Re: What did you do to or for or with your Laverda today?

:D You blokes are so funny ........

Tack welded all my engine mounts in place, frame is almost ready for the final pull-down, and some quality time with the MIG, and then off to the blasters for a little garnet exfoliation.

I'm trying to find a place for the ignition module housing which is causing me no end of OCD flare-ups. 
 
Spoke with Red (via email). Decided to keep the bike off the road for a while and do some work on the front end. Original Brembo bits coming off and going into storage to be replace by 4 pot calipers mounted behind the forks and master cylinder, brake and clutch levers off a Triumph Sprint.
 
Vince said:
Davo,handing issues or you just want better brakes?
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The original front brake feels really wooden compared to my sprint so ...

But also the original parts are almost impossible to replace, twin bleed nipple threaded mount calipers and solid metal mastercylinder with original metal lid so they will all be sitting safely in a box for the next member of the family who owns the bike when I cack it.
 
Dellortoman said:
Just shove the ignition anywhere and get some pills for the OCD.
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Took me six hours of arguing with myself before I found a spot ..... Clearly you don't understand. Although coming from Tassie, you probably argue with yourself all the time  :D
 
Rode to and from work on the SF2 as usual. Was very courageaous (foolhardy) going around the outside in a tight curve of some pratt in a large black 4x4.
Made up some brackets for the Nology coils on the race bike from the original ND coil brackets.
Paul
 
Good work Padders!  ;)

I spent two hours pissing around with an ill-fitting exhaust ........ aarrrrh!
Finally, got the headers sorted, now for the tricky bit.  :D
But, I'm away with work for a week, it'll have to wait.
 
Nice fabrication work there Padders. A lot neater than mine!

Whenever I post photos of my project bike, people sometimes make comments on how I've done things, some of which I've found helpful and improved the bike as a result. So I'll do the same here. My intention is not criticism, bit to suggest some potential for improvement.

The V-shaped bit on the top oil cooler bracket doesn't achieve anything structural so it's just excess weight. Presumably it's there for aesthetics reasons, so if that's the intention and you like how it looks, no problem.

It looks like the rubber mountings for the oil cooler are only on one side of the cooler flanges, with the bolts bearing solidly against the other side. You're not going to achieve any vibration isolation doing it like that. It would be better to sandwich the cooler flange between two layers of rubber.

The Z-shaped crank in the M/C pushrod is not the best engineering solution to the misalignment problem. It's pushing the M/C piston sideways in its bore because of the offset rose joint, which reduces brake efficiency and could lead to premature wear in the both piston and bore. A slightly better solution would be to use a straight pushrod and put a spacer between the rose joint and the pedal arm to move the whole pushrod onto the centreline of the M/C. But even that is not optimal because it'll put a torsional load on the brake lever arm. If the lever arm is beefy enough it'll be OK, but if it's marginal then torsional load could push it beyond breaking point. The best solution from an engineering point of view would be to put a spacer behind the M/C to bring it into line with a straight pushrod. It shouldn't bother your foot if it's half an inch further out from the frame.

The piece of tube that looks like it's about to be welded into the V of the frame above the swingarm pivot is a bit of a mystery. What's its purpose?

Cheers,
Cam

 
Was wondering about the 'V' myself Padders. Does it serve a purpose or is it cosmetic? Either way, it's your choice, just wondering.
About the rubber mounts mentioned by Cam, does it matter? The cooler and bracket are both resiliently mounted to the frame.
Terry
 
Terry Dymond said:
About the rubber mounts mentioned by Cam, does it matter? The cooler and bracket are both resiliently mounted to the frame.
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Well bugger me. I entirely overlooked that. Too focused on one detail and not looking at the bigger picture.
So what are the rubber blocks between cooler and bracket for? Perhaps just spacers?
 
well, it's nice to actually post something about working on a bike rather than my normal drivel. The v on the top bracket is purely aesthetic and the rubber blocks are just spacers the lift the bracket away from the cooler to give it a more three dimensional look, they will be ally, just haven't made them yet. The cranked push rod for the rear brake is out of necessity due to the foot peg design. They are bimota replica pegs and sit a fair distance from the frame. The master cylinder already sits on bosses about 3/4 of an inch away from the frame and any more just looked horrid so i'll live with it as it is. The tube about to be welded in is again purely aesthetic, the small v shaped bit of steel already there will be cut out and the subsequent space without side panels is just to big so the tube is just to break the area up a bit, and i like how it looks. Agree that its just adding weight but the whole bike comes in at 179kg at the moment with probably only 5 to 8kg of bits and pieces to still fit. Also i've lost almost a stone since i stopped drinking so in my head thats free weight i can add on!!!  I know the finished bike is not going to be liked by everyone,in fact probably not by many people at all, but as someone once said"i don't give a flying fuck" or for kevin wilson fans, DILLIGAF.  Thinking about it i may well rename it Marmite.

  FFF
 
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