Hello all - Newbie Laverda owner

Hi JO55 and welcome aboard.

BTW - running a bike occasionally isn't a good thing, especially with modern fuels that suffer high evaporative loss. All you get to do is refill the carbs with a fresh dump of fuel, which mostly evaporates and leaves behind some residue each time - gradually building up.

General richness - check your choke plungers - the rubber tips can deform/harden/spllt and cause fuel leak-by causing enrichment all over the place.

Also, when she's cleaned oy and feeling a bit fitter, if she still won't idle well on choke and immediately falters, with low/struggling rpm, after starting, then lean out the starter circuit jet, this will give you much more control (over clean running and rpm) via the choke lever. As others have said, don't linger on the choke for long anyway.

HTH chap. Enjoy!  Paul
 
If I don't know the carbs' history,
I categorically renew needles, atomizers and
choke pistons (as Paul just mentioned bc of wasted rubbhers).
If necessary I also renew needle valves and
accelerator pump diaphragms.

Ernesto
 
Haggis said:
Hi JO55 and welcome aboard.

BTW - running a bike occasionally isn't a good thing, especially with modern fuels that suffer high evaporative loss. All you get to do is refill the carbs with a fresh dump of fuel, which mostly evaporates and leaves behind some residue each time - gradually building up.

General richness - check your choke plungers - the rubber tips can deform/harden/spllt and cause fuel leak-by causing enrichment all over the place.

Also, when she's cleaned oy and feeling a bit fitter, if she still won't idle well on choke and immediately falters, with low/struggling rpm, after starting, then lean out the starter circuit jet, this will give you much more control (over clean running and rpm) via the choke lever. As others have said, don't linger on the choke for long anyway.

HTH chap. Enjoy!  Paul
Click to expand...

Cheers Paul!

Yes, carbs were pretty clean, no gum build up at all and a couple of particles of crap flaoting about.

I did check the choke sealing rubbers. Other than a tiny indent where they seal (standard) they were very good and now all working in conjunction with one another.

Yes, I've realised how sensitive she it to too much choke now! That might be a good solution - thanks for your help!
 
Rob said:
Agree with diagnosis by wdietz186 & Paul - my engine spewed oil out of the breather when an oil control piston ring broke.  Running in on semi or fully synthetic oil is not recommended if you want to avoid glazed bore and smokey exhaust. Would be worth doing a compression / leakdown check, as well as the basics previously mentioned like checking the oil level is correct.  ::)

And as Phil and Andy have said, change the plugs back to B8ES.  Starting procedure - apply full choke and be ready to back off to half as the engine fires.  Push choke fully off usually within 10-20 secs. A BTZ equipped bike will suffer cold fouling so don't start the bike up without riding it off.  Failing pickup insulation - or BTZ box - not unheard of at this age. 

How's the battery and earth connections?

How did you 'set the choke and throttle slide heights'? Vacuum gauges are needed to balance the carbs properly. Choke cables just need to have slack in them when in the off position.
Click to expand...

Hi Rob, Thanks for the advice.

From what I can see, she had a new BTZ fitted, although this was in 1987. I'm guessing that there was no such thing as a fault code, or limp mode setting back then, as that's exactly what it feels like?

re- oil from breather. I have no smoke at all, so I'm hoping it's not this. She does have quite a lot in though, so I'm thinking it's that (desperately crossing fingers).

Battery is healthy and connections are good.

Chokes all check for condition and synchronised with ample slack to ensure they close fully. I don't own vacuum gauges and to be honest, multi cylinder 4 stroke set ups are new to me anyway so what I have done on the throttles is probably wrong. I synchronised them so that they all open and close together.

Thanks again!
 
wdietz186 said:
If it has only done 5k since 1987 it has obviously been sitting a lot. Depending on the atmosphere it could have some bore rust, not knowing how it was broken in, you could be dealing with a ring sealing problem. If it was mine I would run it fairly hard for a while and see if the blow by  decreases and the bike runs any better. Another item to check would be the valve clearances just to be sure nothing is too tight. Another concern would be the insulation falling off the Bosch ign. pickup wires, very common and isn't dependent on how it has been used.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your help!

It's lived in a sealed cover for most of this time, but started and ridden from time to time. There's no smoke at all, so I imagine bores are good.

I'm thinking ignition, pick ups etc. Doesn't feel like a fuel problem and such a marked and immediate difference. Also, intermittent.
 
