Out and About on your Laverda.No bull,Just photos

Sunday coffee gathering , eclectic hroup
Of bikes which i like. Spring has arrived in the Pacific Northwest, 25C and glorious warmth!
 

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78jotadave said:
As with all meets, at least in the USA, if there is a Laverda, it is the only one. Thanks for sharing, a pleasing to the eye assortment of bikes, Guzzi Eldorado? Seattle, can you see the sun?
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Not Seattle, east suburb of Vancouver, BC, Fort Langley.
Yeah, usually always the only one out there, especially in metro Vancouver. Way more Moto Guzzi’s of vintage years.
 
Finally get to play in this thread :D
75km test drive, normally eating mouthsfull of insects on this dijk but due to cold hard winds not that many today. The little cafe was closed so went back and visited my brother for some coffee :)
Libaration day today here, spotted some WWII vintage DUKW, Dodges and a GMC CCKW something -a good (and somewhat sobering) reminder I was able to ride my Laverda in freedom today, which is not a given everwhere, sadly.
 

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jko_78 said:
Finally get to play in this thread :D
75km test drive, normally eating mouthsfull of insects on this dijk but due to cold hard winds not that many today. The little cafe was closed so went back and visited my brother for some coffee :)
Libaration day today here, spotted some WWII vintage DUKW, Dodges and a GMC CCKW something -a good (and somewhat sobering) reminder I was able to ride my Laverda in freedom today, which is not a given everwhere, sadly.
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Looking cool, I take it , it’s running well?
 
jko_78 said:
Finally get to play in this thread :D
75km test drive, normally eating mouthsfull of insects on this dijk but due to cold hard winds not that many today. The little cafe was closed so went back and visited my brother for some coffee :)
Libaration day today here, spotted some WWII vintage DUKW, Dodges and a GMC CCKW something -a good (and somewhat sobering) reminder I was able to ride my Laverda in freedom today, which is not a given everwhere, sadly.
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Exmoor beast said:
Looking cool, I take it , it’s running well?
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Yes, feels really nice! Although I don't have much reference.... My R90S is a completely different bike to ride, other than the relatively heavy clutch and gear lever travel requiring you to really "select' the gear on that too. The Laverda sounds great accelerating in a tunnel, too XD. I like my BMW too, (otherwise I would not have had it since 2002...) but unless you really revv it up, it still sounds well... like half a VW beetle.

Couple of little issues, like the rev-counter still not quite functioning (the needle gives an occasional wave to see if I'm paying attention or drops for 1-2 seconds before picking up again, will look into that again, think it's the cable going into the drive, we did replace the drive square), rear brake is still as my dad liked it (kind of deep, quite bit of pedal travel at the moment, works fine though), couple of other little things here and there (speedometer light not working, things like that). Initial test was ~15km with a few check-stops, but desipite the cold winds it was still early and pretty quiet so I just filled up the tank, added some lead-additive-stuff and off I went.

Other than that it pulls well, vibrations are there of course, if you leave it running unattended it might end up in the neighbours garden, but not nearly as bad as you would believe from reading. Depending on revvs you feel some in the hand grips or foodrests, but so far acceptable. It brakes well, and,I don't like to admit my father right, handles better than my BMW. (shhh). It feels more stable, lighter even, though a new tire usually helps too.
Stepped on the rear brake only once when downshifting, and still getting used to putting my other foot on the ground at traffic lights after 25+ years of BMW, Kawasaki and Guzzi bikes. ;)

The BMW is more nervous so to say, despite 900cc it needs more revvs so while it does well on motorways and such, for a more touristy route with slower speeds and villages and such the Laverda behaves better -dad told me the S/SF is more akin to my BMW, he liked the GT engine more for it's low revv torque. Haven't ridden an S/SF myself though. Not much of a sporty rider myself, so suits me fine.

I really should give it a good clean and peel that green tape off the tank though ;)
 
jko_78 said:
Yes, feels really nice! Although I don't have much reference.... My R90S is a completely different bike to ride, other than the relatively heavy clutch and gear lever travel requiring you to really "select' the gear on that too. The Laverda sounds great accelerating in a tunnel, too XD. I like my BMW too, (otherwise I would not have had it since 2002...) but unless you really revv it up, it still sounds well... like half a VW beetle.

