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

Replaced the Jota's Front Wheel bearings / Rear Wheel bearings / Sprocket housing bearings / Steering Head bearings.
Changed Front Fork oil, AG Strada shocks oil, engine oil and New Bridgestone BT45"s front and rear. Bring on the weekend!!!
 
catseye said:
brought it home today!
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Totally approve of the sticker in your back window!

Don't take any notice of the doomsday cult here, get on it and ride it!
 
drikko said:
Totally approve of the sticker in your back window!

Don't take any notice of the doomsday cult here, get on it and ride it!
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#FeelTheBern!

Yeah, I belong to enough forums to ignore a lot of the crap. I also belong to Bimmerforums, and have owned 8 of them over a span of 20 years. A lot of same crap there....Hard to figure, but whatever...... if they don't like them, why do they have one? If that guy with the JOTA is so disappointed, he should sell his....
 
There are some very serious issues with the Zane Laverdas,which impacted on the Laverda name for reliability.
Both these issues and there effect on the name are not well liked. That's all part of the History of the marque.I wish it was different, hope you have a great time on a nice looking bike,  and get plenty of use out of it with none of these issues happening,be good to see it on The Dragon soon in a vid.
 
catseye said:
Yeah, I belong to enough forums to ignore a lot of the crap.
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As Vince said above, these engines have issues. Ignore "the crap" at your own risk but personally, after having bought such a fine looking bike I would ensure that the known issues are dealt with first before riding it and ending up with some expensive parts.
 
Vince said:
There are some very serious issues with the Zane Laverdas,which impacted on the Laverda name for reliability.
Both these issues and there effect on the name are not well liked. That's all part of the History of the marque.I wish it was different, hope you have a great time on a nice looking bike,  and get plenty of use out of it with none of these issues happening,be good to see it on The Dragon soon in a vid.
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yeah, I gathered that. I'm a big boy. I've had far far bigger things to deal with than a blown motorcycle engine, and the upside to this one is exactly what you said. I'll likely have a good time no matter what this particular experience brings. As long a I don't get in a wreck (again), or have a stroke (again), I'm good.....
Davo said:
As Vince said above, these engines have issues. Ignore "the crap" at your own risk but personally, after having bought such a fine looking bike I would ensure that the known issues are dealt with first before riding it and ending up with some expensive parts.
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Agreed. Good advice. That wasn't too hard, was it?  ;)
 
Do a search here on posts done by Piet,he has some strong opinions on the zanes but is close to the German bunch who come up with the fixes for them. One long post details all the issues and all the fixes,mandatory reading for Zane owners.
 
Vince said:
Do a search here on posts done by Piet,he has some strong opinions on the zanes but is close to the German bunch who come up with the fixes for them. One long post details all the issues and all the fixes,mandatory reading for Zane owners.
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Excellent! Thanks so much!
 
Vince said:
There are some very serious issues with the Zane Laverdas,which impacted on the Laverda name for reliability.
Both these issues and there effect on the name are not well liked. That's all part of the History of the marque.
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To be fair to the Zanes, the triples had more than their fair share of problems too.  All of the early bikes had electrical problems, if it wasn't the ignition blowing up due to water ingress it was a constantly flat battery due to the nearly useless alternator.  The cam bearings were made from chocolate and the cylinder heads and crankcases cracked (or were porous).  Once they started to get a handle on that they then changed to a wrong type of crankshaft bearing with disastrous results, generally fixed under warranty (at huge cost to the company) but not always so. Once they'd gone back to the bearings that worked they then changed to different valve springs which also caused a lot of problems.  Ignition problems were greatly reduced with the BTZ in 79 but it was still far from perfect and remained so through to the end.
So it wasn't really until 1981 (nearly 10 years into the production run) that they ironed out most of the problems the 180 had.  This is all ignored and forgotten because people love them so much, and that's fine.  But someone who has ironed out the (admittedly more numerous and severe) problems with a Zane should be just as happy with their chosen steed.

So ya see, we should cut our Zaney mates a bit of slack, glass houses and all that! :)
 
Stop that immediately, we don't want any accurate true telling history types here. Kinda blows the standard Zane thing out of the water a bit. Time to close my glass door in my glass house.Its not like I haven't had issues with my 3C ha.Fix em, ride em and fix em again
 
The early 3C triples were fine bikes and even if the battery went flat due to a puny alternator they always started immediately with a push and it never stopped them running.
I don't think the later BTZ ignition is any improvement.
I cant remember any other reliability issues with mine apart from normal wear and tear and in 90.000 miles it rarely needed the valves shimming so the early cam blocks lasted quite well too.
I don't know how many early ignitions suffered from water ingress but by 1974 I think it had been sorted. My bike was fine.
 
