Making progress on my '74 3C

I have round mirrors on my Laverda Atlas, and I am amazed at how well they work. clear as bells with very good sight lines.
 
I remember the mirror head flying off one of those round ones when I was travelling at speed once. Not as bad as the front number plate on one of my old Hondas that flew off and hit me on the head though. Good job I had a helmet on.
 
The old OEM Honda (Jap) mirrors are good quality and will last forever if looked after. Replacements made in PRC are WOFTAM, causing the mirrors to separate from the housing at speed ( vibration) and chrome to flake. NOS Honda 88100-333-610 (right side mirror) 88120-333-610 (left side mirror) are more expensive but a lasting investment.
 
I fixed the carb overflow issue. I was a bit leery of the new floats I purchased, as they are wider, with a ridge/seam in the middle. I recall there wasn't much clearance in the bowl when I assembled them, and this was the only thing I could think of that might cause the problem. Either that or a bit of swarf in the float needle, but I always filter fuel when filling from the gas can, and the tank is super clean.

The new ones are 64mm vs the old 62.5mm. I kept the old originals and threw one on, and all is good, as long as it stands up to CA ethanol, that is. I can't explain why only one caused a problem but hey, at least I could take it for its first ride. My son followed me around the neighborhood on my Norton, and then I let him ride the Laverda. The bike is solid, I'm smitten.

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3CBRG said:
Yeah. Nice build! The original round mirror on my 78 Jota (thought it was a Suzuki item) went tadahs 'up the track' between Alice Springs and Darwin at around 180 kph. Took off like a UFO. Couldn't see much with it anyway..
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Suzuki makes sense, given the other shared parts, switchgear and instruments from what I've seen.
 
pf1 said:
the front number plate on one of my old Hondas that flew off and hit me on the head though. Good job I had a helmet on.
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If I was a rude prick I’d say something like:

😳 I’ll say, it banged up your head pretty bad even with the helmet on, I can’t even imagine what it would be like without one 😉

But, I’m not …… are you sure you were wearing a helmet?
 
I was ready to ride legally, got the registration taken off non-op and insured it, rolled it off the centerstand and.... flat rear tire. I had mounted the tire and tube, but when it came to levering it on the last bit, I didn't trust myself. It was taking too much muscle and had no desire to pinch a tube or worse, mar or bend the rim. I use cut-up plastic laundry detergent containers for rim protectors, as the standard ones with a string are terrible, IMO. Too thick. I know there are newer solutions, but my recycle way works 99% of the time. I decided on a better-safe-than-sorry approach - a pro with machinery. Sometimes I use the zip-tie method, which worked fine on my Ducati DesertX and others. It just depends.

Anyway, several weeks ago I took it to a mom & pop place nearby that does that last bit with a machine and balances it for $20. It held fine for a few weeks, then pffft. That's just weird, as I rode it around at sub-40MPH for about 10 miles, days passed, then it went flat. I tested the valve area at 30psi, nothing. Took the tube out, and pumped it up, and it holds air. I see one area that looks odd and may be suspect, not in a pinchable location - out by the tread. Defect? I didn't pump the tube up past 10psi, thinking that should show the leak. In the end, I just decided better safe than sorry, and got a new tube. I will have it finished up at the shop tomorrow. I have changed many dozens of tires, often with tubes, and this is a new one on me. Oh well, I'll get it out on the road tomorrow. I lost confidence in that tube, and I don't want to be thinking about it on the road.
 
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While you're in there, check out the condition of the rim tape. I had an issue at speed a while back at 100kph on an expressway. The steering suddenly started feeling odd, like I had a steering damper suddenly tighten up. I did a couple of bar inputs and spent a few seconds wondering what the hell. By then, it was violently weaving, I immediately avoided any braking and really luckily, managed to get stopped on the side of the road without crashing. The next bit of luck was that another club member was following in a Car with a trailer. The next bit of luck was getting connected to another club member who worked at a bike shop nearby, who opened up that shop late on a Saturday afternoon. We didnt do a huge investigation as to where the leak was, it wasn't very obvious, nothing in the tyre, but what was found was some internal crossion in the Borani rim and a rim tape that was rock hard and had some curling happening. The rim got some vigorous wire wheeling and a new rim tape and tube, and I managed the remaining 140 km to the accommodation. Not fun with a badly aimed headlight chasing the car with a better headlight and no chance to pull up to put on more gear as the temperature dropped. One ride I won't forget. Anyway, check the state of your rim tape, inner rim condition, and spoke ends.
 
Vince said:
While you're in there, check out the condition of the rim tape. I had an issue at speed a while back at 100kph on an expressway. The steering suddenly started feeling odd, like I had a steering damper suddenly tighten up. I did a couple of bar inputs and spent a few seconds wondering what the hell. By then, it was violently weaving, I immediately avoided any braking and really luckily, managed to get stopped on the side of the road without crashing. The next bit of luck was that another club member was following in a Car with a trailer. The next bit of luck was getting connected to another club member who worked at a bike shop nearby, who opened up that shop late on a Saturday afternoon. We didnt do a huge investigation as to where the leak was, it wasn't very obvious, nothing in the tyre, but what was found was some internal crossion in the Borani rim and a rim tape that was rock hard and had some curling happening. The rim got some vigorous wire wheeling and a new rim tape and tube, and I managed the remaining 140 km to the accommodation. Not fun with a badly aimed headlight chasing the car with a better headlight and no chance to pull up to put on more gear as the temperature dropped. One ride I won't forget. Anyway, check the state of your rim tape, inner rim condition, and spoke ends.
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Good point. I checked mine out carefully and gave both the once-over with a brass-bristle brush and scotchbrite grey, and felt for burrs, seemed fine. The only suspect area I see on the tube is opposite the rim tape, out by the tread. I'm going to pump up the old tube with a bicycle pump tomorrow AM. The electric pump I have seems to get confused and shut off around 10 PSI. maybe not enough back pressure for the sensor is my guess.
 
I replaced a tube once, lashed out ond got a genuine Metzeler! at twice the cost of the Taiwanese standard ones. The tyre would go flat over a few weeks, I was constantly pumping it up. Had the tube out and tested it in water but no leak, inexplicable. In the end I pumped it up huge and tested it in water and there at the junction of a couple of the ribs that they have was a small line of bubbles.
 
Tube saga over, went for my first real (legal) ride today on the 3C. My son and I traded off with the Norton, about 20 mins on each for a shakedown ride. Do stops to bed the brakes, check for leaks. The Laverda was about as good as I could have hoped. We both love riding it. I know the Ceriani shocks aren't the greatest, but these are in fine shape and I've ridden worse. Forks are too soft, but I have some firmer Race Tech ones from the illustrious 78JotaDave to swap in. When first riding around the neighborhood, mainly up to 25, it was a bit rough. All that's cleared up, it idles, pulls from any RPM. I will get to an ignition upgrade and sort the charging in due order, but for now it's perfectly rideable and an absolute joy.

A group of Japanese guys, all on bikes of the hipster 'brat' type, and wearing interesting garb gathered around the Norton and didn't notice the Laverda at all. Philistines! JK, they were cool as cucumbers.

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