Let's get this bit out of the way and move on:
I understand exactly what T Cro meant. My fear was simply that as a total unknown here, he might have misunderstood my very first post, and been offended. I absolutely didn't want to come across as arrogant, and as he commented that attempting to "test" his/your knowledge would be a FAIL, I assumed that that was what he thought I was doing. I felt that I had to correct what appeared to be a misunderstanding, and thought that a polite way of doing that was by apologizing for conveying the wrong message.
I came here knowing full well - especially because of the long heritage of the Connie - that the people here would be very knowledgeable about the bike, as if the very name of the site wasn't enough of a clue. In contrast I didn't even know about that bike until a month ago, and obviously know little more about it now. In short, I'm here to gather knowledge and to join a community, not to offend anybody.
Moving on...
Nosmo: thanks for the info, and yes, I'm counting on y'all knowing everything !!
jbailey: re oil, that was a question I was going going to get around to. I have a personal preference for the temperature stability and longevity offered by synthetics in the 4-wheel arena, but I don't know if that is the collective wisdom for motorcycles. Would you care to advise?
Steve: will do right now, thanks!