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

The active component you're looking for is Methylene Chloride (AKA Dichloromethane)
I've found the following chemistry from a German classic oil supplier I've started using.
I have read the warnings and instructions and it scares the crap out of me.
I could so easily ruin my tanks external paintwork.
So I may ask my landlord if I can borrow his cement mixer and find a load of ball bearings or nails to tumble the tank clean.

 
I've found the following chemistry from a German classic oil supplier I've started using.
I have read the warnings and instructions and it scares the crap out of me.
I could so easily ruin my tanks external paintwork.
So I may ask my landlord if I can borrow his cement mixer and find a load of ball bearings or nails to tumble the tank clean.

You will ruin the paint work.
Keep away from tank liners except on new fibreglass.
Paul
 
Methylene Chloride is strong stuff. I was once ordered to strip the paint off a Boeing 737 by spraying it from a boom lift on a windy day. I protested, but was overruled by my boss. The overspray drifted over the fence onto the employee parking lot as a fine mist, you can imagine the scene at quitting time!
 
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Well not today but yesterday I finally got the RWC for the ricky racer 3 a project that has really stretched out.
I originally bought this bike in from the USA several years ago and slowly returned the bike to the 1978 Jota she was originally, I retained some of the RR3 heritage that included the special coating on the wheels and frame (although badly aged), the engine is untouched but many of the special bits (36mm dells) were taken years ago, the engine is crisp and alive and requires a fair bit of effort from the starter motor to crank her over, so as soon as the rain stops (if ever) she will be under my arse, happy days
 

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Well not today but yesterday I finally got the RWC for the ricky racer 3 a project that has really stretched out.
I originally bought this bike in from the USA several years ago and slowly returned the bike to the 1978 Jota she was originally, I retained some of the RR3 heritage that included the special coating on the wheels and frame (although badly aged), the engine is untouched but many of the special bits (36mm dells) were taken years ago, the engine is crisp and alive and requires a fair bit of effort from the starter motor to crank her over, so as soon as the rain stops (if ever) she will be under my arse, happy days
Maurice, I think I recall seeing this bike in Lances shop a long long time ago, did the Gold Jota have a greyish hammered metal finish on the frame
If so it is the very same bike Lance rode with me on my 78 Gold Jota, a very spirited ride up Palomar mountain and the over to Idylwild via Warner Hot Springs, a 'take no prisoners' ride midweek. I just happened across Lance as he was checking on his property up near Palomar Mountain and well 2 Gold Jotas on a mountain road what are you gonna do? I ran into 'Rickey Racer' on several occasions up in those mountains, top rider.
 
Hi Dave in fact it has got the hammered metal finish on the frame, so did you see this bike when it was a gold Jota??
I have been riding her and the bike idles and runs nicely but is as flat as a tack, going to check the DMC settings
 
I once had a ride up there with Lance on a customer BM and me on my SF2.
We left from his shop.
Once we started climbing it started to rain and at 100mph Lance was 2 feet off my rear end to avoid the rooster tail off my back wheel. From Idylwild he headed back to LA and I headed to your place down hwy74. Another spirited ride. The couple of times I met Lance always enjoyed his company. Whenever I spoke to him on the phone from OZ years later sourcing parts he always mentioned that ride. Must of been memorable
 
I once had a ride up there with Lance on a customer BM and me on my SF2.
We left from his shop.
Once we started climbing it started to rain and at 100mph Lance was 2 feet off my rear end to avoid the rooster tail off my back wheel. From Idylwild he headed back to LA and I headed to your place down hwy74. Another spirited ride. The couple of times I met Lance always enjoyed his company. Whenever I spoke to him on the phone from OZ years later sourcing parts he always mentioned that ride. Must of been memorable
What else would you expect from a former (quite competitive) racer? ;)

piet
 
Good night shed….. a few hours spent between the 1200 and the 1000.
 

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Hi Dave in fact it has got the hammered metal finish on the frame, so did you see this bike when it was a gold Jota??
I have been riding her and the bike idles and runs nicely but is as flat as a tack, going to check the DMC set
It must have been the same Gold Jota, I cannot imagine another Gold Jota with the same frame finish in Southern California. Can you imagine my surprise when I came across a Gold Jota parked on the side of Palomar Mountain Road with no rider to be seen, I thought I was hallucinating!!! Seeing another Laverda anywhere in the USA is a surprise, then I spotted Lance standing in the middle of a field, taking pictures. We exchanged a few words then we were off up the mountain, it was on.
Lance aka Rickey Racer did have a red 3CL at one time in his Costa Mesa shop with a frame with the same hammered metal finish, half fairing, rear sets, and brushed black leather suede type seat, which was purchased by a former member of this Forum, Sheldon.
If my memory serves me well Sheldon moved from Southern California to the central mountain region of Arizona, I believe he sold his Lav.
That hammered grey metal finish looked great.
Cheers Dave
 
I finally bought the camping chair of my dreams today after months of searching. The only place that held stock is at Campbelltown, the exact opposite side of Sydney to me.
I hit the Thirlmere Sausage Roll shop as well. The only pain was heading home, I spied a very tidy grey unassuming car in my mirrors with some low profile roof racks and as I moved to the left lane my suspicions were confirmed with big Orange strips down the side. Almost not noticeable in the rearview mirror. He became a mobile roadblock from Narrelan Rd to the city with me and dozens more stuck behind the almost 80ks of expressway. PAINFUL.
 
Looks like a well-designed chair Vince. Not cheap, but you get what you pay for. Hopefully it'll hold your arse off the ground in comfort for many years to come.

I sat on a mate's folding chair at the last race meeting I went to. It was one of those ubiquitous chairs that you see everywhere and can buy at Bunnings or any camp shop (typical example shown below). Sitting in it was no problem, but as I went to stand up, I pushed down on the arms to lift myself up from the seating position and one of the arms collapsed. It folded at the point where the support arm passes through the seat.

Having busted his brand new chair, I felt obliged to do something about it. Either buy him a new one or see if it could be fixed. So I took it home with me to investigate the options. When I had a closer look, I saw that the bloody thing was actually designed to break at that spot. There was a 6mm diameter pin through the tube at that point. The tube is only about 20mm diameter and very thin walled (about 0.8mm). It had no kind of reinforcing sleeve to offset the stress concentration caused by the bloody great pin hole. It may as well have had a dotted line like a postage stamp, with an arrow pointing to the joint and a sign saying, "break here". It's a shit design.

I ended up making an insert on the lathe from solid aluminium bar to slip inside the broken tube. It was about 60mm long and a press fit inside the tube. I epoxied it in place, re-drilled the pin hole through the bar and reassembled the joint. That arm is now about 10 times stronger than it was. The thought crossed my mind to break the other arm and do the same modification. But my undertaking was just to fix what I'd busted, not do a complete bloody re-design and upgrade. Otherwise I'd have been there for ages reinforcing every other pin-joint where tubes cross.

Moral of the story - don't buy cheap shit chairs and expect them to be fit for purpose. It's money down the drain, especially if you're a person of substantial mass like Vince or me. Not that we're fat bastards. It's all muscle eh mate. :)


bunnings chair.JPG
 
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