Scud

This is the GB CF fender. It is a lovely swingarm and shame to hide it.

I just gave away an old helmet, gloves, boots, and set of leathers to the fine young man who bought my BMW K75s. I've given other gear to other new riders, but I still have some stuff I don't wear much. I got some new summer gloves this week. So nice and comfy... and the velcro works. Then we need dirt gear and street gear......

I saw something on a special split washer recently. Here is a test that shows several more locking solutions, including the Nord-Lock. This test also shows that nylock bolts do pretty well.

I don't think there is enough slack in the chain to completely clear all the teeth of the oil pump drive gear. And if I recall correctly, the oil pump gear requires a little key that goes in the slot of the shaft... which could turn the whole "time-saving" thing into a longer ordeal than doing it the "usual" way.

I think my Scura dropped about 15 pounds going from stock exhaust to the Guzzi Titanium exhaust plus FBF crossover. And the sound... simply glorious. Now I need to bell the intakes to get even more cool sounds out of it. Yes, Dave, you need louder pipes. Not to save lives, just for enjoyment.

Yeah, still has the regular fuse in the original fuse block. I installed a Maxi in my LeMans, and I have an extra Maxi holder in a drawer. I suppose I should install it... I also have an Electrosport regulator, which I was ready to install today if it was overcharging.

Tested charging on the Scura today. Why? Because when I last attempted to ride it three weeks ago it took a long time to start, then it died about 1/4 mile from the house. A quick investigation revealed a slightly deformed (not totally melted) 30 amp fuse. I replaced the fuse, and verified that it's not overcharging (14.something volts at 4,000 rpm). So, not being sure about the cause of the overheated fuse, I blasted out for an "Italian Tune-Up." She ran great and restarted easily after stops for gas and at Cycle Gear. At Cycle Gear (where I got some new summer gloves) I was approached by a "stereotypically-dressed" Harley rider who was curious about the Moto Guzzi. He said he always wanted one, but was worried about reliability. I tried to steer him toward a V11-engined cruiser, such as an EV/Bassa/California, etc. He loved the sound of the Scura with FBF crossover and Titanium pipes. But I'm still nervous about that fuse and not sure why it overheated.

JB - what you wrote above makes good sense. I'm going to try it at next opportunity. I found setting balance at 3,000 kind of tricky - then fiddling with the air screws to get a balance idle. It all seemed like a compromise. Good idle = good WOT... Sound simple and it's working for you.

Welcome. Enjoy it. It does look it has the dark brown wheels, rocker covers, and porkchops like a Cafe Sport, but the paint is more like a Coppa Italia. In fact, I like the way the tail was painted on yours more than I like the Coppa Italia.

If "sense" = "makes you happy" then yes, I agree with Dave that it makes sense. Does it makes sense to have a Griso instead of V7R? I think so.

Hey - that looks like a great condition Sport. Congrats to new owner. Shindy makes a decent replacement steering damper.

The off-road stuff was purely exploratory; I'm not sure that I could have planned that. I went to three different forested areas. There are many logging roads and dirt roads that lead to campsites or hunting screens. It's a beautiful part of the world and I caught a lovely warm spring week between two rainy weeks.

Navigation: See a bakery, pull over, drink coffee, eat pastry, study map. Seriously, that is literally what I did. As for the map... I had the Garmin Earthmate app on my phone and had downloaded the maps of Germany and France. Nice thing about that app... it does not require a data connection. It can even use the GPS receiver to lay down a track when the phone is in "airplane" mode. I had the fully charged GPS as backup, but was able to navigate each day just with the phone. I had stuck some pins by key destinations and junctions that appeared to have interesting (aka twisty) roads. I just kept the phone in my pocket and stopped whenever I wanted to check the map. Then there was a lot of luck... and navigating by the position of the sun... and just going down whatever road suited my fancy. I had only two "must-see destinations" The Fleckenstien Castle in France (Monday) and the German city of Heidelberg (Saturday). I went there and got the T-Shirt. University of Heidelberg, founded 1196... exactly 800 years before my first child.

