.) Favorite cheap things: 83 degree angle valve stems Black Öhlins stickers Black reflective tape Reliability Issues: Without this forum, I would not have known to do the following: Roper plate. I plan on many more extended periods of hard acceleration up steep grades, which is apparently the type of behavior that is most likely to lead to oil starvation. Electrical mods such as high-quality relays, voltage regulator grounding, etc. Future Project: The engine paint is already starting to bubble. Hopefully, I can tolerate it long enough to wear out a clutch plate so I can put in a new flywheel and paint the engine and trans cases all at the same time. Music: I like almost all kinds, and I think vintage heavy metal fits the Scura. Maybe my Scura theme song is Dark Lady by the Scorpions, because it has this line: “Sitting and watching the sunrise, darkness is filling my eyes.” My favorite rides usually start about sunrise. Thanks for playing along.

Rizoma make some great looking LED indicators and they sell a compatible flasher. They're not cheap. I looked into them, but decided against. Instead I just shortened the fender and tinted the turn signal lenses. I did get their fluid tanks, which are very high quality. http://www.rizoma.com/universal/indicator-lights/en

Coincidentally, my ROPER plate arrived in today's post.

Pete - I think it is worth a letter and a conversation with the offending merchant. Lawsuits can be expensive and exhausting. If the merchant wants to stay in good standing with their customer base, they could do so by acknowledging your invention with words and cash. While I have also been angry at copyright violators, I've won them over by focusing on the future and finding a price to forgive the past. So far, I have never had to take a claim all the way to court by using this strategy. You would not be out of line to request that they rename it the "Roper Plate" or any other name that you desire - and pay you a small percentage of each sale. License arrangements like this generally net a smaller margin per product for the inventor, but the inventor gets the benefit of some sales that might not have otherwise occurred. Regards, Tim PS - Didn't the British send their criminals to Australia a long time ago? Ironic.

Perhaps you could cancel that order and get the plate from Pete Roper - the guy who invented it. That would really help him in his claim that Gutsibits simply copied his invention.

Pete - When I decided to put one on, I saw that there were some other options, but personally, I like buying stuff from private innovators, like yourself, when I can. I suppose my new plate ought to be arriving any day now. Thanks again for your help - and advice about which gaskets to buy to go with it. My work involves a lot of intellectual property issues and distribution in several countries, but I am not a lawyer and my experience is mostly for printed materials, not mechanical things. That's my disclaimer. Now here's my "if I were in your shoes" take on it: Your first challenge is jurisdiction. This is not too big of a challenge because UK, NZ, Australia, and some other places that used to fly the Union Jack have similar laws and the countries are all parties to several international intellectual property treaties. While I imagine you have not filed a patent application, you may still have suitable basis for a claim under copyright law (as they have copied an image of your plate). From a practical perspective, in my own business I have found it useful to threaten legal action, but then negotiate to convert the violator to a legitimate customer or licensee - then get nasty if they won't cooperate. Judges like to see that people try to work things out amicably before filing suits - and they don't take kindly to non-cooperative copyright violators. I suggest that you hire an attorney to write a "cease-and-desist" letter (should only be an hour or so) that offers to negotiate for legitimate use of the intellectual property, including financial reconciliation for past use. I generally write my own first draft letters and give them to the attorneys to save on fees. I also suggest that you improve the visibility of your product a little bit (I had sort of a hard time figuring out how to buy your product). If you decide to do this, you might also make some claims like "the original" or "the inventor" or something like that. Posting this topic is a good start - I imagine that a lot of members here would support and recommend your product over an imitator.

Thanks guys. Come out and play some time. That's my "Solo Surf-n-Spine Raid." I'd be happy to play tour-guide if you're ever in the area. @Rhino - that's the stock tank pad for the Scura - but it looks even better with the fuel door blacked out (IMO). Sorry I don't know a source for another one for you. Here's a close up of one of my favorite ascents - 3,200 feet elevation gain in 10 miles.

