Hello all - Newbie Laverda owner

[Schurminater]

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?!

Rode mine to Dijon last year for the Coupe de moto legende event.......whilst originally a bit apprehensive it turned out to be the most enjoyable and memorable ride to date......bike was amazing and faultless  (goodjob)
You will get there once she's settled in.

 

[JO55]

Wind the handlebar adjuster in and take up the slack by adjustment at the engine end of the cable. all should be fine, then.

Thanks. I?ll give it a go

 

[JO55]

Rode mine to Dijon last year for the Coupe de moto legende event.......whilst originally a bit apprehensive it turned out to be the most enjoyable and memorable ride to date......bike was amazing and faultless  (goodjob)
You will get there once she's settled in.
[/quote
Fantastic. I?ll look forward to getting the confidence and knowledge to to that.

 

[JO55]

Culprit found!

The extended clutch arm was letting go on the bend when pulled in. Phew! What a relief. I was about to reach for the green book!

Will bend back and weld ... for now! Cheers for the help guys.

 

[Vince]

Never heard of that before, had it on a car once. Replaced the clutch before finding the fork had cracked.

 

[piranha-bro2]

Make sure you ascertain how it could slip sideways - should be well supported in the cradle.

 

[JO55]

Never heard of that before, had it on a car once. Replaced the clutch before finding the fork had cracked.

it?s certainly an odd one. I?m hugely relieved though!

 

[JO55]

Make sure you ascertain how it could slip sideways - should be well supported in the cradle.

will do, may possibly make another one out of harder/tougher steel.

 

[JO55]

So, having thought I'd sorted the rough running with Denso plugs, only to then have a clutch actuator issue. I made a new clutch arm out of tool steel, job done! Or so I thought ...
I took to the road, clutch working like a dream and engine running sweet. Then ... the dreaded running issue returned. I'm fairly sure it goes on to two cylinders (from the fact that the centre down pipe was noticeably cooler than the outer two) and does so randomly.
Having stopped for a while chatting with friends, I started her up and she ran fine for 5 minutes, then back to 2 for 5 minutes, then back to full power for a couple of minutes before finally returning to 2 cylinders.

In a nut shell, I have one of those dreaded intermittent issues. Any thoughts guys? Carbs cleaned, standard jetting, new plugs.

At least the clutch is working well now!

 

[mauricejota7604]

What ignition is in your bike?

 

[hooksey]

Coils maybe.

 

[81Lav]

Check the wiring around the Ignition pickups, the insulation gets very brittle and causes all sorts of issues.
Better still bite the bullet and get rid of the 40 year old BTZ and install an electronic ignition.
It will resolve many of your issues.

Cheers
Bruce K

 

[CLEMTOG]

its BTZ right?
try this
look under the seat near the battery and electrics metal work for two very short wires coming out of the loom, only about an inch long and both these two wires terminated in a common brass ring, this is the earth connection for BOTH of the ignition boxes, the wires cross a sharp metal edge (very often not always) and the metal can "cut" a notch in the underside of the cable giving an intermittent earth, when on closer examination you may find one or even both of those short wires have parted company with the brass ring, but you haven't lost the earth, you just got a bad and intermittent one.

if you do find this (that would be a great wouldn't it?) then snip the wires clean, solder a three inch extension onto each one, and then put a separate brass ring on each, and then refix them both to the frame tab, much safer, much less stress, and more likely (in the end) to only fail on one side.
CLEM

 

[JO55]

What ignition is in your bike?

Bosch BTZ

 

[JO55]

Coils maybe.

I'm considering this. I had a jap bike do it once and that was the coil

 

[JO55]

Check the wiring around the Ignition pickups, the insulation gets very brittle and causes all sorts of issues.
Better still bite the bullet and get rid of the 40 year old BTZ and install an electronic ignition.
It will resolve many of your issues.

Cheers
Bruce K

Thanks. I've not checked as I assume it's a flywheel off job and I'm unlikely to have the correct puller!

Are modern systems, easy enough to fit? What would a typical cost be? Sorry, so many questions!

