Hello all - Newbie Laverda owner

you become used to draining and refilling when you need to adjust the gearchange eccentric - yes you can do by leaning the bike on the side but getting it on its side looks risky to me - got a proper fitting funnel and a drain bowl with a spout  :D
 
Sir Sidney Ruffdiamond said:
you become used to draining and refilling when you need to adjust the gearchange eccentric - yes you can do by leaning the bike on the side but getting it on its side looks risky to me - got a proper fitting funnel and a drain bowl with a spout  :D
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I'll look forward to that pleasure then! Yes, I have a funnel and spouted drain bowl.

I need to see if there are any particular peculiarities about changing the oil on a Jota, or weird procedures to follow?!
 
I need to see if there are any particular peculiarities about changing the oil on a Jota, or weird procedures to follow?!
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None - apart from using a decent 20/50 mineral oil. The reason for not using semi or synthetic on your possibly heavy breathing motor is encourage the piston rings to fully bed in. Having said that, if the bores are glazed or were incorrectly honed, the only remedy is a strip down.
 
Good news on the running front. Weirdly, after changing the original plugs for hotter versions (7ES) and it running better, but still intermittently as if on limp mode, I put cooler ones back in (8ES both NGK) and it ran terribly. I've been a bit concerned about fake plugs and read about Denso versions being less likely to be counterfeit and also having a stronger spark. So, I thought it would be worth a try.

Anyway, I fitted them and it immediately ran as it should. Not perfect, and a bit lumpy, but strong and powerful and not as if on limp mode.

I've never had a bike that's quite so sensitive to spark plugs! So, for now she's ride-able, albeit a bit clunky on the gear change, especially on engaging first from neutral. I suspect this could be a common trait though. Thanks all for you help so far.
 
If this is any help . My 79 Jota with 3into1 exhaust (no internals), bell mouth intake, I'm running 160 mains, 60 pilots, standard choke pickups and standard needle valves, super unleaded. It runs perfect.
 
If it were my bike I would definitely suspect a weak ignition system - what is it running to be so sensitive to plugs? I simply couldn't live with a bike like that, Laverda classic or not.  :-\
 
JO55 said:
Good news on the running front. Weirdly, after changing the original plugs for hotter versions (7ES) and it running better, but still intermittently as if on limp mode, I put cooler ones back in (8ES both NGK) and it ran terribly. I've been a bit concerned about fake plugs and read about Denso versions being less likely to be counterfeit and also having a stronger spark. So, I thought it would be worth a try.

Anyway, I fitted them and it immediately ran as it should. Not perfect, and a bit lumpy, but strong and powerful and not as if on limp mode.

I've never had a bike that's quite so sensitive to spark plugs! So, for now she's ride-able, albeit a bit clunky on the gear change, especially on engaging first from neutral. I suspect this could be a common trait though. Thanks all for you help so far.
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Just my pennies worth to add........I run Denso plugs with no issues as they seem far more reliable on mine,always take her off the choke as soon as i can too much too long and i was fouling plugs and modern NGK's don't recover well from getting wet. And finally mine does not like Super unleaded especially around town gets gets grumpy,lumpy and lets me know about it.....so regular unleaded and she's fine.
Good luck with yours and enjoy the greatness of Laverda  8)
 
cookie981 said:
If this is any help . My 79 Jota with 3into1 exhaust (no internals), bell mouth intake, I'm running 160 mains, 60 pilots, standard choke pickups and standard needle valves, super unleaded. It runs perfect.
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Thanks, it all helps. Mine is on standard exhausts with Corsa collector, std airbox, but no filter currently. So, a little different, but gives me an idea. Cheers.
 
Piranha Brother 2 said:
If it were my bike I would definitely suspect a weak ignition system - what is it running to be so sensitive to plugs? I simply couldn't live with a bike like that, Laverda classic or not.  :-\
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I've suspected all along that it's something to do with the ignition and this has galvanised that thought. It's on the standard BTZ Bosch as far as I know. I too don't intend to live with it behaving badly! My general runner is a '78 GS1000 Suzuki that I've ridden to LeMans twice with no issues whatsoever. Hopefully I'm not being too ambitious aiming for that sort of dependability?!
 
