How do you tell a real factory built Jota?

1200ts

1200ts

Hero member
Location
USA - Riverside CA
On Saturday I was on my RGS and stopped for fuel. A fellow came up to me and said his brother has the same bike and it has not run for years and he thinks he wants to sell it. He said it had Jota decals on the side cover. If it's a 180 or 120, I don't know.

When I bought my 3CL many years ago it was advertised as a Jota but was in reality a 3CL made to look like a Jota. Orange paint, Jota exhaust system and and a Jota decal on the side cover. No Jota parts in the motor. I did not care and bought it anyway.

I realize the differences are not much between a Jota and a 3CL and the conversion can be done in a day. Many bikes were converted to Jota spec here in the US by the dealer or customer and there are more now than the factory ever made. On a number of the bikes the only Jota part added was the decal and exhaust like mine.

This got me thinking, is there any list of serial numbers of factory built Jota's? I know Laverda for some countries also built Jota's with nothing more than the Jota decal and no pistons or camshafts. If it's just another 3C, I don't need another one or so my wife says. I am not a rivet counter and don't care if it's a factory Jota, but am just wondering how you can tell?

I am not getting my hopes up as the last Jota I went to see had been sitting outside with the head and cylinder off and full of rain water!
 
My 3CL bought new in 1976 came with "Jota" exhaust but not hi comp pistons or 4C cam. It also had a silver frame, apparently predating silver frames elsewhere on the planet. It now has hi comp pistons, improved valves, F1 cams, kevlar clutch plates and hydraulic clutch actuation among other modifications/improvements. Is it now a 3CL, Jota, Jota improved? Nah, just a bike I love riding (when I get it back together again 😁 )

What was your question again?
 
There's a French market 81 Jota for sale via a US dealer for a French owner at the moment for $ 22 000. The bike was for sale in France at €23 000 for a few years.
When a son of mine, then myself contacted the seller, who is known, asking if it was a French market Jota, he had to admit it was. So we pointed out that it was a 3CL and promptly got banned from the comments.
So beware.

As for the title of the thread, who gives a s..t.

Paul
 
If you were on your RGS and someone mentioned the same bike but a Jota version, wouldn't it likely be an RGA Jota? Very different looking bikes the 3CL/Jota than the RGS style. Go and have a look at it if you can. If you consider buying it you could arrange a look under the cam cover at least before forking out.
 
The search for the "Genuine Jota" is as fruitless as a search for an honest politician. It's a myth.
One can argue that the only "genuine" ones were built by Slater Bros. but even that was, some say, no guarantee of 4C cams and high comp. pistons.
Buy a bike you enjoy and ride the nuts off it!
That's what they were made for, not pontificating whether it's a real unicorn or a damn fine horse with a horn on its head.
 
Well - are you looking at a factory Jota or a "REAL" Jota. These are two different things. REAL Jotas (as defined by their owners mainly...) were bikes equiped with factory tuning parts, ordered by Slaters in England and sold as a special model by them in England and US mainly. I think they had a 3C/E in the frame number (at least most of them). But don't take it as a quarantee this is an indicator for a Slaters Jota, please. Slater Jota's - if I remember right - had the JOTA in black letters as a sticker. Like this (not saying, this is an original one - just an example of the look):


"Factory Jota" were the ones built by the factory, mostly with standard components except for the half-fairing, mostly orange paint (except for the black/silver or black/red ones). They came with black/white Jota metal signs on the side covers

 
julian said:
Isn't there a list like Marnix has done for the SFC? I did think i had seen one once.
J
Click to expand...
No.
There is only one reliable Laverda registry and that is the SFC registry looked after by Marnix.
All the others are to be taken with a very large pinch of salt since there's no verification of the authenticity of the machines.
That can be very harmful when large wads of cash are involved, like the SFCs and to a lesser extent because for some, a Jota is worth more than a 3C which is a much nicer bike.
Hence the ludicrous situation concerning real, authentic Jotas. A right lark.

Paul
 
Nothing wrong with having or wanting a Jota Paul 😀 it’s only when you learn more about the brand that potential new owners can see how wide that question is - it definitely attracts people to the marque and then you go on - I initially rode Lemons RGA Jota but ended up with a factory 3 cross Jota - a very different animal - it’s a very important model to draw people in !
 
