Scud

Thanks. I'm working on part 2 from Landeck, Austria to Vilseck (aka Grafenwoehr), Germany, and back to Munich, where road closures "forced" me to leave the "strasse" and go "gelande" for a bit. And more 1970s Scorpions tunes... The R1200GSA turned out to be a great bike for this trip. The water cooled boxer motor is strong and smooth - cruising effortlessly at 180 on the autobahns, while still getting passed by cars that had to be doing 240+ (speeds in km). It handled well, was all-day comfortable, and the adjustable windscreen gave me enough air during the sport bits and reasonable protection while making time and trying to escape a hailstorm near the Danube River.

Here's a video of my travel day and my loop on Saturday. With one of Germany's finest exports providing the soundtrack.

Here's a link to the Speed Bleeders I used: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19514&p=214100

How cool that there's a Moto Guzzi in the Google-Earth picture at Gavia Pass. I saw this Moto Guzzi (with hidden eagle) at the top of Stelvio Pass: Here's one shot on the way up Stelvio: And one looking back down from Stelvio: I got this still from my GoPro on the way down Gavia Pass: Started today via some choice roads in the Alps that Hubert recommended, then some Autobahn, then got lost, then caught in a hailstorm crossing the Danube River, then lost again, then made it to Vilseck, Germany for work tomorrow. I learned that my rain-suit is not as waterproof as it used to be.

I had a great ride today. About 350km of some of the tightest and most scenic roads I've ever been on. I saw several Moto Guzzis, including a Red/Grey 2002 LeMans. I followed a Red Stelvio up the Stelvio Pass. Then I went over the Gavia Pass. Then up to Tirano, Italy and up through Switzerland back to Landeck, Austria. I have a bunch of photos and GoPro video - I'll get it sorted out later. There's a group here from the San Diego BMW dealer - so I had dinner with them this evening. Off toward Nuremburg tomorrow morning. More later...

That's funny. It is my airport runner though. I never worry about it. Most people don't even know what it is... and most of those who do know what it is know it's not worth stealing. I'll keep an eye out for it. No, it doesn't. It's a checkmark on the "bucket-list." Love this little hotel (Enzian). Buffet breakfast and dinner included. They sat me with another American. Then some guys (I assume locals) bought a round of schnapps for everyone and started yodeling. Fabulous.

Made it to Landeck, Austria. Luhbo - thanks for recommending this road, West of Innsbruck. I especially loved riding up along the river. More later... right now I'm kinda thirsty.

And the adventure begins with free parking for 1 K bike. This is going to be an all-BMW adventure, seems kind of appropriate since I am flying into Bavaria. I checked the Giant Loop Great Basin saddlebag - will pick it up in Munich and strap it to the rental bike. I will attempt to secure a Stelvio T-shirt so I can say: Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

While splitting lanes to LAX today, I saw a Subaru Outback, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sedona... lots of SUVs named for special places. But Ford names them for the journey, not the destination: Expedition, Explorer, Escape... Adding to my earlier post about adventure bike names, there is the Cagiva Gran Canyon (I'm assuming they left the "d" off Grand for style-points)

I saw a thread about a Moto Guzzi Nevada (750cc cruiser) on WildGuzzi yesterday. It's possibly even uglier than that Ducati Indiana.

The BMW Paris-Dakar, then simply Dakar. Then I think BMW sold the naming rights to KTM for some 990 Adventure Dakar models - and switched the F650 from Dakar to Sertao. And, of course, we have the the Honda Africa Twin that conjures images of the Dakar Rally. Corey - your Sertao (Brazilian Desert) made me think of it.

Congratulations on a great bike. If you wait a while, somebody will be along who wants higher handlebars to replace their clip-ons. You might be able to work a trade, including the top triple clamp. Stock clip ons are hard to find - but there are some aftermarket clip-ons available.

Choose one: - Maserati Sebring - Chrysler Sebring

That section of 120 is great. I rode it 3 or 4 times on my last trip there in May. I love the giant whoops that you can't see over and then the drops that compress the suspension at the bottom. It's like a giant roller-coaster. So cool that those roads are in your back yard.

