LH3 and other projects.

[BobD]

The LH3 recently acquired from Andy J. is coming along quite nicely although I've yet to go any great distance on it. After giving careful consideration to entering it in the forthcoming Exeter Trial in early January I bottled it and will be using my trusty old Gas Gas Pampera instead. Running a relatively unknown quantity like the LH3 in a long distance event through the night across Exmoor and Dartmoor might have been a recipe for disaster. The trial has been shortened since I last entered (down from 20 hours to a mere 14!) but even with the reduced distance it's important to have 100% confidence in what you're riding because the Exeter is a notoriously brutal event. My main priority at this stage is simply to finish, hopefully in one piece. The last time I entered I was riding the Chott.
Hopefully both the LH3 and the ISDT bike will be finished by the Spring and once they're sorted I'll start entering them in regolarita style events. Depending on how the season pans out I'll probably debut one of the Laverdas in the Edinburgh Trial later in the year, we'll see.
Keep an eye out for the LH3 in Classic Bike magazine, the mag has run a two page feature on the bike in the January issue which should be in the shops next week.






This is the 280cc Pampera I'll be using, I built this earlier this year out of NOS and it's already been out more than 50 times and probably covered 5,000 miles which means it's nicely bedded in. I've got to do a few mods to get it ready for the Exter but I'm fairly confident it will finish.




Lonely-looking Chott in Fingle Woods, Devon on the 2009 Exeter. It was bloody cold that year.

 

[Vince]

Andy must specialise in supplying Laverda Off-road bikes. If the LH3 is the one with the Husky engine and it runs a Motoplat or SIM EI I had a lot of trouble with the one in my 420 Husky Auto. They get hot and lose spark with some age on them. I finally found a bloke who could depot them and he sorted mine out after trying 3 or 4 other coil Rewinding specialists in Oz who promised a lot but failed dismally. He specialised in supplying lighting kits as well for the 100-year-old 24-hour Moto Trial they do in South Oz every year.

Betta Bikes | Motorcycle Electrical and Lighting Services

 

[Tippie]

Good work Bob. That is a great endorsement of the GasGas, big mileage proof of reliability for a modern two stroke. Is the engine in house or bought (are now another KTM branded bike). My experience of the Husky engines from long ago is that they are also really good. Agree with Vince about the early CDI ignitions being weak points (pun intended).

 

[BobD]

Hey Tippie,
The Gas Gas TXT engine is a bit of a classic, it's their own motor and was fitted to all their trials bikes during the 90s. They eventually replaced it with the TXT Pro but continued to use the early engine in their Pampera trail bike in the early 00s.
My Pamps were all ten years old when I bought them in 2012 and since then have led pretty hard lives. During that time one of the bikes has clocked over 56,000 miles and the rest will have done over 30,000. Interestingly, I've only replaced a couple of spark plugs in all that time.
They have consumed a vast amount of tyres, chains , sprockets and wheel bearings but only a handful of pistons, one or two cranks plus a few clutches and water pumps. Four of the engines have been overhauled to freshen them up but only two of the motors were what you might call worn out. Incredible really.