Scud

Great trip Bruce - I've been thinking about a run down to San Felipe on the Stelvio or the Husky 701. I wasn't worried about mirrors in the dirt. I was worried about not having any mirrors on the way home I-15.

I think this might be possible. It's not just grinding though. There is a raised rim on the front side of the single plate hub. I don't know if that is needed for proper function - but it might be for added strength. Here is a picture of a new hub for single-plate, along with a used hub for dual plate. Sorry the pic doesn't show the raised rim very well. I'll dig them out of the box again for another pic if somebody is serious about trying this - and I would loan my new single plate hub during the process.

Here's a few pics from my almost 2,000 mile trip. I tried to avoid freeways as much as possible. I went through Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave National Preserve, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Bryce Canyon National Park, Escalante National Monument, Capitol Reef National Park, and Great Basin National Park. Sea level to 10,000 feet. Over 100 degrees through Las Vegas on the way home - but started the day with snow in the 8,000 foot campsite at Great Basin. I didn't do nearly as much dirt as I wanted because my LH mirror broke on the second day - just from vibrations I guess. The RH mirror gave up the ghost on the way home. Otherwise, the Stelvio did great - super comfortable. And she's like a camel crossing the desert with that 8.5 gallon gas tank.

I do have a spare new single plate hub (not for sale). But if one of you machinist-types wants to borrow it so you could copy it I would gladly loan it out. Paradiso's pics will clearly show the differences between the two hubs.

Those new 1400s look great... but if you want to expand your options... the California Vintage seems to have quite the cult-following. Over on WildGuzzi, that seems to be one of bikes that most people regret selling. The CalVin has a more classic style. But then those 1400s are comfy too, I sat on one when I got my Stelvio. If I ever get a cruiser-styled bike, these would be on the top of the list.

Highway 1 from Morro Bay to Monterey has to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I've done a bit of Utah's 12 many years ago in a truck, and am looking forward to going all the way to Capitol Reef this time on the bike. Here's my plan. Want to come along? Roll out 5:30am Saturday - or meet for breakfast in 29 Palms. The 8 gallon tank on the Stelvio - and 40+ MPG on open roads - is perfect for these long desert crossings. Each page above is a bit less than 200 miles. The plan is to camp near Zion on Saturday night, but sadly, the road through Zion is closed for the whole month and I have to go around it. I plan to visit Great Basin National Park and Death Valley on the way home. Never crossed the middle of Nevada before. 12,000 foot tall mountains in Great Basin... some roads closed November to June.

I went up to Carizzo Plain National Monument for the superbloom. After heavy rains, this valley is carpeted in flowers. Pictures can't do it justice... this goes on for about 50 miles by 30 miles wide. Now I am planning a ride to Utah on Stelvio, with as little freeway as possible. I have work there next Monday, so will take next weekend to go via Joshua Tree, Mojave National Preserve, Lake Mead, and few other minor roads into Southern Utah. The plan is to camp somewhere in Southern Utah, then take the amazing route 12 to Capitol Reef National Park. I'm having fun getting the Stelvio set up for solo-camping.

I bought and resold about 50 plates from Pete. But I do not have any more available. I have also wondered about the thickness. A thinner plate would be easier to install, since it would require less modification to the sidestand bracket, which needs a hole to be enlarged for proper alignment.

That shipping sounds about right. Andy - I'll send you a message.

I like the way you kept everything so low around the bars - such as where you positioned the hydraulic fluid cups. I like that big tach too - in one picture it looks kind of like it is built into the headlight housing. How do you decide how much material you can remove from the top triple clamp? That would make me nervous.

Great work Phil. The prep and paint work is exemplary. The crinkle finish transmission will be relatively easy after that - it's only 4 pieces. I assume you will take the same paint through to the final drive as well? I may have missed something, but what bike is this going in? Your Greenie? or do you have another frame for this project?

For entertainment and research purposes, perhaps you could post a pic of the broken spring, so we can see where it broke. Nice that it happened so close to home.

^ the opposite at my local mega dealer, North County House of Motorcycles. But that may be a function of how much dirt riding is available in AZ vs CA. As for the show, I think the hand crafted bikes are cool to look at and I can appreciate the effort and many of the designs, but the there aren't many that I'd want to own or ride.