Oh, now I recognize it. Mike takes good care of his machines. I have his ex Ducati ST3 now - and he has my ex Red LeMans. I would, without hesitation, buy a bike from Mike.

Here's a video of my adventure in Germany (with a jaunt over the French border) on the wee-GS. I found it a pleasant and reasonably competent machine. I did not expect it to perform like a bigger bike, so no need to compare. It also does not perform like a smaller dirt bike. It's got only one annoying feature: It only starts in neutral - there is no clutch switch. This was a problem for me on the first few days because I stalled it a few times (being used to bigger engines that don't need a lot of revs to get moving). It's no fun hunting for neutral when people are honking at you. But I got the feel of it after a few days and didn't stall it any more at the end of the trip. Overall, a fun bike, but not one I'd like to own. However, I'm glad to see sub 400cc dual sports in the market that actually work on both street and dirt. It does very well on poor asphalt.

It's a long damn way between fuel and water stops in Oz. But the world is your toilet... Very interested to hear how the big motor works in the Stelvio. That should give you torque and HP sort of like the elephantine KTM 1190s, right?

The 701 holds 13 Liters (3.4 Gallons). 50-70 MPG yields 150-210 range with 0.4 gallons left in the tank. I haven't pushed it that far yet, but 50+ MPG is realistic on the street. I think the range is about the same as my KTM950 Adventure (an actual 100HP dirt bike - with closer to 6 gallons, but low 30s MPG.)

100 hp dirt bikes are fun.

I ended up alternating the original and the new (stiffer) springs - 5 of each. I believe that the problem with mine might also have been a spring not seated correctly. If you do take the motor out again, try laying it flat so the springs stand upright. When you put the pressure plate on, reach in with your finger to ensure that every spring is fully seated. Another way to tell is that the pressure plate will sit exactly level with the flywheel if all springs are in correctly. If even one spring is not seated, the pressure plate will be a little bit tilted. The pushrod is the same for both clutch types.

I think I have one. Will be home tomorrow and can double-check. What do you mean by "the one with the bosses"?

I've got the new RAM clutch with steel flywheel in my Scura and I'm very happy with it. I don't think that Scura is at risk of selling quickly.

You have the final drive from Joe's bike too. And yes, the Ohlins ended up on the Greenie.

Hey Joe - Yeah, I've been stalled on it - and starting question the financial viability of finishing it and selling it vs. selling off the parts. Kind of sad, but I've robbed enough bits off that it will take some investment of time and money to get her going... and the prices for $50,000 mile 2002 LeMans are not encouraging. Anyways, it's pending a "final" decision.

I'll have it for a week while I'm working here in Weisbaden (today was a no-work day). My max speed on it was 145kph indicated (about 90mph). I ran it at a sustained 130kph (80mph), which is the slow lane on the Autobahn, for about 75 kilometers. I saw two Moto Guzzis today, both cruiser-style. Compared to my Husqvarna 701... the BMW has less than half the power with 50 additional pounds. I bottomed the suspension on a couple ruts on a dirt road that the Husky would barely have felt. But it's a fun bike to ride - comfortable, smooth, good handling, acceptable dirt road manners. The ABS is switchable on the bars. Other than that, it's a very simple bike and I hope they sell a shed-load of them. I get the sense that maybe some Germans feel about this "foreign made" BMW about how some Americans would feel if a Harley were manufactured in Mexico.

Ha - I've been through Cooperstown several times, but have never bothered to stop. Upstate NY is still a lovely, uncrowded area to ride if you are heading into the Appalachian Mountains. Every National Park I've been to has been worthwhile. You could buy a National Park Pass and get free admission all across the USA. There are many historical/cultural parks, and many that are essentially wilderness preserves with great roads. Watch out bison in Yellowstone, they are large and not to be trifled with. Find National Parks by State: https://www.nps.gov/hfc/cfm/carto.cfm