Paul LeClair new project and 1982 Mirage 1200 TS Series 2 FOR SALE

[Paul LeClair]

I am sure the more skilled amongst you are rolling your eyes at my stainless steel exhaust cleaning pictures..... This is brand new to me, I have never tried to clean or repair a stainless steel exhaust before. I found the information on YouTube to use ScotchBrite, worked really well.

When I bought the exhaust cans from HelicopterJim (for a very fair price) he warned me in advance that the left side exhaust can had been crashed, and sent me photo's. It was heavily scratched and gouged along its length, as well as dented. Four photos, first what I started with, then in progress, then the finished "repair" mounted on the bike. I could probably even get the remaining few dents out by taking the can to a paintless dent repair place, but I am happy with what I achieved. I used a power sander, started at 800 grit, way too fine, wound up going all the way down to 180 grit, then back up 240, 600, 800, 1000, then 2000 grit, then green then grey Scotchbrite, got rid of maybe 85% of the scratches and gouges, I can live with the end result. If I find I have a deep seated need to sand out the rest of the visible scratches and gouges, it can be done easily on the bike with the power sander, likely easier than trying to hold the sucker in a vice on the bench anyway....

Removing most of the scratches and gouges on the can took me about 2 hours. In total I probably spent about 6 hours on scratch removal and deep cleaning of the entire exhaust, I am happy with the end result. Just like a Laverda triple, tough to get the two exhaust can ends equal and level with each other......

now waiting on a bunch of bits and bobs coming from the UK, Italy, and the USA.

also, found a really great cleaner/degreaser at my local stainless steel fastener supplier. I bought a bulk gallon, non aerosol, for $100, then am pouring it into a pump bottle. Citrol. Works incredibly well, it is shifting all the last of the grease and crud off teh Guzzi motor that nothing else would remove. https://schaeffersoilshop.com/products/0266-011-citrol® Highly recommended.

 

[Vince]

When I tried marrying Red's big bore headers to my Stainless Jota collector and Stainless mufflers that had the wrong angle I did some nasty stuff to get it aligned as even as I could. I resorted to BONDAGE methods. I fitted it all loosely with the headers just missing the front frame rails, there are impressively big. And the collector snaking through the centre stand was evenly spaced and to even up the mufflers I lashed a 12mm nylon rope between them at the end and twitched a huge Philips head screwdriver into the rope and twitched the hell out of it cranking the mufflers together. It worked pretty well, with no scratching or kinking but maybe a little bending through. That was done more than 5 years ago with no cracking since then, apparently stainless cracks but not mine luckily enough. Has any Laverda Exhaust fitted with no struggle, not from what I hear? Bondage is a good thing. Your Exhaust looks great Paul even with the lack of Bondage.

 

[Paul Marx]

Scratch removal is the same on the alloy engine covers. You can remove and polish out quite deep gouges.

Paul

 

[Dellortoman]

You could have saved yourself a lot of time and elbow grease by using pickling paste to remove the heat stains from the stainless exhaust. It's nasty stuff though (nitric acid and hydrofluoric acid). You don't want to get it on your skin or breathe the fumes.

 

[Paul LeClair]

You could have saved yourself a lot of time and elbow grease by using pickling paste to remove the heat stains from the stainless exhaust. It's nasty stuff though (nitric acid and hydrofluoric acid). You don't want to get it on your skin or breathe the fumes.

HI Cam I am familiar with pickling paste for cleaning welds on stainless steel, but would not even consider the nasty stuff for home use. Need breathing gear and a full protective suit. Then how the heck would you dispose of it?

I did not really set out to get rid of the natural yellowing of the stainless steel, it was all the scratches and nicks and gouges and heavy staining that were bugging me, the ScotchBrite pads and some sanding of the heaviest stuff worked out OK for me, and the pipes will mellow out back yellow soon enough.

 

[Dellortoman]

When I was a young welding apprentice, I used to work with a bloke who would slap pickling paste all over the place on stainless steel welds. No face mask or eye protection. At least he wore gloves because he discovered that the stuff would irritate his bare hands. Any excess would be hosed off onto the ground. He'd also spend all day welding with his head in a cloud of welding smoke. He never wore breathing apparatus or even filter mask. No workplace health and safety in those days.

