End of SF1 restoration

Thank you all, the next step once you receive the documents is to use it! I have other old bikes but I don't consider myself a collector, I like to use bikes. I bought this bike blindly without ever having tried an SF 750, I don't know what awaits me, even if I know well the riding of Japanese motorcycles from the 70s, this I think is another thing...
 
serpiko said:
Thank you all, the next step once you receive the documents is to use it! I have other old bikes but I don't consider myself a collector, I like to use bikes. I bought this bike blindly without ever having tried an SF 750, I don't know what awaits me, even if I know well the riding of Japanese motorcycles from the 70s, this I think is another thing...
Click to expand...
yeah - by careful... if not done 100% right, the brakes can be a real PITA. For me, the front suspension was way to soft and the rear way to hard. On my SF, the front brake was tough to get operating and the rear blocked the wheel with the slightest touch of the brake pedal. Dangerous. Sold it after just 2.000km on it, as I had 3 very serious situations with it that could have caused accidents.

the sound though is something I really miss... If I would ever consider buying a 750 Laverda again, it would be a SF2. I just don't like drum brakes, at least not on the front...
 
The last photos I posted are from a few weeks ago and the bike was still in progress. To date the bike is completed as you can see in the first photos and is already in operation, it should do the technical test in the DMV in about 2/3 months (bureaucratic times)
 
serpiko said:
The last photos I posted are from a few weeks ago and the bike was still in progress. To date the bike is completed as you can see in the first photos and is already in operation, it should do the technical test in the DMV in about 2/3 months (bureaucratic times)
Click to expand...
Due o tre mesi???!!! In Australia ci voleva solo un giorno per esaminare e fare tutta l'admin per la mia SF (molto modificata). La guidavo il pomeriggio stesso.
 
Laverdalothar said:
yeah - by careful... if not done 100% right, the brakes can be a real PITA. For me, the front suspension was way to soft and the rear way to hard. On my SF, the front brake was tough to get operating and the rear blocked the wheel with the slightest touch of the brake pedal. Dangerous. Sold it after just 2.000km on it, as I had 3 very serious situations with it that could have caused accidents.

the sound though is something I really miss... If I would ever consider buying a 750 Laverda again, it would be a SF2. I just don't like drum brakes, at least not on the front...
Click to expand...
That's what I'm afraid to find out... my "young" age (I'm 44 years old) is not compatible with riding these bikes. even if I own a 73 Suzuki and I've ridden other Japanese coves both 2 and 4 strokes of those years, I presume to find in the SF more a European setting of the late 60s... we'll see if my opinions will be right, It was his undeniable charm that seduced me
 
I thoroughly applaud you Fabio for restoring the bike and for wanting to ride and enjoy it as originally intended. The only other important thing for you to do now is persuade a lot of your other 40 year old Italian friends to go out and buy an old Laverda and ride it.
 
piranha-bro2 said:
Due o tre mesi???!!! In Australia ci voleva solo un giorno per esaminare e fare tutta l'admin per la mia SF (molto modificata). La guidavo il pomeriggio stesso.
Click to expand...
In the past before the EC When Italian plates still existed, motorcycles and cars could be canceled by the DMV (returning the plates that in Italy are owned by the state) to be stored in private areas.
Many old cars and especially motorcycles have remained in the homes of Italians, for this reason 25/30 years ago many old motorcycles without documents were sold abroad. Then at the end of the 90s the laws changed and it was no longer possible to return the plates and documents to the DMV without physically destroying the vehicle
For about twenty years, thanks to the federation of historic vehicles, a law has been approved that allows the re-registration of historic vehicles that have been cancelled from circulation in the past, the procedure is complex and provides for a correspondence check of origin by an inspector of the historical register, as well as technical certificates and finally inspection from DMW.
 
serpiko said:
That's what I'm afraid to find out... my "young" age (I'm 44 years old) is not compatible with riding these bikes. even if I own a 73 Suzuki and I've ridden other Japanese coves both 2 and 4 strokes of those years, I presume to find in the SF more a European setting of the late 60s... we'll see if my opinions will be right, It was his undeniable charm that seduced me
Click to expand...
It would be a good idea to get Riccardo Oro to help set up the brakes, initially. It's something of a dark art but, when done correctly, those drum brakes were good enough for the SFC to win endurance races.
 
I tuned my brakes as my first owner (former mechanic and motorcycle rider Morini) taught me. After having obtained and chamfered the jaw, its opening is synchronized as much as possible, the subsequent leveling on the lathe guarantees an optimal equidistant opening.
The layout chosen by Laverda for its brakes seems to me quite efficient, I would say mechanically superior to the Japanese competition of that period.
 
The Sock said:
when done correctly, those drum brakes were good enough for the SFC to win endurance races.
Click to expand...
Don’t think any SFCs won on those particular brakes,Hamish. Maybe some early twins before they became the SFC. But I agree they are more than capable for safe general riding if set up properly. But not if you plan really getting stuck into it and giving the bike some real stick. And an SF1 is plenty fast enough to get you into serious trouble if you find yourself in need of a rapid deceleration. Been there, done that (and fortunately survived to tell the tale!).
 
piranha-bro2 said:
Don’t think any SFCs won on those particular brakes,Hamish. Maybe some early twins before they became the SFC. But I agree they are more than capable for safe general riding if set up properly. But not if you plan really getting stuck into it and giving the bike some real stick. And an SF1 is plenty fast enough to get you into serious trouble if you find yourself in need of a rapid deceleration. Been there, done that (and fortunately survived to tell the tale!).
Click to expand...
I perfectly understand what you are saying, with my 1973 Suzuki I got more than a scare because of the brakes, despite being equipped with a disc system (first types) in full efficiency the braking is weak over 80-100 km/h speeds easily achievable thanks to the brilliant performance of the 2-stroke engine.
With the Laverda I promised myself, at least in the early days, to stay away from some famous roads of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines precisely to avoid possible problems😀
 
It can take some time to understand the bike when coming from Japanese bikes. They are built around a different principle handling and steering wise. Be patient, don't force it to do things like a Suzuki of the era and it will come to you.
 
Hi Fabio. Great work there - the bike looks magnificent.

For me, the biggest 'surprise' when I got my Laverda 750 was that of vibration. Some seem to be smooth, but some, such as my SF(0), vibrate so much you can't see straight.

I hope your careful engine work brings smoothness and lots of pleasure

All the best from England, Paul
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top