Beeing a 750 S Formula owner myself now for roughly 10 years, i follow that debate with very mixed emotions... The bike is a joy to ride when fixed, many owners have done quite some millage on their fixed bikes. However, if you don't fix them, the engine can blow up to a an unfixable point. Fixing the issues will cost roughly 3.000 - 4.000?. Assuming you bought the bike at a market price level of 4.000 ? +/-1.000, this means a complete cost of 8.000? roughly for a fixed bike that can still keep up with modern, similar bikes regarding suspension, power (speaking of the 2000 spec formula...), handling, brakes etc. - and that said, it is truly a 80's design. Thinking of that, it is amazing (for me at least) that this bike still looks modern, rides like (or better) than many modern bikes and with the right exhaust, it even sounds great...  :D

So - get the issues fixed (if not already done) by someone who KNOWS what to do and enjoy. If you fit on the bike (f.e. if you are between 170 and 185cm), it fits like a glove.

Is it trouble free like a BMW is at least regarded to be? No. But you can get it to a very reliable level with some modifications.

I agree entirely with SteveB's comments. Today, most of the Breganze twins and triples are fixed or about to be fixed. If I see how many engines Red passed through his workshop the past 5 years (and not all of them just for power increase but also for a lot of fixing) or Keith or OCT or others, the Breganzes do have their issues obviously, too. BTW: Steve forgot to name the broken or bent Rods on 120? engines. How  many crankcases have a big breather in the front area now...?

But is it really a trouble free bike that we are aiming for? If so, this would be a) a very silent forum and b) it would be for a different brand like Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha or Kawasaki. Oh - no... they do have their issues obviously, too...  :-*

@pf1: I have the very first bike magazine review's of the Breganze bikes. Quality was a big issue in all reports... broken airboxes, underperforming drum brakes, to small fork on the first bikes etc. etc. etc. ...
 
Interestingly I had absolutely no charging problems with the 76 triple early in it's life it was only a few years later that it started to develop issues. Mind you, push starting it kept me fit and slim  :LOL:
 
"@pf1: I have the very first bike magazine review's of the Breganze bikes. Quality was a big issue in all reports... broken airboxes, underperforming drum brakes, to small fork on the first bikes etc. etc. etc. ..."

That would be one of the first 250 bikes in 1973 then Lothar.
Mine was great, 1974 38mm Ceriani forks and twin discs and I thought the quality was excellent apart from the chrome and there wasn't much of that really. I don't really count a cracked plastic airbox as much of a problem either to be honest. I had mine for a long time and it was a superb bike.
The main problem I had was with rear chains snapping, they just weren't up to it back then.
 
Well, I wasted no time stepping into some sh*t, did I? LOL. I always say,  dealing with forums can be like having a bipolar spouse. You never know what you're in for when you walk in the door...at least that's what my wife tells me....wait...
I really appreciate all the info and help, even though at times in a "raw" form, and I am willing to be patient and take the time to sort all this out. After all, I did just buy a discontinued 20 year old Italian Sport bike, right? What could possibly go wrong?
 
catseye said:
After all, I did just buy a discontinued 20 year old Italian Sport bike, right? What could possibly go wrong?
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Seen more of them Zane things in bits than standing on their own 2 wheels... :D

If the engine issues have not yet been attended to, the question isn't if it blows, the question is, when it blows, 'cos blow it will, no way around that.  The earlier the issues are looked into, the smaller the bill, quite simple.  Having said that, there are a (very) few high-mileage bikes that haven't been opened and refuse to blow.  Either they are babied instead of being thrashed as they were meant to be, or simply lucky to have all working tolerances where they are supposed to be.

I've outlined most of the known issues in other posts, make what you want to of them.  Even if the niggles are ironed out, the engine still is not bulletproof if used in anger.  It will perform as intended and offer a lot of fun for quite some time, if you can adapt to 2-stroke-like riding habits.

The earlier air-cooled 650/668 engines are better built, but they have serious cooling issues through design flaws that should not be ignored.  Nothing much that can be done either, except a complete re-design of the head.  Has absolutely nothing to do with oil pressure or fancy oil filters either... ::)  Workmanship in the liquid-cooled 750 engines is generally shoddy with working clearances as supplied by the factory way out of the ball park.  The chassis of all 3 model ranges has its own issues, mainly electrical, cheap bought-in acessories and poor assembly.

piet
 
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