It’s also an issue of the unwary paying over the odds for a ‘legend’ only to be let down later when they find out it ain’t worth what they paid for it. That then doesn’t do the rest of us any favours so educating the uneducated is an important task for all of us. However, as all ready pointed out, that could take a long time as so many of us have a difference of opinion on this particular subject. 🤷‍♂️
 
I suppose the only true way to know if it’s a real Jota then is to look at it’s birth certificate (original bill of sale)
If it does not say the words Jota then is probably isn’t.
Spec is immaterial if the original invoice says it is.

Julian
 
julian said:
I suppose the only true way to know if it’s a real Jota then is to look at it’s birth certificate (original bill of sale)
If it does not say the words Jota then is probably isn’t.
Spec is immaterial if the original invoice says it is.

Julian
Click to expand...
Look at the birth certificate of a Jota from France or Switzerland, for instance, it'll say Jota, only, it's a 3CL.

Paul
 
Sir Sidney Ruffdiamond said:
Nothing wrong with having or wanting a Jota Paul 😀 it’s only when you learn more about the brand that potential new owners can see how wide that question is - it definitely attracts people to the marque and then you go on - I initially rode Lemons RGA Jota but ended up with a factory 3 cross Jota - a very different animal - it’s a very important model to draw people in !
Click to expand...
Another few years of that and like with Ducati singles, it'll be difficult finding a nice original Mk 1 or 3, there all Desmo lookalikes or SS lookalikes for the twins. And a lot of nice 750s are becoming botched orange SFC "replicas".

Laverda made nice bikes. Debunking the Jota myth can only help to keep them nice and original and not massacred to maintain a publicity stunt alive or to make a quick buck. Keeping the Jota myth alive to attract people who know nothing about the marque is not doing Laverda any good.

Paul
 
Every Laverda you buy was ones factory delivered

Italian model years run from September to July (August is summer holidays in the Industry)

So a '80 model was delivered end '79 and begin '80

Re 180 degree Jotas, please correct me if I'm wrong:

The first Jotas were 3CL's modified by the Slater Brothers:

I think they started somewhere in '76 until '79:

1. Green (a few)
2. Red
3. Silver
4. Gold

Records on these machines are available

Then from '79 the factory started to produce Jota's (modified 3CL), all orange with a silver frame :

'79 no fairing, rvs front fender (See Lothars first image)
'80 round fairing short orange front fender with 2 diagonal black stripes in the middle
'81 last 180 degree engine (same outside appearance as a 120 degree engine) round/square fairing with vespa px rear lights and a large orange front fender


BUT, factory delivered Jota's are country specific and depend on what was available re parts and also due to emission and noice regulations, for example:

Some countries had High Comp pistons
France and Switzerland had low Comp pistons

Some countries had C4 camshafts
France I think A11
Switzerland even A12

Mostly with rear-sets, but not all
Some '81 with long or round tank logo

Different exhausts systems, small/big bore collectors, Jota/3CL cans..

etc

I'm not sure if any records are available


Ps: better look into the drivability of the different 3-cylinder models, which suits your driving style and if used for moutain riding or long distances etc, maybe we have to start a topic on this.
Jeroen
 
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If you were right Paul you would have one less like me and in my opinion quite a few more when I see people at the shows - it attracted me in and then a talk with Shaun and Keith 737248CE-0361-440D-A1E5-17B96A1C89D6.jpegand I was hooked

The Jota is here in many forms and I reckon there are plenty of happy owners - we shouldn’t under estimate it’s attraction as we need as many people supporting the brand as possible

And the Zane is a great bike as well 🤣
 
Paul there is a difference with your analogy

A triple supplied by the factory or designated factory appointed representative as a Jota with a Jota badge is a Jota
Specification is irrelevant.

A Desmo is a description of a mechanical principle. If it wasn’t supplied by the factory with that feature then it is not a genuine Desmo.

One can argue split hairs but the basics are clear.

However not all Desmos are the same, just like not all Jotas are the same,
Then and now.

J

For me however, I want a Slater 180 in orange and silver, the rest just ain’t got it baby
 
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