Laverda Virgin

B

BillyB

New member
Location
Northern Ireland
Hi, I have just joined this forum as I have just purchased my first Laverda. Its a 1998 Diamanté. I have never worked on these bikes and know nothing about them so I would really appreciate a few pointers as I know precious little about them. I am told the engine engine was rebuilt approx 10 years ago but I have no receipts to prove this. The bike was running when it was parked up about 6 years ago. I plan to drain and clean the tank and carbs etc and drain and refresh all the other bodily fluids and filters. Is there anything else I should check or do before I key up the starter on it? Many thanks in anticipation.
 

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The bike does not have carbs, it is fuel injected. Therefore, after 6 years of standstill, all the associated bits and pieces involved can be dodgy. The fuel pump inside the tank is often siezed, fuel lines hardened and brittle.

"Engine rebuild" means nothing if you don't know what exactly has been done and by whom, they have several weaknesses, all of which are quite expensive to remedy. The charging and starter circuits are notorious for their inadequacies. Many threads about the Zane models to be found here, spend a couple of days with the search button. ;)

piet
 
Hi Bill, welcome to the forum and congratulations on your purchase. Looks realy nice!

Piet is right with everything he said above (he works on Laverdas professionally), these bikes have known issues that need fixing sooner rather than later. How many kilometers or miles does the speedo show as total, please?

Grant on this forum lives in UK and has done work on these modern Laverdas, too. Not sure if he still does or would be willing to, but might be a good local contact. ;)

Hope you can fix it! Make sure you remove all fuel and fill in fresh one before you start the bike. The old fuel will prevent it from starting and you only overheat the starting circuit while trying...

Any history of what really was already done on the bike, please? That would be a good starting point...
 
Laverdalothar said:
Hi Bill, welcome to the forum and congratulations on your purchase. Looks realy nice!

Piet is right with everything he said above (he works on Laverdas professionally), these bikes have known issues that need fixing sooner rather than later. How many kilometers or miles does the speedo show as total, please?

Grant on this forum lives in UK and has done work on these modern Laverdas, too. Not sure if he still does or would be willing to, but might be a good local contact. ;)

Hope you can fix it! Make sure you remove all fuel and fill in fresh one before you start the bike. The old fuel will prevent it from starting and you only overheat the starting circuit while trying...

Any history of what really was already done on the bike, please? That would be a good starting point...
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Grant isn't on this forum any more.

Paul
 
another one to get back on the road - well done - yes they have some issues but they are great bikes to ride - fuel system needs to be clean , battery needs to be a good one , clean up every electrical connection particularly the starter circuit from the battery - join in on the Zanelist group
 
Laverdalothar said:
Hi Bill, welcome to the forum and congratulations on your purchase. Looks realy nice!

Piet is right with everything he said above (he works on Laverdas professionally), these bikes have known issues that need fixing sooner rather than later. How many kilometers or miles does the speedo show as total, please?

Grant on this forum lives in UK and has done work on these modern Laverdas, too. Not sure if he still does or would be willing to, but might be a good local contact. ;)

Hope you can fix it! Make sure you remove all fuel and fill in fresh one before you start the bike. The old fuel will prevent it from starting and you only overheat the starting circuit while trying...

Any history of what really was already done on the bike, please? That would be a good starting point...
Click to expand...
There are 14600 km on it. I've made a few inquiries regarding who even did the engine, but so far I've been hitting a brick wall. I will be starting with changing the oil and fuel and see where we go from there. Thanks again.
 
piranha-bro2 said:
14,600km in 23 years. Yikes!! I do more than that on my bicycle every year!
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Well - my Formula has done roughly 16.000km... That said, I have several other bikes plus a classic convertable car that need to be moved from time to time and my work that finances all that at the end keeps me from using them more... ;-)

agreed on joining the Zane-List is the best to do! I think Grant reads in here from time to time, even though he is not contributing here. He has a facebook account though where he is posting on a daily base at least.
 
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Paul Marx said:
That's a pretty high mileage.
A lot of motorcycles are recycled long before.
They're just toys for most.

Paul
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Paul is somewhat right. Most of the 750 engines develop a serious issue between 12.000 and 30.000 km - depending maybe a bit how they get abused... (warming up properly, using the right oil with the right changing intervals etc.).

As you do not know what has really been done with your bike's engine, I would try to find out and - if you want to keep it - consider a work-over before it blows up. That's definitely cheaper than fixing it afterwards... and it bears the chance to upgrade it to Formula 2000 specs if you like, which gives some extra ponies and torque... (different pistons, different cams, different chip)
 
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