 

[JO55]

its BTZ right?
try this
look under the seat near the battery and electrics metal work for two very short wires coming out of the loom, only about an inch long and both these two wires terminated in a common brass ring, this is the earth connection for BOTH of the ignition boxes, the wires cross a sharp metal edge (very often not always) and the metal can "cut" a notch in the underside of the cable giving an intermittent earth, when on closer examination you may find one or even both of those short wires have parted company with the brass ring, but you haven't lost the earth, you just got a bad and intermittent one.

if you do find this (that would be a great wouldn't it?) then snip the wires clean, solder a three inch extension onto each one, and then put a separate brass ring on each, and then refix them both to the frame tab, much safer, much less stress, and more likely (in the end) to only fail on one side.
CLEM

Yes, it is BTZ. That would be AMAZING! 

Thanks for the tip. I'll take a look later.

 

[SFJOTA]

So JO55; all's well with the bike then!? I am most interested, as this sounds quite familiar. (I am also owner of a '79 JOTA.)

Not to hijack your thread, but i experience similar problems challenges with it. Bike is unwilling to rev in upper ranges, though not intermittent. I checked plugs and they are quite sooty, so i suspect too rich a mixture. Haven't come round to lowering throttle needles a notch yet.

Yet I suspect your findings to be correct, and your problem an ignition one, due to the intermittent nature of it.

BTW; My Laverda mechanic (quite knowledgable and well known) fitted ND W27ESU's to both my SF and JOTA. However, I had to replace them with NGK B8ES both times, as the too rich a mixture knackered the ND's. (yes I know; due to the too rich a mixture)

However; lowering the needles and fitting NGK's made quite a difference to my SF; the running bettered hugely...

Sorry for all these ramblings, but I though sharing these might be of benefit to you in the future.  Best regards, J.

 

[Schurminater]

So JO55; all's well with the bike then!? I am most interested, as this sounds quite familiar. (I am also owner of a '79 JOTA.)

Not to hijack your thread, but i experience similar problems challenges with it. Bike is unwilling to rev in upper ranges, though not intermittent. I checked plugs and they are quite sooty, so i suspect too rich a mixture. Haven't come round to lowering throttle needles a notch yet.

Yet I suspect your findings to be correct, and your problem an ignition one, due to the intermittent nature of it.

BTW; My Laverda mechanic (quite knowledgable and well known) fitted ND W27ESU's to both my SF and JOTA. However, I had to replace them with NGK B8ES both times, as the too rich a mixture knackered the ND's. (yes I know; due to the too rich a mixture)

However; lowering the needles and fitting NGK's made quite a difference to my SF; the running bettered hugely...

Sorry for all these ramblings, but I though sharing these might be of benefit to you in the future.  Best regards, J.

in my experience ND's are way more tolerant than NGK's to a rich mixture,however the fault is either in the mixture (too rich) and not the Plug itself and you should certainly be knowledgeable of all the jet/needle settings of the carbs in order to help troubleshoot the problem and know what you are starting with.
Alternatively you also need to be able to rule out any ignition weaknesses in the system which will ultimately give you a similar reading of a sooty plug which is not firing correctly. 

 

[SFJOTA]

Hi Schurminater,

You are correct. But rest assured; I would not tune carbs that are worn, or unknown with regards to settings. Both sets of carburettors have been completely rebuilt and are set as standard (original).

With the SF, it simply does run better with lowered needles and plug reading seems AOK. So I am happy as is.

With the JOTA however, i am indeed not sure between fuelling/ingition as the culprit.

Could contact Gijs again and see if he's got time. But I know the answer to that.  :-X That's why I anticipated, as to lowering the needles and see if that helps. Works a lot faster than contacting Gijs and a mandatory wait of several weeks?

Mind you; I am aware that the ignition for these bikes is crude and outdated. However, I bought this bike last year from it's first owner, all paperwork, booklets and Invoices complete. So I am reluctant, fitting a contemporary digital ignition...

Moreover, Laverda won races with the original system, for years on end!? 

Best regards from Holland, J.