Featherbed Laverda

sfcpiet said:
Looks like the 260mm Yamaha TZ to me.

piet
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"Well, what would you opt to stop a machine of this power and weight which will be very quick? There is only one option in my opinion, in keeping with Spirit of the Sixties Motorcycles it has to be drum brakes and those are Yamaha TZ racing items. Having bought a TZ Yamaha four leading front set up for the T150 Triton "METAMORPHOSIS" which unlike the ones on my Norvin was a new item but of exceptional quality I went back to Don Pender in the Philippines and ordered four leading front and twin leading rear brakes on 18" rims both on 280 mm drums. They do look the business."
Garry Laurence
 
sfcpiet said:
Looks like the 260mm Yamaha TZ to me.

piet
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Yep, TZ Yamaha 4LS. Went through two on my SF1 - fantastic when freshly set up but too flimsy for extended road use on a heavy bike - cast drum separated from the alloy hub on both, creating hot spots. But I loved it when it was working well.
 
piranha-bro2 said:
Yep, TZ Yamaha 4LS. Went through two on my SF1 - fantastic when freshly set up but too flimsy for extended road use on a heavy bike - cast drum separated from the alloy hub on both, creating hot spots. But I loved it when it was working well.
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Still got mine, fitted to my 250cc R26 Beemer! I did get that slug to rev to 9 1/2 grand/150+kmh before an unscheduled disassembly process took place. At least my boots were again waterproofed.:ROFLMAO:

piet
 
The Sock said:
And this year's Award for Comic Understatement goes to,...
PMSL!
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Well, it was over 45 years ago and I was rather ambitious. Turned quite few heads, too! It worked quite well... until it didn't. Tbh, there were quite a few unscheduled disassemblies. :rolleyes:

Ended up with a Yamaha R5 front end with the TZ wheel. Rear wheel got a hydraulic disc from a KTM. Power was somewhere around 24-25hp but revs were simply too much for the crank and rod, I already had the longest final drive available. Final straw was the barrel separating itself from the case, much the same as the R69S so often suffered.

Learnt a lot from tinkering on that overweight, underpowered lump of a bike.

piet
 
sfcpiet said:
Learnt a lot from tinkering on that overweight, underpowered lump of a bike.

piet
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I feel your pain, Piet, I had a BSA C15SS.
Constant maintenance proved a good training ground.
The BSA's fragility, and the Norton Commando 850 that followed it, helped me truly appreciate the Laverda's strength and reliability.
 
A mate had gearing issues with a hazy memory 4 speed old Husky MX bike he was trying to trail ride, his attempt at gearing it down enough to climb hills was a rear sproket just a bit smaller than its rear wheel. Crazy shit we did back then trying to make bikes do stuff they really shouldn't.
 
sfcpiet said:
Well, it was over 45 years ago and I was rather ambitious. Turned quite few heads, too! It worked quite well... until it didn't. Tbh, there were quite a few unscheduled disassemblies. :rolleyes:

Ended up with a Yamaha R5 front end with the TZ wheel. Rear wheel got a hydraulic disc from a KTM. Power was somewhere around 24-25hp but revs were simply too much for the crank and rod, I already had the longest final drive available. Final straw was the barrel separating itself from the case, much the same as the R69S so often suffered.

Learnt a lot from tinkering on that overweight, underpowered lump of a bike.

piet
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As a kid I did a lot of miles on the pillion of one of them. Bought off a German seaman who'd brought it with him on board ship.
The old man went through it when it needed work. He was curious about the quality as BMW's were very rare here at that time.
Verdict was that it was generally better than Brit stuff but where shit would do, shit was used. His words (AMIMechE)
 
Mention earlier regarding the Yamaha TZ drum front brake ......

There was an article not so long ago ( as usual I can`t find it right now ) in which Mick Grant was talking about the first TZ`s he raced .....

He reckoned the front brake ...... " was dreadful ...... you could stop quicker by dragging your feet .... The first thing you would do is sell it to some sucker and replace it with something else .... " .............

The next issue had someone writing in saying he was one of those " suckers " who bought a brake off Mick for sixty quid ..........

......... You have to bear in mind Mick was probably talking about coming off the Daytona banking at 155mph and having to brake for the infield section though ...........



BTW , talking about brakes ..... Coming down Porlock Hill in Somerset ..... ( hairpins , 1 : 4 , continuing for about half a mile ) ..... on the Laverda was no problem with the Brembos , but making the same descent on a Suzuki GS500E ........

...... By the time I entered the village at the bottom , the front brake had disappeared , as in absolutely nothing there ......... lever all the way back to the bar , literally nothing ......... It did come back again a couple of miles further on , when things had cooled down a bit .......

A bloke at work told me coming down that same hill on a 1930`s BSA , he found the front brake was actually " on fire " ( his words ) at the
bottom .....

Travelling uphill , coming out of the first right hand bend from the village , was like being confronted by the side of a house ...... ( ok , slight exaggeration , but it was steep .... ) ......
 
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The Sock said:
Samuel Taylor Coleridge's visitor
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I stand corrected ...... seems he was the bloke who interrupted STC`s recollection of his dream before he could get it all down on paper ....... I`m not all that well versed ( sorry ) in English romantic poetry .......... must have been important though .... it`s a fair old walk from Porlock to Culbone , especially when your BSA is on fire ....... :) ...........
 
On the road I never experienced fade on the big TZ brake on my SF1. Ditto at the Wanneroo track when racing (outbraked a green frame in one of my first races, C grade, nothing tpo brag about :cool: ). However, on the street circuit at Bunbury it was clearly struggling, not dire, just a little disconcerting. Can't imagine trying to stop a bike from 155mph with any drum brake!!
 
piranha-bro2 said:
On the road I never experienced fade on the big TZ brake on my SF1. Ditto at the Wanneroo track when racing (outbraked a green frame in one of my first races, C grade, nothing tpo brag about :cool: ). However, on the street circuit at Bunbury it was clearly struggling, not dire, just a little disconcerting. Can't imagine trying to stop a bike from 155mph with any drum brake!!
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More once or twice no chance, just imagine how hot they would get. I am amazed at how many times you see people towing huge caravans on mountain roads depressing their brakes constantly. You would think heat-soaked brakes would be a more well-known thing.
 
Vince said:
More once or twice no chance, just imagine how hot they would get. I am amazed at how many times you see people towing huge caravans on mountain roads depressing their brakes constantly. You would think heat-soaked brakes would be a more well-known thing.
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Stabbing the brakes is a lot safer than holding your foot on the pedal and dragging it until it cooks!
 
Explains the big scoops and speed holes lots got. Engine braking helps as well in all situations, maybe there is a market for a slipper clutch when towing caravans.
 
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