A tale of woe ..... No Laverda content , just more expense ........

Andy J said:
Interesting, but why didn’t you ask the ham fisted tyre fitter for a new disc - or is another confession due?
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Was gonna ask the same thing, Andy!

I bent a solid cast iron disk (from a bevel Duke, no alu centre) after hi-siding at Winton. The forks twisted enough to bend one disc (why not two, I don't know?). But before chucking it away i thought I'd spin it in the forks (after straightening the triple clamps) with the dial gauge - so gave it a whack just once where i thought it needed it with a piece of wood and my big Thor copper head. Checked it again and couldn't see the dial move!! Can only assume it had a memory. It's probably still out there circulating one someone's bike. Shat surprised me was that the cast iron seemed to have a degree of flexibility.

Stainless bicycle rotors are VERY sympathetic to lateral bending without damage. I think your stainless rotor will be fine, Cam. And the alu centre hardly had to move at all.
 
That`s a pretty grim story regarding the Benelli disc ...........

I remember taking the Mirage to a non Laverda related bike service shop in Bristol a fair while ago ...... can`t remember exactly what for , but I do remember a news report on the radio whilst I was in there about some bloke who got himself wedged in a rock crevis somewhere in the middle of nowhere , and the only way he could free himself was by cutting his trapped arm off with a penknife .........

Anyway , the guy running the place had taken over the business from his father ......... he looked at the Laverda , and went to switch on the ignition by twisting the key in the completely wrong direction with such force it almost jammed the lock in it`s mount ..........

It seems this was just the way this ham fisted twat went about things .......

Not as potentially dangerous as Cam`s bent Benelli disc , but you have to beware these idiots ...........


As a certain Mr S Winterton once remarked .... ( sorry to bring him up again , I know he`s not everyone`s cup of tea ) ....... " Motorcycles these days aren`t designed to be owner proof ........ they`re designed to be dealer proof ... " .............

There`s probably a great deal of truth in that ........... ( although there are exceptions , of course ... ) .........
 
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Andy J said:
Interesting, but why didn’t you ask the ham fisted tyre fitter for a new disc - or is another confession due?
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Mainly because I had a ride planned for the following day. A new disk probably would have had to come from Italy and could have taken weeks, assuming I could even find one. The original disks that were fitted to Benelli triples are like hens teeth. Even used original ones are stupidly overpriced. Aftermarket disks are available from suppliers like Metalgear but they come in pairs. I only needed one.

Anyway, it was an interesting challenge to straighten it, and since it was no good as it was, I had nothing to lose by trying.

I did actually consider removing the buggered disk and fitting a spacer between the pads of the unused caliper. Thus temporarily converting the front brake to single disk.

Also, there's a confession of sorts. The ham-fisted tyre fitter was a mate with a newly acquired tyre changing machine. The cock-up occurred while he was trying to remove the old tyre. If you've seen those sort of gadgets in use, you'll know that to remove a tyre, you have to use a tyre lever to get the bead of the tyre up and over the duck-head on the machine. But in doing so, he pushed down a bit too far with the lever, pressing it against the disk. I was with him at the time and only noticed what was happening when it was too late, so I accept shared responsibility.
 
Explanation and semi confession accepted. As I was lucky the discs on my Tornado weren’t damaged when I was run off the road and crashed, I haven’t yet had to look for replacements. However, I can’t believe Benelli will have used a disc that is unique to that model. Oh hang on a minute, it’s Italian….
 
The disk on the Benelli isn't unique to that model. A couple of contemporary Ducati models used the exact same disk (748 for example) but they appear to have only been used for a couple of years and are no longer produced. I've not found any NOS ones for sale anywhere. I've seen a couple of used ones for sale but for about double the price of a new pair of disks, and there's no guarantee a used one would be any better than the one I have.
There are several alternative disks that would fit (the diameter, offset and bolt pattern are quite common) but the carriers have a different looking web pattern and the disk drilling patterns are different, some also have a wavy edge. Call me OCD, but I prefer to have identical disks on each side of the wheel. If I ever do decide to buy a new pair of rotors, I'll get a pair of Metalgear disks. I've bought disks from them before and couldn't fault the quality. Being made in Australia, their pricing is about as good as you'll find on this side of the world.
 
Wouldn't be surprised if they're the same or similar to the 320mm Brembos on the SFQ, which i bought trhough the Trading Post (remember that!) - I think they're off a 996.

Metalgear have replacements and, like Cam, they will be my go-to if and when i need replacements.

Brembo 2002-03 998 rotor.jpg
 
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motoddrob said:
I think you'll find they are made in China Cam.
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I think you are right Rob, but ….. Metalgear do make some stuff here (probably the boxes they package them in). Had a long chat to a Metalgear bloke when I was looking for a rear disc for my GSX1400 wire wheel conversion which uses a Ducati Sport Classic rear hub.

Even suggested they could make a one off, but found the right OD, ID and hole pattern off the shelf while we were chatting. Very helpful.
 
piranha-bro2 said:
Was that spoked wheel off the SFCK, CK?
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No mate, the same, but another one. Front hub for the GSX was the hardest to source.

Got one out of the US, it’s originally for a GSXR, but the 1400 wheel and brake rotor mounts at the same, even though they aren’t USD forks. The same manufacturer didn’t do rear hubs at the time to match, hence the Ducati jobbie

I spied PLC has the same front hub (laced from the outside-in to miss the callipers) on his Honda 750 project and what looks like a similar manufactured rear. Quizzed him out on here about the rear, but no response.

Anyway, already to be sent off for new rims (can’t decide on anodised or polished) and stainless spokes 😊

Oh, and just purchased another seat for it, and am going to ask Eldorado to do a similar shape as a Jota hump seat…. nice.
 
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