Schurminater said:
Just my pennies worth to add........I run Denso plugs with no issues as they seem far more reliable on mine,always take her off the choke as soon as i can too much too long and i was fouling plugs and modern NGK's don't recover well from getting wet. And finally mine does not like Super unleaded especially around town gets gets grumpy,lumpy and lets me know about it.....so regular unleaded and she's fine.
Good luck with yours and enjoy the greatness of Laverda  8)
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Thank you.
All things I've discovered with mine (other than the Super Unleaded). I've yet to go for a ride longer than 15 miles as I've not got the confidence in her yet, but I'm hoping that in time, I will enjoy the greatness to the full!
 
If the standard ballast resistors are still in circuit, bypass them to improve coil voltage.  They are superfluous.  Also check what voltage you have at the coils with ignition on...wouldn't want any less than 0.3v below battery voltage. If it is, check right through the ignition coil wiring for poor connections. That includes fusebox, ignition & kill switches as well as battery & earth connections.
 
Rob said:
If the standard ballast resistors are still in circuit, bypass them to improve coil voltage.  They are superfluous.  Also check what voltage you have at the coils with ignition on...wouldn't want any less than 0.3v below battery voltage. If it is, check right through the ignition coil wiring for poor connections. That includes fusebox, ignition & kill switches as well as battery & earth connections.
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Thanks Rob
 
UPDATE - I took her for a short ride last night and she ran like a dream. Felt and sounded amazing! The plugs appear to have sorted her out.

However, a new issue arose. I gradually lost clutch release (as if the cable had got longer, or had adjusted itself). I limped home and dropped the oil as I had planned to anyway. I've removed the gear selector cover and actuating arm/sprocket cover. It has the long arm conversion to reduce pull. No adjustment that I can see appears to have slackened off.
Is there anything I should check this side, or do I need to dive into the primary drive side and get the case off? Any ideas greatly appreciated, cheers!
 
If you loose 1 or 2mm off the pushrod ball bearings length, mushrooming, thats all it takes.Check for frayed cable. The outer ball bearing can dig into its mount, thats one issue I havent had but lots have.Point is small wear has a big effect
 
Vince said:
If you loose 1 or 2mm off the pushrod ball bearings length, mushrooming, thats all it takes.Check for frayed cable. The outer ball bearing can dig into its mount, thats one issue I havent had but lots have.Point is small wear has a big effect
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Cheers Vince, I?ll take a look. Was odd that it happened in the space of a few miles. I had noticed previously a degree of drag when she got hot but this went a bit further than that.
Thanks again 👍
 
That's perfectly normal. As the clutch gets hot/expands the cable slack increases, it's what the handlebar cable adjuster is for.
Remember to adjust it back when you put the bike away.

That's, probably, the biggest single advantage of a hydraulic clutch: its ability to self-adjust.
 
I wouldn't rush to strip the engine!  Depends how severe your 'lost clutch release' was.
As the engine warms up you'll find that the cable adjustment will need tweaking - in my experience at least.  This is particularly so with the easy lift conversion which amplifies the effect.  Just give the knurled handlebar adjuster a turn or two.

Hamish beat me to it!
 
The Sock said:
That's perfectly normal. As the clutch gets hot/expands the cable slack increases, it's what the handlebar cable adjuster is for.
Remember to adjust it back when you put the bike away.

That's, probably, the biggest single advantage of a hydraulic clutch: its ability to self-adjust.
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Thanks. Seems to have gone a bit further than that. I couldn?t adjust any clutch pull into it. Well, a tiny bit at max adjustment. A bit more than I?d expect from expansion.
 
Rob said:
I wouldn't rush to strip the engine!  Depends how severe your 'lost clutch release' was.
As the engine warms up you'll find that the cable adjustment will need tweaking - in my experience at least.  This is particularly so with the easy lift conversion which amplifies the effect. 
Just give the knurled handlebar adjuster a turn or two.

Hamish beat me to it!

Cheers Rob. No worries, as easy as I?m finding they are to work on, I?m in no hurry to delve further! I want to ride the bloody thing!
It just appears to be a bit beyond what you?d think is normal - ie. can?t get a working clutch at from the adjuster.
I?ll look at all options on the right side and see what I can do. The actuator arm looks particularly wobbly. Perhaps I?ll take it all out and have a look.
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JO55 said:
Thanks. Seems to have gone a bit further than that. I couldn?t adjust any clutch pull into it. Well, a tiny bit at max adjustment. A bit more than I?d expect from expansion.
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Wind the handlebar adjuster in and take up the slack by adjustment at the engine end of the cable. all should be fine, then.
 
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