You say three marks on the dipstick there should be two the lower mark is a guide to tell you that it needs topping up, the upper mark which is about 25mm above that is the full mark but that doesnt mean the engine is overfull if your oil level is 20mm above that upper line then you are overfull.
Are you sure the oil is blowing out of the breather and not coming out of the output shaft and blowing back down the crankcase??
 
If you dont want oil from the breather at high revs  keep it no morecthan midway..Itsxa known issue..look at what Phil says? Adds another breather in the cam cover..he didnt do that for fun😉 I have a recollection that Red was designing a new breather..cant recall what happened in the end. I like the idea of a breather in the cam cover..need a nicely designed thing though..if only i were an engineer..
 
You can check the pickups visually for failing insulation and also with an ohmmeter. I don't have the pickup values or color codes handy but they should be pretty close to each other, say 220 ohms, and both insulated from ground. In addition there should be no crosstalk between the pickups,ie. between the two white pickup leads or between the white lead of one pickup and the white/black of the other pickup. Or the white/black/red to the white/black. [I think those are the wire colors, don't hold me to it] If the insulation is iffy you can get variations in the pickup resistance or changes if you move the wires around while you are reading the values. Often the deterioration is where the wires pass through grommets or make sharp bends and of course any place you can't access without substantial disassembly! It's harder to explain than to do, it's pretty easy really.
 
Nice looking bike. Pretty much an original survivor except for the headlight. I'm guessing it's had a damaged headlight at some time during its life. Chrome headlight bucket and the brackets holding it are non-standard. Fork gaiters are an addition.
 
Dellortoman said:
Nice looking bike. Pretty much an original survivor except for the headlight. I'm guessing it's had a damaged headlight at some time during its life. Chrome headlight bucket and the brackets holding it are non-standard. Fork gaiters are an addition.
Click to expand...
Thanks!

She's a lovely thing. Not sure about the origins of the light, although it does look nice in the flesh. Tomaselli brackets look good too. There's a few things that have obviously been added, like the drilled and chromed clock bracket, again, I think it really looks the part on the bike.
 
wdietz186 said:
You can check the pickups visually for failing insulation and also with an ohmmeter. I don't have the pickup values or color codes handy but they should be pretty close to each other, say 220 ohms, and both insulated from ground. In addition there should be no crosstalk between the pickups,ie. between the two white pickup leads or between the white lead of one pickup and the white/black of the other pickup. Or the white/black/red to the white/black. [I think those are the wire colors, don't hold me to it] If the insulation is iffy you can get variations in the pickup resistance or changes if you move the wires around while you are reading the values. Often the deterioration is where the wires pass through grommets or make sharp bends and of course any place you can't access without substantial disassembly! It's harder to explain than to do, it's pretty easy really.
Click to expand...

Thanks, this is great info. Due to it's on/off nature, I suspect that its an ignition fault. Fuelling side seems fine. I will probably need more info/tuition to do what you are suggesting though : )
 
[/img]
maurice turner said:
Take the 7 spark plugs out they are too hot for that engine. Hot plugs will not fix your problem.
Compared to modern carbs Dell's are not as efficient and can seem to over fuel, check float heights and jet sizes, depending on the fuel available you should be able to get away with 55 pilots and 125 mains but there is a whole lot of other stuff you need to check prior to jet sizes.
If your engine is tight there should be no oil blowing out of the breather at all.
check the level with the dip stick dropped in the hole sitting vertical, the oil level should be between the two marks.
Click to expand...

Hi Maurice,

I will put an image of the dipstick on the gallery. It appears to have 2 marks, dividing the flattened end into 3 sections. Should it simply be between the 2 marks. Take a look if you get a minute. Thanks
 
Something is going on on the oil cooler line. What is the thing that looks like masking tape wrapped around the oil line? Red and blue fittings suggests, the lines are not original.

Curious?
 
Rob said:
Yes, it should.  So yours is a bit overfull...
Click to expand...
Thought as much. Drained 500ml out, and it's still on the high side. Didn't blow out, but I didn't thrash her either so ...
 
chrisk said:
Something is going on on the oil cooler line. What is the thing that looks like masking tape wrapped around the oil line? Red and blue fittings suggests, the lines are not original.

Curious?
Click to expand...
Not sure about the 'masking tape' (it isn't!). Yes, it has Goodrich braided oil lines going to it.
 
maurice turner said:
Yes just a little not sure if that would cause blowing out the breather check the breather ball valve it maybe stuck, the ball is mounted in the housing the breather hose clamps onto.
Click to expand...

Drained 500ml out and seems better. I've not thrashed her though and the level is still high so may combine an oil change with a reduction in level. Also check the ball vv. Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top