TeddyG
Hero member
- Location
- Portland Oregon
750 hydraulic clutch conversion?
- Thread starter TeddyG
- Start date
Max
Full member
I put the factory hydraulic clutch from a triple on an SF3 and wasn’t hugely impressed. Not sure it really helps a lot with the operating ratio.
I have the DAM kit on my Jota, with a new Domino perch and lever, wasn’t too in love with it at first as adjustment was rather fickle but I recently lubed the cable thoroughly and it is great.
Just realised you only have the DAM cable, not the extended arm, but I suggest good routing and lubrication could be the answer.
Andy
Hero member
- Location
- Auckland, roughly
Gives you something to do during the ad breaks 
piranha-bro2
Hero member
- Location
- Melbourne
Different clutch perches/levers, the extended lever and a top quality clutch cable well lubed (silicone) turns a Laverda bullworker into something I no longer even notice. My setup came cheap fro wreckers: R1 perch and lever, R1 cable (with minor addition to the motor end nipple to suit the Lav holder) and longer lever. And even if you 'desecrate' the selector cover by slotting it, a nice bit of kit can look pretty sharp and even conceal most of the dreaded slot. I so love NOT counting rivets!!
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CLEMTOG
Hero member
the triple hydraulic cover will fit the twins and when combined with the correct Brembo master cylinder will give you the lightest clutch lift on the planet, come and try mine, I think the master cylinder came off a 916, but not sure.
I do have a very carefully modified cable type cover with stainless extended arm, new gaskets etc available as a kit, which is a big improvement and suits a lot of people, I may be abale to help with the hydraulic type as well, I modify them so that the cylinder cannot burst through the front which is very common. mail me on "clemlav@tinyonline.co.uk" if interested in either.
CLEM
I do have a very carefully modified cable type cover with stainless extended arm, new gaskets etc available as a kit, which is a big improvement and suits a lot of people, I may be abale to help with the hydraulic type as well, I modify them so that the cylinder cannot burst through the front which is very common. mail me on "clemlav@tinyonline.co.uk" if interested in either.
CLEM
Don't use a standard Laverda hydraulic set up. No lighter than a cable and it'll leave you stranded one day when either the seal lets go or the cover cracks.
Paul
Paul, real men ride a busted clutch, did it two up for 60 miles.... even through traffic lights, suspect you may have ridden a clutchless Laverda. On trips, spare cable routed next to working cable, like an insurance policy, never needed it because i had the spare there ready...
Careful oiling PTFE lined bowden cable, better still, dont do it. j
Careful oiling PTFE lined bowden cable, better still, dont do it. j
Yes to all.
I have a spare cable zip tied to the working one on all my Laverda and haven't broken a cable in probably 25 years of regular riding. I regularly break throttle cables however.
And I've even gone touring with a can of silicone lubricant for my PTFE lined cables..
Paul
TeddyG
Hero member
- Location
- Portland Oregon
Thanks guys- I will "man up" and get used to it and try more spray- I've got it gently routed for a nice bend. But Redx5 I do like that trick alloy mod as I like shiny things. Also what 2 into 1 exhaust system is that- from an SFC, and do these twins respond better to that setup?
Just to be contrary, the best thing I ever had happen was stopping the pins and needles I was constantly getting plus avoiding the need to fix 3 or 4 broken clutch cables a year when I read in Classic Bike Magazine about some bloke in Pommyland called Phil Todd who had made a way to fit an extended clutch lever, I had done the same before on a Montesa Trailbike were the lever and cable was exposed but didn't realise it could be done to my 3c. After doing the mod, Dams kit removes the need to cut the cover, I could finally ride curvy mountain roads and not be in extreme pain with that stupid strong clutch pull. Some get by without this, but my experience was not pleasant till this mod was done.
piranha-bro2
Hero member
- Location
- Melbourne
Throttle cables???!!! You don't strike me as one for trying to extract the last few HP out of your bikes by torturing twist grips and cables, Paul! Never in 5 decades of riding Laverdas (and yes, often. with the throttle on the stops) have I broken a throttle cable. And clutch cable only once - on iced roads in the Snowy Mountains returning from the Alpine Rally in about 1975.
Travelled some of the most remote roads in Australia and never carried a spare cable. Geez, I must be a lucky mongrel!
