This bloody bike. 1976 3CE

Robin, I have some spare links at home, Iwis I believe. Of no use to you if your chain isn't Iwis and as mentioned several times, new chains are sold with the link. If your bod hasn't fitted a new chain as a matter of course, you're likely to have a lot more to worry about.
I think that I got my spare links from Andy Wagner. Any dealer will stock some since they're changed every time you do the shims.
Paul
 
rocketonarail said:
Reminds me of the ( alleged ) situation regarding a certain Mr Winterton ...... :cautious: .......... who I always found to be top class to deal with .........

A complete triple rebuild in an afternoon , in return for a packet of fags ....... if I remember correctly ....... :) .............
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A rebuild in an afternoon? Only if you drop in a ton of brand new parts into the cases…

Just renewing and fine-boring the gearbox bushes takes the better part of an afternoon, without replacing the shaft bearings and checking/adjusting gear shift clearances.

My parts list for a complete overhaul is about 5 times that Slaters list.🙄

piet
 
sfcpiet said:
A rebuild in an afternoon? Only if you drop in a ton of brand new parts into the cases…

Just renewing and fine-boring the gearbox bushes takes the better part of an afternoon, without replacing the shaft bearings and checking/adjusting gear shift clearances.

My parts list for a complete overhaul is about 5 times that Slaters list.🙄

piet
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It was a joke Piet ......... Actually lifted from a tongue in cheek comment referring to Mr Winterton and Calere Laverda in La Vera Vista magazine some time ago .........

........ Everyone knows it would really take him at least a couple of days ....... ;) ............


BTW ..... Don`t know about the list of parts , but that Slater rebuild ... ( basically exchange crank plus right hand main ; first oversize pistons ; new liners ; new gearbox output shaft and bearing ; various other stuff relating to the starter clutch , cam buckets , generator support ........ plus all the bits and bobs to support all that ) ........ went on to provide another 113,000 miles of trouble free motorcycling ....... and still going now , as far as I know ..........

Maybe sometimes less is more ........ :) .............
 
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Right, I’ve not posted for a while as there were a fair few people who were having a go at me as I was far from happy with the bikes previous owner. “Oh it went really well 13 years ago, you must be wrong, what have you done” etc etc and similar.
Well after two bike workshop failures and countless hours in the garage over the last two years from me I was at my whits end. I have been involved in motorsport at a good level both two and four wheels for 24 years and having owned 49 bikes I know what I’m doing with the tools. The bloody thing cost £6250 and I must have spent another £4000 so far.
I took the bike down to Ged at GCS Motorcycles a month ago and I had a call from him today. He is at a loss with it. Inlet and Exhaust cams are 12 degrees out in opposite directions; despite the chassis and cases numbers matching I’m told the engine is a bitsa from different eras. He is pulling it apart and warns that there could be a £5K bill on top of what I have already spent.
Do I cut my losses and sell it to someone who will take on the work or break it? Having £15K in a bike is not what I want and has put me off Laverdas in a big way despite having owned five in the past.
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unfortunately pups do exist, the biggest point to fathom Robin is this, "is it worth it to me or not?"
maybe not, so cut and run? brings and end, and you can move on.
I am spending big bucks on my Mercedes E class estate, much loved by me for decades and now 20 years old and 177,000 on the clock, doing the work myself it is costing a grand, the car might just about be the same value, but I am doing it because I want to, and the old adage, better the devil you know that you dont know.
CLEM
 
CLEMTOG said:
unfortunately pups do exist, the biggest point to fathom Robin is this, "is it worth it to me or not?"
maybe not, so cut and run? brings and end, and you can move on.
I am spending big bucks on my Mercedes E class estate, much loved by me for decades and now 20 years old and 177,000 on the clock, doing the work myself it is costing a grand, the car might just about be the same value, but I am doing it because I want to, and the old adage, better the devil you know that you dont know.
CLEM
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I have a Porsche 997 C2S, 20 years old, only 41,000 miles, hate to add up the bills I’ve paid.
 
I have a 1980 1200TS called TOG, owned since 12 weeks old, cost was £2,400 the 45 years of maintenance??????? many engine rebuilds, some caused by bad Laverda mechanics and especially a dedicated head shop, and a dedicated crank shop, but realy in the 250,000 that I have clocked (3 speedos) and another amount that I cannot verify, it isnt realy very much! it is sitting in my man cave ready to go, its currently snowing heavilly here in Kent, and both my cars are out of action, Merc getting steering/brake/exhaust and tyre repairs and Smart car stuck in gear and I am cool and dont give a toss, just chucked another log on the stove.
CLEM
 
Robin, I suggest you lend it to Paul M. Within a month or so it will catch fire, or be hit by a car with illegal bull bars, and you can claim on the insurance....;)
On the other hand, if you spend the £5k and it fixes the problem and you keep the bike for a few years then maybe the cost is not such an issue.
 
