Was Laverda’s triple design ahead of its time?

[pf1]

Except Triumph introduced the Ricardo four valve motorcycle back in 1921 ....... 70 mph plus and three world speed records ..........

The four valve " Riccy " was the enthusiasts Triumph long before the " Bonnie " had even been dreamt of .......


Then there was Rudge - Whitworth four-valve motorcycle of 1925 ..........

" Don`t trudge it ...... Rudge it ! ..... " ............ ( So the adverts of the time said ....... Snappy or what ? ) ...............

You'll be thrilled to the marrow with your Aerial Arrow. Now there's a weird advertising slogan for you.

 

[rocketonarail]

Weight.

Just think of what a 1/2 mile of cable weighs. Thinner guage weighs less... You may have noticed the PVC sheathing has also become a lot thinner, again saving weight.

When showing 175kg against 176kg in the broschure becomes a selling point, you can be sure the engineers and designers will be looking for the very last grams.

piet

Yes I guess that`s what it`s probably down to ..........

When you take into account all the sensors , ABS , traction control and tilt units and so on which now in effect becomes part of the wiring harness , together with the wiring and connectors that go with them , then it`s not surprising they may be looking to shed some weight from it somewhere ..........

It`s nice to take a look at a SFC wiring diagram now and again for a return to sanity , and the chance to give the eyes a rest ...........

Electrics are bad enough as it is , without having to correct other people`s cock-ups .......... The unravelling of yet more black sticky tape reveals yet another pair of wires twisted together or messily soldered " connection " horror show .......

Butt splice , crimp , then heat shrink tubing is my usual remedy .........

 

[rocketonarail]

You'll be thrilled to the marrow with your Aerial Arrow. Now there's a weird advertising slogan for you.

There was another one which went something along the lines of " You get plenty of relief from an Indian Chief " ........

Probably the less said about that the better .......... .................

 

[Andy J]

While the Yamaha TX500 only had a 5-speed box in 1973, it won the 4-valve race pretty distinctly. Suffered form the same ailments that would strike the 500 and its derivants later.

Laverda clearly did not lack innovation, they rarely had the cash for further development.

piet

The point I was trying to make (badly as it turns out) was Laverda was the first (AFAIK) to use a four valve head and a six speed gearbox.

 

[Tippie]

XL250 4 valve a year before apparently, not a road bike, but couldn´t be called a dirt bike and most were just used on the road, sold like hot bread.

 

[Andy J]

XL250 4 valve a year before apparently, not a road bike, but couldn´t be called a dirt bike and most were just used on the road, sold like hot bread.

AFAIK the 6 speed was only on the later R model and post dates the introduction of the 500 Alpina/Zeta.