Couple of little issues, like the rev-counter still not quite functioning (the needle gives an occasional wave to see if I'm paying attention or drops for 1-2 seconds before picking up again, will look into that again, think it's the cable going into the drive, we did replace the drive square), rear brake is still as my dad liked it (kind of deep, quite bit of pedal travel at the moment, works fine though), couple of other little things here and there (speedometer light not working, things like that). Initial test was ~15km with a few check-stops, but desipite the cold winds it was still early and pretty quiet so I just filled up the tank, added some lead-additive-stuff and off I went.

Other than that it pulls well, vibrations are there of course, if you leave it running unattended it might end up in the neighbours garden, but not nearly as bad as you would believe from reading. Depending on revvs you feel some in the hand grips or foodrests, but so far acceptable. It brakes well, and,I don't like to admit my father right, handles better than my BMW. (shhh). It feels more stable, lighter even, though a new tire usually helps too.
Stepped on the rear brake only once when downshifting, and still getting used to putting my other foot on the ground at traffic lights after 25+ years of BMW, Kawasaki and Guzzi bikes. ;)

The BMW is more nervous so to say, despite 900cc it needs more revvs so while it does well on motorways and such, for a more touristy route with slower speeds and villages and such the Laverda behaves better -dad told me the S/SF is more akin to my BMW, he liked the GT engine more for it's low revv torque. Haven't ridden an S/SF myself though. Not much of a sporty rider myself, so suits me fine.

I really should give it a good clean and peel that green tape off the tank though ;)
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Keep an eye on vibration- mine doesn’t vibrate badly at all and certainly doesn’t walk around on the stand- might be an idea to check engine mounts, timing etc.
 

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That's interesting, when mine is stationary (idling) it almost walks away, but once you're on it and drive it around it's about the same as my BMW. Carbs are still due for synchronization, ignition is electronic, so should be good but we'll check that too.
It's good to have a comparison :)

We could have "try somebody else's Laverda vibrations" forum tour organized ;)
 
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jko_78 said:
That's interesting, when mine is stationary (idling) it almost walks away, but once you're on it and drive it around it's about the same as my BMW. Carbs are still due for synchronization, ignition is electronic, so should be good but we'll check that too.
It's good to have a comparison :)

We could have "try somebody else's Laverda vibrations" forum tour organized ;)
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I can remember strobing a Norton Commando, I turned round to plug it in and the bike was half way out the workshop. My GT feels nothing like a British bike, probably more like your BMW in terms of vibration. Mate followed me over Exmoor the other night and said it sounded superb but I never get to hear it . Glad your happy with it.
 
Mine don't move whilst idling.
When reved on the centre stands though, it's another thing altogether, particularly the SFC which pretends to be an orange crab and goes sideways.

Carb synch is important to a smooth engine.

Paul
 
SF-based twins vary markedly in the vibe stakes. Various models have different crank weights and I assume also different balance factors. IMO the most telling causes of bad vibes are directly related to the bike's maintenance/service history - some just end up 'wrong', but can usually be set up again with careful attention to the crank. What seems consistent is that with all SFs and SFCs there will be phases of vibration/smoothness at certain points in the rev range.
 
Exmoor beast said:
My GT feels nothing like a British bike, probably more like your BMW in terms of vibration.
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Mine does as well, it's just at idle it seems to be vibrating more. Not nearly as bad as that Commando though!
When I started it up that morning there was old fuel in there, I after the new fuel tap washers I didn't want to fill up the tank fully. I already felt like a Mad Max character, draining and filling fuel... "the fuel, the precious fuel".... As I wasn't sure if something would leak I left it running for a while while I put on clothes, boots & fetched gloves & helmet.
Didn't run it on the stand after that with new fuel, so don't know if it'll make a difference. Thanks @piranha-bro2 and @Paul Marx for the input, gives me a bit of context! Will be checking the carb sync & ignition to be sure, can make a big difference indeed. My R90S ran so horribly when I got it, if it wasn't for the price & overall good condition I'd probabley not have bought it otherwise. However, draining very old fuel and putting new in, a new air filter, some new plugs, leads, setting valve clearance, carburettor sync & new points & timing setup did wonders. :)
 
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