 

[Paul LeClair]

still progressing while waiting for parts in shipment including waiting on fuel injection parts, clutch lever perch, replacement oil pan, etc.. I have now sourced and bought everything I should need to complete, (and waiting on shipping from UK, Italy, and USA) except mirrors. I have sourced a supplier in Italy for the stock mirrors, but have been reluctant to spend the $300+ for (really ugly) new stock mirrors and am still looking for a pair of used (ugly) stock mirrors, or I may go a different route for mirrors altogether.

have the seat on to set rear suspensions sag while the monoshock spring adjuster is still relatively easily accessible. Going to press my spouse into service to measure my sag and help correct the situation.......

dealt with proper mounting of fork mounted windscreen, other than the oil pan swap which will be straight forward, and multiple final assembly issues, remaining main task is the fuel injection system once the parts and new sensors arrive. I have a Weber Magneti Marelli fuel injection manual, this should be interesting.

 

[Paul LeClair]

haven't been able to lure my spouse out to the garage just yet to play with my sag.

Parts are trickling in. MG Cycle order arrived to day, new fuel tap for the fuel tank, a side stand tang, various other bits and bobs including a new ignition key blank.

Running fuel injection bits like the injector bodies, linkages, etc., repeatedly through my ultrasonic tank in the garage, but no way to properly clean the Weber injectors in my garage.

Found a local high tech auto tuning shop today with the proper ultrasonic fuel injector cleaning tech, so dropped the GuzzI Weber injectors off for cleaning. They tell me they "pulse" the injectors continuously in an ultrasonic tank while pumping some sort of cleaning solution through the injectors, for "a couple of hours". Injectors supposed to be ready for pickup tomorrow.

Rest of the fuel injection stuff still in shipping transit from Italy and the USA. Also still waiting on the water jet cutting place for the base plates for the Guzzi cam belt tensioning tools.......

EDIT - just noticed in the photo below that there are 2 cans of Coke Zero on the work bench. Bloody hell, pancreatic cancer surgery and resulting insulin dependency, used to be numerous cans of beer.......

 

[Vince]

Convincing someone to assist with sag has been my issue on occasion. There is a magnetic gadget with an attached tape that allows you to do it on your own. Pretty expensive though.

Slacker Digital Sag Measuring Tool

Measuring your bike's sag just got easier. You can use the Slacker to measure your sag without having someone else to help you!

www.chadsoffroadsetups.com.au

 

[Paul LeClair]

Hi Vince

by the time I could get that cool digital system here to me from the State of Oregon in the USA with currency exchange, shipping, and duty and taxes, would be close to $250 Canadian. A bit too pricey for me for occasional use. I am going to set rear sag of the Guzzi on the air lift service table with the front wheel in the wheel vise, a scissor lift under the oil pan, an assistant, and a tape measure.

This explanation from Richard Backus of Motorcycle Classics magazine to measure and set rear sag with a tape measure is as good as any I've seen

Setting Motorcycle Rear Suspension Sag - Motorcycle Classics

Tuning your rear suspension sag for the first time might seem intimidating, but go through it several times and you'll find that it doesn't take long or is too difficult.

www.motorcycleclassics.com

 

[Dellortoman]

That's a nifty little tool Vince. Better than a wife for that job I think (wives probably have other uses though).

I'm wondering if you could use one of those laser distance measure things (electronic tape measure). As a bloke with history in the building industry, you probably already have one in your tool box. I have one that reads to the nearest millimeter. Tape it to the bike with it pointed at the floor and take readings with no load, static load and rider load, then do the arithmetic. You might have to crane your neck around a bit to take readings, but it should be possible.

 

[Alzero]

Just snap a picture of the reading with your phone.

 

[Vince]

No, I don't have one Cam but that's a pretty good idea, getting help is always a lottery I mostly lose.

 

[Paul LeClair]

still waiting on used parts shipments from Italy and USA, but the parcel from the UK arrived by DHL. Used Guzzi Centauro oil pan and some other bits. Looks like the seller vapour blasted the oil pan for me, looks new. When I removed the bashed and broken one again the other day another of the screw threads stripped out, so have to drill out and install another thread inset

 

[Paul LeClair]

on the topic of my 1982 Laverda 1200 TS Mirage Series 2 still for sale, shipping from western Canada to various parts of the world seems to have been an obstacle for several interested parties.

Today I was approached by someone local to me offering to trade me 1981 (?) Laverda 1000 Jota straight across for my 1200. ?)

Some of you may know the Jota, it belonged to Andy Higgs, was fully and comprehensively mechanically rebuilt by him likely 15 (?) ish years ago, ridden very little before being relatively lightly crashed, was with Wolfgang for a while being patched up but not completely, then bought by an acquaintance of mine who brought it to me to get it back up and running maybe a decade ago, still needed rear brake parts that the current owner did not buy, and again was never completed, then got put away and has not been started in likely close to 10 years.

