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

Went to Breganze on my scuzzy old yellow 1975 3C clunker in 2014. A familiar bike in ILOC circles, no preparation just rode it, 2500 miles there and back it never missed a beat.  It is a smoker so liked a drop of oil so had to keep an eye on that, the discs warped so that made braking interesting, but I had absolute faith it wouldn't break down.

  3C's are great bikes, mine still has the original Bosch C.D.I ignition and charging system simplicity in itself. Keep the revs around 4000 and the battery is always fully charged. On a long trip dead easy. Tractor mower lead acid 32 amp hr battery fitted dead reliable and last for years.  Hopefully going again next year. On the 3C of course.
 
alan james said:
3C's are great bikes, mine still has the original Bosch C.D.I ignition and charging system simplicity in itself.
Click to expand...

Yes, they seem to last pretty well when ridden with a bit of mechanical sympathy. My brother's 3C still has the original pistons, rings, etc. The most that's been done to the engine in over 100,000 km is the head has been off for a lap of the valves/seats with grinding paste to clean them up after a long lay-up. It still has the original primary chain which shows very little sign of wear or stretch. It only got a new ignition system because the original Bosch HKZ died.
 
Dellortoman said:
Yes, they seem to last pretty well when ridden with a bit of mechanical sympathy. My brother's 3C still has the original pistons, rings, etc. ... in over 100,000 km ... It still has the original primary chain which shows very little sign of wear or stretch.
Click to expand...

Holy shys Cam, did he do those k's with it sitting on rollers??!!  :o
 
Replace primary chains and timing chain. Did a light sandblast and paint of the tatty looking chrome headers (found a black high-temp paint that looks flat, instead of the chalky matt I used to use in the olden-days...) looks a lot better, we'll see how long it lasts!
Oh, and new plugs. Glad I had a set on the shelf, the poor old girl wouldn't start again after doing some idling for me in the shed  :D (I think I might carry a set from now on, it went from running ok to zero, overnight!)

Running like a top now, and ready for the next Cold Kiwi challenge  :P
 
Fixed the 1200 Series 1 indicators. They stopped flashing on the way to the rally in Heftrich, Germany. (The rally was excellent, btw  ;)
It turned out to be the standard missing earth wire from the LH switchgear. Why Laverda ever thought that an earth path through well-greased steering head bearings would work remains beyond me...
I do like this bike, it goes like stink, and somehow has a lot of Laverda soul in it :D

Steve
 
"It turned out to be the standard missing earth wire from the LH switchgear."
What has earthing got to do with your indicator switch? It is a wire in to the switch from the relay and diverted to either side globes.
Is it the headlight brackets etc that you are earthing via an earth wire in the LH switch? The earth wire in LH switches is generally for a horn earth.
 
Finally got a Shorai dedicated battery charger for the small lightweight Shorai battery. Very well made, and can balance each cell individually.

Kind regards,
jacques
 
Had a good day with my RGS, visited my Mam and went 200 Km 2 times in five hrs together with my wife Eva, passinng the little mountains of the Sauerland, it was like surfing on the roads.Love the RGS.Eva too, she so confortable- the RGS!
Andre
 
Finally installed NGK B9ES rather than NGK B8ES. Will testdrive in ? hour ;)
Always had a bit soothy plugs so we'll see if that changes.

Kind regards,
Jacques
 
Fitted new Nitron shocks from DAM racing. Adjusted height to 370mm as many on here seem to prefer. Had a decent test run today and they feel really good, might need a bit more fine adjustment but good for now. I like the extra height, I was surprised that such a small change could make such a noticable difference to the steering, especially when flicking from one side to another. Can't do without a block under the centre stand now though, but the side stand feels a lot more secure!
 
I found this years ago after getting Andy Wagners catalog,it recommended BP plugs. The P stands for Projected tip,I fitted them and found no difference.It's not good to have any plug sticking out into the chamber so I dont think its that much of a projection. I went back to the ES plugs.
 
redfox said:
Finally installed NGK B9ES rather than NGK B8ES. Will testdrive in ? hour ;)
Always had a bit soothy plugs so we'll see if that changes.

Kind regards,
Jacques
Click to expand...

9s being colder, you'll probably have even sootier plugs.

Paul
 
For triples the standard plug for low comp piston engines is B8ES.

High comp engines use B9ES.

A protruding tip may cause issues by glowing hot and causing pre-ignition.

I had an SFC 1000 come in with BP8ES as the owner said they were recommended by a reliable source.
I changed them to B9ES during the service.
I don't want to run the risk to go against factory specification.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top