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

TeddyG said:
On the advice of my machinist, I had my new Ross pistons teflon coated and will assemble the motor next
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When I got replacement first oversize pistons for the Mirage from Slaters they had a purple coating on the cut away skirts ...... not sure if it was Teflon , but together with the CD finish to the crowns they looked beautiful ........

I was thinking of getting an extra one to put on display sat on a velvet cushion with a spotlight trained on it , they looked so good ..........
 
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Another opportunity to test the revised gear change layout today at Jurby. I completed 4 sessions of approx 20 minutes and by the last session the track was getting pretty dry so I was pushing a bit harder so a clean gear change was needed. The switch to the heel and toe change is definitely a move in the right direction, with generally a reliable gear change at last. The odd fluffed change, mostly on the up shift, so I probably will need to modify the up shift lever a little 8F70761E-73D0-4598-B0BF-ABA4B9BB50BA.jpeg56A73248-AC49-4141-B013-F6BFADFDBFC1.jpegbit so I’m not having to move my foot around quite so much, but otherwise I’m now a lot happier than before.
The track was pretty damp at the start from overnight rain, but the gusty wind helped dry it out reasonably quickly, but also meant the odd drift towards the edge of the track occasionally. The only other issue, on track, was a suicidal hare running onto the track in front of me at the start of the back straight. The bloody thing couldn’t make it’s mind whether to go left, right or straight on which caused me a certain amount of consternation as I tried to make my own mind up as to how to avoid running into it. Fortunately it buggered off before either or both of us got hurt.
 
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From my experience as a kid, Hares are a lot bigger than rabbits. Just another bloody exotic animal roaming around Oz.
 
With all the rowing about I have been doing, plus multiple adjustments just to find a reliable one-click gear change, maybe I need this as well. I am hearty sick of the need to use the side of my boot for a tiny upward movement before downshifts. All it would need is a replacement toe and heel lever; finding the spare parts might be tricky, though. When is Wolfgang back from Europe?
 
Vince, you need a cutaway outer selector cover so you can see exactly why the hook is not engaging for the next gear after you shift. There's a simple mechanical reason for the issue - it's either adjustment, or you need a new part or two.
 
New parts went in during the last adjustment after I found a cracked spigot in the case cover from a tipover a few years ago. I got a second-hand inner cover and C-hook from Red. I get 3rd, 4th, and 5th fine; it's usually blocked going down to 1st, maybe 30% of the time. I am also feeling binding in the links. That happens 2 or 3 times a year, so that needs grease. I have had great changes for years, but once I break a spring, I chase that adjustment for ages till it's set. BTW I just warmed to the idea of a heel toes shifter, I just reasied it mimics the concept of a race pattern shifter instead of the limited space for your boot leaned over for upshifts you heel allows upsffts without your boot draging on the road. Less physical dexterity as well in long races. Those SFC designers knew their stuff.
 
I tend to ride with the ball of my foot on the peg to avoid my boot dragging in corners. This means my heel is hovering around where the up shift lever is positioned. I was mostly able to just dip my heel and select the next gear without too much of an issue. However, it would occasionally select a false neutral, which is why I said the lever position needs a little fine tuning. Frequently it would change up with very little pressure on the lever but it would be better if it did it every time!
 
I mostly ride with the pegs on the arch of my foot. I think it's a dirt bike thing: standing on the pegs, weight-bearing. I tried standing on the balls of my feet, and it just doesn't feel right for me. I mainly have downshift issues into 1st so a heel change won't be groundbreaking. But I do have a bent rearset gear lever, and if I can get a replacement off Wolfgang, I can use the new one and maybe modify the slightly bent one into a heel lever. I might be able to fit both onto the pivot on the rearset peg, one facing forward and one towards the rear, and use the height-adjustable pins to connect them together and not even need any welding. I won't know till I try
 
Took a long ride on my 1200 and after running on reserve for quite a while I finally found a gas station, 40km from home. Filled her up with 18 liters of BP Ultimate and joyfully proceeded on my way home. After 2km she started to run really rough and it was then that I realised that had just brimmed the tank with the finest diesel available. The bike spluttered and banged quite a bit but by keeping it in the 4-5k rpm zone I managed to keep going, with only some cutting out on one cylinder in the last few km. Still she got me home and normal service was resumed after filling up with petrol, draining the float bowls and cleaning the plugs. I'm sure the big black clouds of 4k rpm exhaust smoke at a set of traffic lights must have annoyed an environmentalist or two.
 
Marcel said:
Took a long ride on my 1200 and after running on reserve for quite a while I finally found a gas station, 40km from home. Filled her up with 18 liters of BP Ultimate and joyfully proceeded on my way home. After 2km she started to run really rough and it was then that I realised that had just brimmed the tank with the finest diesel available. The bike spluttered and banged quite a bit but by keeping it in the 4-5k rpm zone I managed to keep going, with only some cutting out on one cylinder in the last few km. Still she got me home and normal service was resumed after filling up with petrol, draining the float bowls and cleaning the plugs. I'm sure the big black clouds of 4k rpm exhaust smoke at a set of traffic lights must have annoyed an environmentalist or two.
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That's amazing that it will actually run on diesel. Had no idea it was possible ... lucky it wasn't a modern EFI bike!
 
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