Laverda KTM - first, the easy bit.

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Here's the very first stage of my Laverda-KTM project codenamed 'Tyrol'.

I've had an Atlas rolling chassis kicking around the garage for a while and decided that trying to find a suitable Atlas engine for it at the right money was going to be prohibitive and so an alternative would have to be found. A Zane 668 was the next choice but I abandoned that idea on the grounds it could potentially cost a lot of money to build a potentially inferior bike to a standard Atlas.

After a period of navel gazing I spotted this KTM LC4 motor on eBay and the ?119 purchase price became a major influence in deciding to go the KTM route!

Last night I offered it up to the chassis for the first time and as you can see from the pic there's bags of room for the motor and the compact dimensions means that siting the ancillaries such as coil  and ignition and airbox should be straightforward.
First task will be to rough-out some temporary engine plates out of MDF and once I'm happy with the chain line etc I'll get them fabbed up in Dural.
The intention is to build a fairly single minded off-roader purely for green lane riding and long distance events such as the Edinburgh Trial. The KTM motor is significantly lighter than the Atlas twin which should make the handling the bike off road a bit easier. In theory it should use even less fuel giving a potential tank range of 350 miles.
I'm looking forward to having a relatively modern motor with easy access to parts and service items, not to mention reasonably priced secondhand spares! It also resurrects a rare Laverda, albeit in hybrid form. Should sound pretty good too...

 
I haven't Sonic, but it's an interesting idea! The problem is, you'd be losing about 25bhp in a Zane and that's probably a bit too much of a loss even taking into account the weight saving
A good engine for a Zane might be a BMW F800 - quite similar in overall concept but with a bit more grunt and absolute reliability
 
bob said:
I haven't Sonic, but it's an interesting idea! The problem is, you'd be losing about 25bhp in a Zane and that's probably a bit too much of a loss even taking into account the weight saving
A good engine for a Zane might be a BMW F800 - quite similar in overall concept but with a bit more grunt and absolute reliability

HEATHENS!!!
Click to expand...
 
You might be right Strike, seeing as the 668 engine is the only link the Zane bikes have with Breganze. Remove the motor and what you're left with is a good handling Dutch roadster in some sharp Italian clothes!
 
Chris, I've had 'em and I like 'em! But the Zane shortcomings aren't foibles, they're fundamental engineering quality issues which are difficult and expensive to eradicate.
Design quirks can give a bike character but poor engineering simply gives a bike a bad name. With the quality issues addressed I agree that the Zane bikes are wonderful devices. The trouble is, addressing the engineering issues is a bit more involved than something straightforward like a rebore or fitting a new set of valve seats, it's a serious re-manufacturing exercise to put right what was wrong in the first place.
 
Don't suppose you will change the colour scheme to ahem, orange?? :D Those LC4 engines are cracking motors. I ended up with an F650 instead of a KTM as the local dealer wouldn't give me a test ride. At that point I was buying it new and wasn't parting with cash without knowing how good it was and if it was right for me. But my preference was defo with the orange lump. Still fancy one but not while I have the BMW. The Rotax engine is pretty damn good too.

I test rode an F800 and as much as I liked it I would never have one over a Zane. All those niggles and potential problems still wont make me change my mind. The F800 is just to refined and lacks the character (and danger) of the Zanes Oh, and who is seriously going to stop and look at a BMW over a Lav...... ::) Zane?
 
That little motor just sitting there looks quite innocuous...but if you get that running it will give you deep joy!amazing things,have one in my Duke 690r and you would not believe how it goes,feels like a v twin and on the back roads I have never ridden anything faster.leaves Clems Pan for dead too ;)
 
Given I ride all year round in sun, rain, floods, snow and ice, it had to be practible and reliable aswell as being able to take abuse it made most sense. I don't own a car you see. Its been dropped a few times, its cheap to run and still good fun on the back roads but then it depends on the rider as to how much fun they can eek out what is in theory a boring bike. The only complaint is the lack of speed for boring straight roads but that wasn't why I bought it. The other bikes are for those.
 
I've ridden a couple of F650s and I really liked them, quite punchy , low centre of gravity, good brakes and good handling. An ideal everyday/winter bike, cheap too!
 
Couldn't agree more Bob. Was really fancying the KTM Duke. In orange the perfect colour and it just looked and sounded like a hoot but he ho.
 
Not really any such thing as a boring bike, merely boring riders - or people who haven't figured out how to get the best out of a bike.

Mind you, you have to look pretty hard to find the excitement in some things.
 
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