To stay simple, you'll never recoup your money.
The bike isn't worth much as it is and nearly nothing in parts if you break it.
So, what's it worth to you?
If the money is the problem, insure it and then steal it.
Paul
 
Andy J said:
Robin, I suggest you lend it to Paul M. Within a month or so it will catch fire, or be hit by a car with illegal bull bars, and you can claim on the insurance....;)
On the other hand, if you spend the £5k and it fixes the problem and you keep the bike for a few years then maybe the cost is not such an issue.
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Another couple of "incidents", a few years wait and when I've got the insurance money, I can buy a Vincent.
I've just accepted the offer of indemnities for the first incident in May 2023. €20 000. I refused the first offer of €16 000. Add €14 000 for the bike itself. I reckon it'll cost around €20 000 in the end to restore, then I'll sell it for half that if I'm lucky and still alive.
With hindsight, I shouldn't have attempted to restore it but I was proud of my restoration and was pissed off. My ex wife likened me to a pitbull because when I get my teeth into something, I don't let go.
I've just got €1643 for the damage to the S.
For the damage to myself, I'm seing a legal medical expert in three weeks and then I can take the owner of the Toyota with the bull bars to court.

I'll need to finance an electric start on the future Vincent.

Paul
 
I was run over by a car in 1984, the case took 13 years through the High Court, my solicitors bill was £60K. I will not be going down that route thanks all the same.
 
"insure it and then steal it"
shame on you Marx, doing "the oracle" as it is known in dodgy UK circles, perish the thought, Paul Marx a crook? I DONT THINK SO
Clem
 
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pf1 said:
So what did the last engine rebuilders do? Can you get your money back?
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They put new pistons in (I got from Wolfgang) with a rebore, new exhaust valves and guides, skimmed head then made excuses and gave up. Said they could not get a cam link; I got a new chain complete inside 24 hours.. They charge me appropriately for the work they did do.
 
Robin Webster said:
They put new pistons in (I got from Wolfgang) with a rebore, new exhaust valves and guides, skimmed head then made excuses and gave up. Said they could not get a cam link; I got a new chain complete inside 24 hours.. They charge me appropriately for the work they did do.
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Ok but I have just finished putting a triple engine together last weekend and wasn't difficult to assemble and time up. It will be interesting to see what Ged finds, you might get lucky if the work has been done properly.
 
The only way to do it fast is do it yourself, then you can only YOU take the blame if its slow. Anyway, there are only 3 people on the planet that I would want to work on my (Laverda) engine, one of them is sick, another is retiring and another too far away, and he is robably too busy as well, which says it all realy, never go into an empty restaurant if there is another that is jammed full nearby, syndrome
CLEM
 
The bike looks great cosmetically. So according to GED, the motor requires more work to get the cam timing correct, so what does he estimate it'll cost? Adding your initial $6K and $4K for repairs, you've spent @ $10K, which isn't too bad for a 3C in such good cosmetic condition. As a comparison, I spent $9K for my 750SF2 and another $4K on repairs. Going into it, I knew it would be a money pit and unfortunately, these bikes can be expensive.

If it will cost another $2K to get it running properly, I would spend that, and then sell it for $10-12K. Trying to sell it non-running will be more of a financial loss.
 
Robin Webster said:
TeddyG said:
The bike looks great cosmetically. So according to GED, the motor requires more work to get the cam timing correct, so what does he estimate it'll cost? Adding your initial $6K and $4K for repairs, you've spent @ $10K, which isn't too bad for a 3C in such good cosmetic condition. As a comparison, I spent $9K for my 750SF2 and another $4K on repairs. Going into it, I knew it would be a money pit and unfortunately, these bikes can be expensive.

If it will cost another $2K to get it running properly, I would spend that, and then sell it for $10-12K. Trying to sell it non-running will be more of a financial loss.
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Teddy- your plan falls flat when you exchange the $ sign for good old £ - £15k+ is best part of $20k!
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"Teddy- your plan falls flat when you exchange the $ sign for good old £ - £15k+ is best part of $20k!"

Yep, and it's worth at the very most £10 000 in pristine rivet counters condition, which that one isn't, and with a lot of luck.
Paul
 
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