Thanks again for all the ideas. I got my kit in pretty good order and got it all to fit under the seat. A few specific things I added because of this topic: Shift return spring Fuses Relays Cone-type tire plugs (instead of the beef-jerky-look-alike ropes) Light Sticks Leatherman multi-tool - which is smaller, lighter, and far superior to the stock pliers, which I removed. Tire pressure gauge Here's hoping I don't need to break into too frequently, but it's good to know it's all there.

Up to Mother's Kitchen, at the top of Mount Palomar, where all the Sunday-racers hang out. Then a surf-check; waves are small. :-( ...and home.

Stop to top up. It's long way through the desert... and a photo op North of Ocotillo in the Anza Borrego desert.

Photo-op at an overlook on Sunrise Highway.

I'm not going to say "I'm done" because I imagine I'll tweak something else at some point. I do have a few mechanical and electrical things to do yet, including the Roper plate, when it arrives. But cosmetically, it's Scura-enough for me. So, rather than post up some more garage pics, I took my nice camera along for a ride today. Here are the GPS stats: 320 miles 8 hours (6am to 2pm) 24,806 feet elevation. That's nearly 5 vertical miles up - and down - over a few mountains, with a few peeks over the fence into Mexico. Step One: Awaken the dark beastie. Scura con Camels Breakfast stop in Julian

For reference, here's a set of pictures of the bike with only a few hundred miles on it - and before I changed anything.

I just had a Lagunitas IPA - very nice. My favorite is Stone Brewing's Ruination IPA (8%). Over-hopped and proud of it....... http://www.stonebrewing.com/ruin/

Surface area is the other variable - more pleats, plates, (or whatever) increases the surface area so it is possible to have more flow and better filtration. I assume that more internal filter material translates into higher cost - and I am suspicious that the inverse is true with store-brand products. As for me, I always use the recommended, or other generally accepted aftermarket filters. To me, it's not worth taking a chance to save a couple bucks.

This is sooooo cool. I've also been enjoying the occasional glimpses into your vinyl music collection. Marshall Tucker Band... Can't You See.

Isn't the original problem about over charging? It seems that some of these products only indicate under and correct charging, while the Küryakyn unit shows under, correct, and over charging. If the Küryakyn is too bright, you could just spray the LED area with lens tint until it no longer offends.

Here's the night-test of the black vinyl reflective tape. Photo taken with flash from phone. The tape is almost unnoticeable during the day (except of course for the infill on the fork bottoms, which IMO looks kind of cool). In addition to the forks, I put two strips on the lower frame and three on the swingarm, and cut out some pieces to fit the sides of the license plate light mount on the fender and wrap the raised strip that goes around the plate light. Safety first. Where are the rear brake lever and master cylinder guard? I can't see them.

Bad Black Bolts It looks like the zinc plating bolts were not a good decision. I noticed a few little spots of rust on a couple of them after the bike got some heavy salt-air dew on it. Did a little more research and found that Zinc plating is not recommended for outdoor use, especially near the ocean. I will put the original bolts back in (after darkening by other means, of course). Bummer for me, but at least I have an actual "bucket of bolts" and can paint or powdercoat them all at once while the Zinc plated bolts hold the bike together. I just wanted to post this in case anybody else thought the zinc plated bolts were a good idea, - because it is not. I'll edit an earlier post with a warning. I hope I didn't lead anyone down the wrong dark path...

Welcome to the club of darkness - which is how another forum member greeted me, so I guess that's the "secret Scura handshake." You can update the Scura Register. My bike is still 11,000 miles behind yours - which coincidentally is about one round trip between our homes. Maybe some Scura owners tucked the bikes away for fear of the magic exploding flywheel - or they just became art - or maybe they were afraid of the dark. Low mileage, affordable, used bikes for us. You know you're going to sneak it out before spring. I am having a blast with mine (took a completely unnecessary 40-mile detour to work this morning). If you do nothing else, get the suspension dialed in correctly. You have direct access to the "suspension gods" on this site (baldini, camn, docc, guzzimoto, luhbo). Your prayers will be answered. Some of their collective wisdom is earlier in this topic.

It's a UM. I don't know the model/year, but here's a link to their website. http://www.umglobal.com/en/

The shop (North County Powder Coating in San Marcos, CA) took great care of me and included a little bag of bolts in another run of flat black. All back together now.