Laverda 750s starting problem

padipottamos

New member
Location
Norwich
Hello Everyone! This is my 1st post as a Laverda owner. I have owned my Laverda 750s for all of 4 days. It's in my dining room where it will stay for most of its life. Beautiful as it is.
However, there is a problem but I don't think it is serious (I have been a engineer for the last 25 years, have rebuilt numerous engines/bikes) when I press the starter button there is an awful noise (though I think it sounds worse than it actually is) but behind this the engine is turning & trying to fire. I removed the alternator cover & removed the idler gear between the starter motor & the crank. When I press the starter button the starter motor spins freely & as it should. So the problem is not the Starter motor...... However the idler gear seems to have suffered over its short life. The previous owner assures me this problem raised its head on the way back from the MOT last week. Does anyone have any ideas? All help will be greatly appreciated.
 
Sprag clutch fucked... the tip of the iceberg! :D

Drain the liquids, remove the battery and leave it in the dining room.  Won't require another MOT either. :D

piet

Oh yeah, welcome to our nuthouse!!
 
Agree with sfcpiet:

The RIVETS on the Starter Clutch are loose and the Back Plate is rattling the Roller Dogs in the Sprag. Either Mig, Tig  or Arc Weld the Back Plate to the Sprag or Tap and Drill the Back Plate tight with appropriate screws. The Dogs are rattling and not grabbing the Crank - Don't warp the Back Plate and keep it Tight.

A major issue or an inconvenience with all Breganzie's because we don't have a Kick Start.

I also suggest you wire the starter solenoid to ground through the tranny neutral switch so that the starter button only engages in Neutral.

Dogg's and pins can be bought from Wolfgang in BC Canada and change the seals well you're at it.

One thing about a Breganze, considering your Wife's disposition, is that you can service her on the kitchen table.

I use Castrol Moly Grease in the assembly.

Without a kick start, it takes an Energetic Gal to give you a push Start.

By the way, welcome to the Laverda Forum and be prepared to take whatever members dish out - We're all in the same boat ; o)
 
motoddrob said:
And what disposition would that be that you can't service her in the bedroom? :o

:LOL: :LOL: That's the second funniest question I've seen asked on the forum ............ here is the funniest: "In the Motodd frame that bike was pretty quick easily beating jotas down the main straight at Eastern Creek, right CK?"  :D :D ;)
 
Thanks for suggesting it could be the sprag clutch. The owner mentioned that he thought there may be something amiss with it. All I need now is a 28mm socket (ordered) enabling me to remove the offending item (that has ducati written on it!!!) then I will sort the sprag clutch as suggested & if that doesn't work I'll drop a TRX 850 lump in her instead!!  :o
 
Now we are a; &^%$-Up - Is this a Breganze or a Zane 750 S?

Really, there's a 1/4 centry of engineering between them.

What Ride does the OP own?
 
Should have paid more attention... alternator cover and idler gear gives it away!

Hope you were more attentive at school. :D

piet
 
Did someone mention Ducati and sprag..........Oh shit i came here to get away from that. :-X
 
sprag clutch issue on the zane bike is well known but not really that tough to fix. 

you can go to the yahoo zanelist and in the files section there is an old wav file that is a recording of the sound the bike makes if the sprag clutch is gone.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/zanelist/files

there are plenty of posts on the yahoo board about how best to diagnose and fix

Volker should have parts if you need to order ( I do too but I am in the USA)


Cheers

Martin

PS  After you get it fixed, you probably want to upgrade the 3 battery cables to 4 gauge instead of the original two gauge.  This will put a bit less strain on the the starting process.  I have these available if you need them

 
mgordonvegas8 said:
PS  After you get it fixed, you probably want to upgrade the 3 battery cables to 4 gauge instead of the original two gauge.  This will put a bit less strain on the the starting process.  I have these available if you need them
How does reducing the wire size put less strain on the starting process?
 
Opps.. I meant go from the smaller 2 gauge to 4 gauge....need more caffeine I guess

The three most common "quick fixes" for the zane bikes are the battery cables, sidestand bypass and stainless oil filter

For the battery cables, Zane bikes came with the 3 battery cables all in 2 gauge, one from the starter motor to the starter solenoid, one from the solenoid to the battery and one from the negative battery terminal to a ground on the engine.  Updating from the small two gauge wires to a 4 gauge wire set seems to remove the "ruh-ruh" tough starting issue, which puts less strain on the generator and sprag clutch.

For the sidestand bypass, this is located on the riders right side under the small side panel.  Its the square unit and it has a tendancy to fail over time.  I can get a simple bypass plug that makes it so the sidestand bypass wont kill the bike but the sidstand bypass warning light will still show inside the tachometer.

The last fix is a simple replacement of the standard oil filter with a stainless unit.  As you already know, the Zanes have a reputation of bad cranks but really this is due to an oiling issue.  Replacing the standard filter with a larger stainless unit (such as this) helps resolve the oiling issue and avoids the need to worry about the crank issues.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/08-14-Ducati-848-Motorcycle-FLO-Stainless-Steel-Spin-On-Oil-Filter-Grey-/400542600096?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d42330ba0

Cheers

Martin
 
mgordonvegas8 said:
Opps.. I meant go from the smaller 2 gauge to 4 gauge....need more caffeine I guess

Updating from the small two gauge wires to a 4 gauge wire

Hang on, 4 gauge is smaller than 2 gauge surely  :-\
 
rowdypat said:
Hang on, 4 gauge is smaller than 2 gauge surely  :-\

I think so!
The numbers indicate how many times the wire is drawn through a die to reduce the diameter.
So 4 gauge has been 'drawn' more times than 2 gauge - therefore 4 gauge is smaller in diameter!

Simples?
 
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