Contrast the Jota non running condition to my bare frame bare crankcases comprehensively rebuilt and fettled 1982 1200. I have been asking $15,000 for the 1200, the Jota has been available for sale for a while now for an asking price of $15,000. My 1200 is a much better bike, odd that I even started considering the possibility of a straight swap, but the Guzzi Centauro is nearly finished and I am on the look out for the next project.

I have not seen this Jota for likely a decade, it has been in unheated storage, and it would need at the least a comprehensive re commission, consumables like tires etc, battery, carbs rebuilt, brakes flushed and properly rebuilt, and so on.. Would likely be a couple of thousand dollars in parts and considerable time to make it properly rideable.

So, the tough question..... what is the silver frame orange paint "Jota" worth when put right? Ignoring time spent, could I break even if I traded the 1200 for it and took the Jota on for the fun of the project? Would it be easier to resell than the 1200 has been?

Thoughts or comments?

 

[Vince]

That is a really tricky ask, I won't go into the money aspect as I cannot answer that at all. With your seasonal downtime and Laverda ability, it seems a no-brainer to me, my guess is you need to get some idea of a cash sweetener to you swapping a non-runner with some knowledge of its condition for a 100% nuts and bolts proven runner. Bloody hard question that's for sure. There is THAT name, JOTA. Does it have the Jota bits? They always cost more than you think. How helpful was that? Repeating what you already knew. Flip a coin maybe.

 

[KLEINDORF]

Paul" I think you know selling quasi-exotic fringe brands of cars and motorcycles in Canada
is a real non-starter as few people have the knowledge and more so unencumbered cash to
buy old cars and motorcycles. All the years I lived in Vancouver I floated the odd trial balloon
to see the response. Invariably the questions ranged from how big is the engine and what color
is the vehicle. Then the assumption started that financial pressures were forcing you to give the
vehicle away in hopes of a fast sale. I knew Dave Higgs but the history of that Jota now is precarious.
If I was in the market AND knew about Wolfgang Haerter my number would be in the mid- sevens.
I don't see any upside to a swap or swap/cash option. Carry on brother.

 

[Cosi]

It’s a no brainer Paul… nothing like a 81 jota

 

[Beucars]

on the topic of my 1982 Laverda 1200 TS Mirage Series 2 still for sale, shipping from western Canada to various parts of the world seems to have been an obstacle for several interested parties.

Today I was approached by someone local to me offering to trade me 1981 (?) Laverda 1000 Jota straight across for my 1200. ?)

Some of you may know the Jota, it belonged to Andy Higgs, was fully and comprehensively mechanically rebuilt by him likely 15 (?) ish years ago, ridden very little before being relatively lightly crashed, was with Wolfgang for a while being patched up but not completely, then bought by an acquaintance of mine who brought it to me to get it back up and running maybe a decade ago, still needed rear brake parts that the current owner did not buy, and again was never completed, then got put away and has not been started in likely close to 10 years.

Contrast the Jota non running condition to my bare frame bare crankcases comprehensively rebuilt and fettled 1982 1200. I have been asking $15,000 for the 1200, the Jota has been available for sale for a while now for an asking price of $15,000. My 1200 is a much better bike, odd that I even started considering the possibility of a straight swap, but the Guzzi Centauro is nearly finished and I am on the look out for the next project.

I have not seen this Jota for likely a decade, it has been in unheated storage, and it would need at the least a comprehensive re commission, consumables like tires etc, battery, carbs rebuilt, brakes flushed and properly rebuilt, and so on.. Would likely be a couple of thousand dollars in parts and considerable time to make it properly rideable.

So, the tough question..... what is the silver frame orange paint "Jota" worth when put right? Ignoring time spent, could I break even if I traded the 1200 for it and took the Jota on for the fun of the project? Would it be easier to resell than the 1200 has been?

Thoughts or comments?

Considering the fact that the 1200 is for sale at least a couple of month already, the asking price could be to high to attract a buyer. Ofcourse, we Laverdisty know how much it cost to rebuild a bike like you do and the asking price is justified, but without a buyer you don't sell.

So let's say you have to lower your asking price for the 1200 to 13k, it means that with a direct swap the Jota will cost you only 13k. As we all know for stupid reasons the name Jota sells. Hence you have a new project and maybe a better sales argument the moment you want to sell.

Just my 2chf

 

[breganzane]

I'm with Cosi. No brainer. You can have your fun fixing it back up which you are fantastically good at, then when it's finished a nice 81 Jota is considerably easier to sell for reasonable money than a 1200. Just how it is. I've heard of them fetching over $40k aud but those were really exceptional bikes fully rebuilt and upgraded.