I stripped the bike yesterday, so things will be easier to sell now. I'm not going to list every part with a price, so if you want something let me know and we can work out a good deal. Here are a few "highlights" Complete Twin Plate Clutch - with trans input spline - good for converting from a single plate Roper Plate Hyperpro shock - barely used. Comes with transferrable free rebuild coupon Complete LeMans fairing with all brackets and most hardware Swingarm with new bearings installed (and sticker for California emissions) Rear drive and drive shaft Seat and pillion cover etc....

^ good point on that button - from a person who actually installed a 5 speed Ram clutch in a V11.

We had super-detailed discussion about this elsewhere. I think the summary was that the 5-speed and 6-speed clutches are identical, except for the transmission input hub, which is unique to the 6-speed and is no longer available. However, since you have a Tenni, you already have the correct Ram 6-speed input hub and can use the 5-speed clutch. You will get a hub that you don't need with the kit. Or you could put a twin plate clutch in. In which case you would need to swap the transmission input hub for twin-plate, six speed part. I'll be yanking a complete twin-plate clutch out of a parts bike in the next few days if you want to go that route. If I were in your position, I'd try the 5-speed Ram clutch with the steel flywheel.

First - you never need to explain why you posted pics. We love pics. This sounds very much like a shift linkage problem. There are many places that things can rub (such as if you have the front screw by the starter in backwards) or bind (such as over-tightening the long pivot bolt). If the bike's been sitting a while, I would just pull out all the linkage parts, clean 'em up and reassemble carefully with fresh grease. Keep the Chuck-n-Scud spring under the seat in case your original breaks. You are semi-stuck in gear if the spring breaks. If you hit the brakes hard (especially when going downhill), you can get the pawl arm to flop forward. You get one shift after each time you successfully get the arm to flop forward. This is the voice of experience...

Yeah Spicer U-joints and SKF bearings. Every bearing, race, bushing, seal, and joint on the front driveline, steering, and suspension is new. The Ford Shop Manual is fantastic. I had the differential bearings and seals replaced at a local driveline shop. He actually advised me against the Spicer U-joints with the grease nipples. He said he prefers the kind without the grease fitting, since the seals are better on that type and the inner cross is stronger. He especially prefers the non-greaseable u-joints on diesels due to the high torque they have to transfer to the wheels. But I used the greaseable type anyway. I only want 4WD on this truck for traction and light duty on the dirt roads. I'm not going mudding or rock-crawling in a 20 foot, 6,000 pound truck. So I don't think I'm going to break those joints.

Yup, lots of grease. New bearings too. Just picked it up from the alignment shop - it drives soooo much better than before. Now I need to find someplace to try out the 4WD and test those new bearings, seals, and u-joints.

I can assure you that many hammers were used in anger during the project. Slide hammer was my favorite, but I also enjoyed wailing on the axles with a big rubber mallet to get the U-joints to settle in and move freely after I pressed them in. And the breaker bar (pictured) was essential for dislodging stubborn rusty stuff (even after soaking for days in PB Blaster). Although frustrating at times, I learned a lot - never worked on 4WD before. And I now get to bore people to tears with my front-end rebuild stories...

I thought y'all might enjoy some polished F250 front end. I drove it today - after being down about a month. I no longer fear replacing U-joints on a Moto Guzzi - having just replaced these huge rusted-in 4WD U-joints. Sometimes a project takes on special meaning if I have to buy a special tool for the job. This one should qualify... Special Tools Purchased for this project: Slide Hammer - great fun. I bought a cheap slide hammer once to do V11 swingarm bearings, but it bent so I returned it. My new one is a beast. Spindle puller - a most ingenious adapter for the slide hammer Hydraulic press - from Harbor Freight. Perhaps not the most precise press available, but was great for the U-joints and a few other bits. Will come in handy in future. Front end steering puller kit - for Pitman arm and tie-rod ends. So easy... can't believe I used to use pickle forks and hammers. Ball joint service kit - this was a fail for this project, as the F250 joints were badly stuck, so I had to get them pressed out (and new ones pressed in) from a shop. However, my daughter's Toyota Highlander will need ball joints soon, and those will probably seem like child's play after this project. A few sockets. Had to buy a 33mm and one other size Just amazed at the size of some of the parts. The inner wheel bearings don't even fit in a big tub of grease.

For the record... a Moto Guzzi Stelvio has a single-plate clutch.

The "next keeper" of my Scura probably hasn't been born yet.

^yes, check out post #9 on the first page of this thread.