1979 1200 on BAT

Hmmm.
"equipped with Marzocchi suspension" Ceriani forks.
"rear fender are said to have been repainted under previous ownership" Polished stainless rear fender.
"hydraulically actuated wet clutch" See photo?
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My 1978 Jota America is #1263 and has layed-forward rear shocks, no tank badges, and the horns are mounted off the front engine mounts.

The bike on BaT looks pretty clean and original for a 46-year-old motorcycle; it has been converted to right foot shift, Jota bars, and the rear turn signal lights are in the wrong place. Oh, and it has the EZ pull clutch conversion(not hydraulic) and great side-stand conversion, along with 4 pot Brembo calipers. A no-reserve price could be a great low-mileage buy for someone.
 
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there,s some discrepancies between the description and actual bike, along w no running vid to show if it runs or not w carbs needing “tuning”. But that,s on BAT. The “America” sticker seems to be an add on but I stand to be corrected. Did this model have issues w the aluminum cylinder head?
 
that bike is #1298, this cylinder head is from 1200#1281, is an all alloy cylinder head
Cracks have been welded up and then combustion chambers, exhaust ports and exhaust valves ceramic coated to lessen heat transfer in future
 

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TeddyG said:
there,s some discrepancies between the description and actual bike, along w no running vid to show if it runs or not w carbs needing “tuning”. But that,s on BAT. The “America” sticker seems to be an add on but I stand to be corrected. Did this model have issues w the aluminum cylinder head?
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Cold start vid will probably be posted. America decal correct. Looks tidy but needs a bit of fettling.
 
78jotadave said:
My 1978 Jota America is #1263 and has layed-forward rear shocks, no tank badges, and the horns are mounted off the front engine mounts.

The bike on BaT looks pretty clean and original for a 46-year-old motorcycle; it has been converted to right foot shift, Jota bars, and the rear turn signal lights are in the wrong place. Oh, and it has the EZ pull clutch conversion(not hydraulic) and great side-stand conversion, along with 4 pot Brembo calipers. A no-reserve price could be a great low-mileage buy for someone.
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Good eye-shocks not mounted in the forward frame lugs. My 1200 America #1232 has 'Laverda' decals on the tank. Rear turn signals & horns mounted non-stock.
 
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It is a 46-year-old bike; of course, it needs a bit of fettling.
Hammish, I believe the script should have said the duck-tail has been repainted, not the rear fender (mud guard for the English), the stenciling on the side covers looks correct. The carbs were rebuilt by Steve at Bevel Heaven (y)(y)(y)
BAT, as far as I know, and this is from my own experience, does not allow the seller to write their own sales script; they ask you to submit details you would like to be included in the sales script, which BAT has control of. I have no idea who writes the final draft.
No reserve sale on a very rare Laverda.
ps. Stick on tank badge looks a bit wonky, blasphemy!
 
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All 1200 tank badges are at a funny angle if you look at the bikes side on. I don't know why but they are higher at the front than the rear.
 
I feel that BAT should require all listed bikes to include a running video, and if not supplied, the bike should be advertised as a "project".
But they deal w a huge ongoing inventory and just want their money.
While the carbs have been rebuilt by Steve, the owner hasn't adjusted or synched them, and it appears this bike isn't running. Along w not correcting the description, the bid so far is $79.
 
TeddyG said:
I feel that BAT should require all listed bikes to include a running video, and if not supplied, the bike should be advertised as a "project".
But they deal w a huge ongoing inventory and just want their money.
While the carbs have been rebuilt by Steve, the owner hasn't adjusted or synched them, and it appears this bike isn't running. Along w not correcting the description, the bid so far is $79.
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You want a running 1200 Laverda for $79?
Paul
 
TeddyG said:
I feel that BAT should require all listed bikes to include a running video, and if not supplied, the bike should be advertised as a "project".
But they deal w a huge ongoing inventory and just want their money.
While the carbs have been rebuilt by Steve, the owner hasn't adjusted or synched them, and it appears this bike isn't running. Along w not correcting the description, the bid so far is $79.
Click to expand...
BaT is one of the better online sales sites & it's the seller's responsibility to provide necessary details like the obligatory cold start video, etc. Auction is definitely off to a slow start!
 
The bike is cosmetically in good shape (except for the tank ding) and I see what may be recent green gaskets on the engine. At least the seller put up a starting video, but didn't answer some questions, so I stopped bidding. After reading about the cylinder issues these had, and the fact it hadn't run for awhile, and had charging issues, I got second thoughts. It sold for $6K USD, which may or may not be a good deal.
 
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$6K USD is awfully cheap, but since it has a cylinder head w/ known issues, it could be a a money pit, and finding someone stateside w the experience dealing w it made me think twice. Also, the dwindling Laverda parts suppliers and tariffs from the orange clown are another unfortunate problem. Even though I'd like a triple, I'll just stick w my 750 SF2.
 
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