I'll be curious to hear about your experience with the Shorai. Where does 130 miles get in you in the Eastern Sierras?

Took off the front wheel, degreased the fork bottoms - one fork seal had leaked a bit. Used the Motion Pro Seal Mate to clean out the oil seals and the dust seals. Two short rides and no further evidence of a fork leak.

Moto Guzzi: LeMans, Stelvio, Rosso Mandello, California Chevrolet: Malibu, Tahoe Dodge: Dakota, Durango, Daytona GMC: Denali, Yukon

That would make a fun thread. Cars/trucks and bikes. Start one in the banter and silly remarks area. I can think of three other Moto Guzzis named after special places - and a few more cars/trucks.

This will be my first time that really counts in the Alps. I was in a corner of the Alps in Slovenia once for a couple days, but it was all business and it rained the whole time - so I didn't even see the mountain tops. I met a group who had rented motorcycles there and vowed to do it someday myself. It's taken almost 10 years... but it's coming up in a few days. I plan to ride conservatively, and will try to find interesting, less-travelled-routes. I've heard that Swiss police are both strict and vigilant in their speed-limit enforcement. I hope to ride the Stelvio Pass on Saturday. I expect that it will be crowded, so I'll get as early a start as possible. By looking at maps, I see that Stelvio is not just a road - it's a large national park in Italy. That makes me appreciate the name of the Moto Guzzi Stelvio a little more. Many US-made vehicles are named after special places. GMC Denali and Yukon, Chevy Tahoe and Malibu, Dodge Durango and Dakota, etc.

When I did the clutch on my LeMans, I had a few sets of used parts available. The pushrods were identical in dimension, but there was variation elsewhere. The depths of the cups that sit in the pressure plate were different - so were the thicknesses of throwout bearings and washers. All of those differences make it tricky to get the right total length between the clutch piston and the pressure plate. And before you ask, I don't know what the right total length is... The problem with mine was a partial release. I could tell that the surfaces were rubbing with the clutch lever pulled in. I had a little success by adjusting the screw-plunger on the clutch lever. But then I went too far and the fluid would not return to the reservoir when it heated up (clutch lever got rock solid with no free-play). Hopefully a lever adjustment, extra washer, or thicker bearing will work for you. If not, read on... Eventually, I ended up taking the engine out again and alternating 5 stiff and 5 normal clutch springs. As I mentioned above, it's possible that at least part of my problem was the springs not being seated correctly. If you are not certain that the springs are totally inside the wells of both flywheel and pressure plate, it might be worth pulling the engine again. Also, if you got 10 new stiff springs, I think that is too much for the hydraulic system.

Hatch Green Chiles and Tarmac Tenderloin. We get 20-40 pound of those Chiles every year. Roast... freeze... stay spicy all year. Great report and pics. Thanks. Looking forward to meeting and hopefully riding with you and some more Scuristi at the San Diego not-a-rally.

Yeah - a more detailed description could help - or if you've mis-stated something, you could correct it. It's not clear to me whether you have neutral or not. Can you roll the bike freely with engine off and transmission in neutral?

No risk of gas flowing down from either nipple to drip down near hot cylinders? I would like to get rid of those tubes. Make for easier going when getting the tank back on. I suppose there is a risk of that if you spill a lot of gas inside the fuel door housing. If you are concerned about that, you could pour some water over the tank and see which vent it comes out of - then run a small hose from that one.

The thread you referenced was for my LeMans, which already had a twin-plate clutch. I used a RAM single-plate in my Scura. That said, if you already have the clutch slave out, it's not too hard to put a thicker bearing or an extra spacer in there. You should be able to test for neutral easily after that. My clutch problem may have been due to using all 10 stiff clutch springs (later swapped for 5 stiff and 5 soft). But I also have to admit the possibility that I had not correctly seated all the clutch springs in the wells in the flywheel and/or pressure plate when I originally assembled it.