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motoddrob
Hero member
- Location
- S/W Australia
Same for me Q, can't ever remember ever breaking a throttle cable and only a couple of clutch cables. Use to carry spare clutch cable when traveling looong distances, especially in the US where Lav dealers were few and far between in the days before internet.
piranha-bro2
Hero member
- Location
- Melbourne
Maybe US and Oz climate is kinder on cables?
motoddrob
Hero member
- Location
- S/W Australia
Those same cables survived 3 years of hooning around Europe. In fact the clutch cable is still the one currently fitted to the SFC.
breganzane
Hero member
- Location
- NSW Australia
Magura hymec is another excellent option. I put one on the Jota and it's brilliant. Don't need to remove the sprocket cover, even comes pre-bled, just fit and enjoy a nice light and friction-free clutch. Both master and slave cylinders are very small and hardly noticeable.
TeddyG
Hero member
- Location
- Portland Oregon
Lots to consider, thanks to all
Laverdalothar
Hero member
- Location
- Germany
Hi Steve, there was a discussion about this in the German forum some years ago, not sure anyone finally tried it. As I think there are different ones available from Magura (length of the hydraulic line, ratio maybe?!?), would you maybe have the part number that you fitted? Not for me, but for anyone interested. Any modification needed to fit it? Did you combine it with the extended lever or does it work with the standard one?
Thanks in advance!!
I have changed the Jota from cable to hydraulic actuation and never changed back. I had 2 or 3 Problems ever since (roughly 30 years), mainly with the ball-bearing between the rods and the ball in the piston of the slave. Maintenance/handling faults I would say. Replacing the O-Ring isn't the hardest thing really, but also not always a road-side repair possible, as you'll need break-fluid to refill the system. Cracks typically happen when people use a washer on the hydraulic connection in the cover, which then prevents the hydraulic bolt from sealing against the inner part of the slave cylinder. This causes pressure to applied between the alloy cover and the sleeve that sits inside the cover, hence the crack over time...
The master ideally would be 14mm, but that is not available I think. I have a 13mm from Zane Laverda (or Ducati Monster or other Duc's of the 90's) installed, works since 20 years faultlessly.
I also have a Relax-Cover on the Motoplast, but that isn't finished still, so no experience there. But it looks great quality! Just need to polish the surface a bit more to remove the machining marks to make it fit to the other covers.
I go touring every summer and two summers in a row, broke a throttle cable and that after having broken one the previous spring the first time.Throttle cables???!!! You don't strike me as one for trying to extract the last few HP out of your bikes by torturing twist grips and cables, Paul! Never in 5 decades of riding Laverdas (and yes, often. with the throttle on the stops) have I broken a throttle cable. And clutch cable only once - on iced roads in the Snowy Mountains returning from the Alpine Rally in about 1975.
Travelled some of the most remote roads in Australia and never carried a spare cable. Geez, I must be a lucky mongrel!
I never go out without one.
Maybe having put the lightest slide springs in the carbs make cable life easier.
Paul
CLEMTOG
Hero member
"Don't use a standard Laverda hydraulic set up. No lighter than a cable and it'll leave you stranded one day when either the seal lets go or the cover cracks."
Paul Marx, you realy must stop saying that a hydraulic set up is no lighter than a cable type, it is, oh yes it is, just so long as you get a non standard Ducati master cylinder, or an 80's Triumph one, (but not so light with that) mine is as light as any Jap 250, and when modified, the cylinder cannot push the front out. This can easilly be done to a stock undamaged cover by the use of a specially made extended hose union, that screws into the casting AS WELL AS the shrunk in cylinder, I have these in stock if anyone wants one, specially made for me, but I recomend that they are fitted by an engineer with machine tools, although a clever home mechanic could do it.That saves an original cover and cannot be seen, but if it is already cracked, it can be repaired with a permanent fix that shows the cylinder on the face of the cover, see pics of my own, the hose can be installed wherever you like, I prefer mine to go straight into the cylinder.
CLEM
Paul Marx, you realy must stop saying that a hydraulic set up is no lighter than a cable type, it is, oh yes it is, just so long as you get a non standard Ducati master cylinder, or an 80's Triumph one, (but not so light with that) mine is as light as any Jap 250, and when modified, the cylinder cannot push the front out. This can easilly be done to a stock undamaged cover by the use of a specially made extended hose union, that screws into the casting AS WELL AS the shrunk in cylinder, I have these in stock if anyone wants one, specially made for me, but I recomend that they are fitted by an engineer with machine tools, although a clever home mechanic could do it.That saves an original cover and cannot be seen, but if it is already cracked, it can be repaired with a permanent fix that shows the cylinder on the face of the cover, see pics of my own, the hose can be installed wherever you like, I prefer mine to go straight into the cylinder.
CLEM
