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

Most pedestrians, and cyclists, and motorcyclists for that matter are hit by cars.
Put the pressure on car drivers first.
But then, they're economically important, they even keep corrupt Arab states running, and quite a few very rich westerners.
Paul
Most pedestrians may be hit and injured/killed by cars Paul, but it does seem it is very often their own fault. I've experienced a fair number of near-misses while driving (drove a cab in Cologne for 6 years), pedestrians jay walking onto the road, little kids suddenly breaking loose from mummy, cyclists darting out of crossings without looking or stopping at red lights, etc, etc... Thankfully, my sharp reactions avoided worse. Nowadays, I simply try to avoid driving in busy areas as much as I can, my reactions are nowhere as good as they once were and I dread to think of what may happen if confronted with such situations today.

Go into any city/town and watch people wander about, 90% are staring at the screen of their phone, 80% of those have ear buds in place... a very large number are completely oblivious to the world around them. They walk into lampposts, moving trams and cars or even into themselves. The city of Cologne even installed guide lights and markings on pathways and road crossings in an effort to stem the fatalities of those walking about while constantly staring at their phones, didn't work. They were still far too focused on their device. Guess Darwin has a point. :rolleyes: On average, 3-5 people are killed each year in Cologne when trying to sneak between tram carriages because they are either in a hurry or too lazy to walk around the vehicle. Tram involvements are quite high on the pedestrian fatality list here.

The most vulnerable people in traffic, pedestrians and cyclists, already enjoy a multitude of special rules to their favour here, designed to protect them from moving traffic. But many of these then think that they no longer need to be aware of anything, they place the responsibility of their own well-being onto others and disregard just about each and every rule in the book. Not really much use complaining "He wasn't supposed to do that!" while you were at fault and are about to croak.

Of course there are loads of morons behind car/truck steering wheels, probably the same percentage as those behind bicycle and motorcycle handlebars. It's just in absolute numbers that there's more of them behind steering wheels...

Going out now for little jaunt on the GTL, congesting rural byways and unnecessarily contributing to air pollution, not to mention filling the coffers of Big Oil.

piet
 
Most pedestrians may be hit and injured/killed by cars Paul, but it does seem it is very often their own fault. I've experienced a fair number of near-misses while driving (drove a cab in Cologne for 6 years), pedestrians jay walking onto the road, little kids suddenly breaking loose from mummy, cyclists darting out of crossings without looking or stopping at red lights, etc, etc... Thankfully, my sharp reactions avoided worse. Nowadays, I simply try to avoid driving in busy areas as much as I can, my reactions are nowhere as good as they once were and I dread to think of what may happen if confronted with such situations today.

Go into any city/town and watch people wander about, 90% are staring at the screen of their phone, 80% of those have ear buds in place... a very large number are completely oblivious to the world around them. They walk into lampposts, moving trams and cars or even into themselves. The city of Cologne even installed guide lights and markings on pathways and road crossings in an effort to stem the fatalities of those walking about while constantly staring at their phones, didn't work. They were still far too focused on their device. Guess Darwin has a point. :rolleyes: On average, 3-5 people are killed each year in Cologne when trying to sneak between tram carriages because they are either in a hurry or too lazy to walk around the vehicle. Tram involvements are quite high on the pedestrian fatality list here.

The most vulnerable people in traffic, pedestrians and cyclists, already enjoy a multitude of special rules to their favour here, designed to protect them from moving traffic. But many of these then think that they no longer need to be aware of anything, they place the responsibility of their own well-being onto others and disregard just about each and every rule in the book. Not really much use complaining "He wasn't supposed to do that!" while you were at fault and are about to croak.

Of course there are loads of morons behind car/truck steering wheels, probably the same percentage as those behind bicycle and motorcycle handlebars. It's just in absolute numbers that there's more of them behind steering wheels...

Going out now for little jaunt on the GTL, congesting rural byways and unnecessarily contributing to air pollution, not to mention filling the coffers of Big Oil.

piet
Yes, but I don't think that it's possible to live in a society where responsibility primes in case of problems meaning that the weakest must be protected. It's the case of pedestrians and users of two wheelers, and also the case of people who do every thing to be and stay losers in our societies. They still need to eat and stay warm.
The social alternatives are all too scary and knocking at our door.
Paul
Paul
 
edit: I wonder how that works in the USA in states where helmets are not obligatory. If you get e.g. brain damage that is scientifically proven not to have happened (or would be much less) due to not wearing a helmet, does your insurance cover the difference or at all? Not meaning to stir something up, genuinely interested.
In the USA, medical coverage is an optional part of your Motorcycle Insurance Policy, just as having Health insurance is optional. Motorcycles are a risky proposition in the event of an accident, both physically and financially. If you have no accident medical or health insurance coverage, you are 100 percent responsible for your medical/injury costs, unless someone else was at fault.

I worked for several years as an RN in Emergency, where it was common terminology to refer to all motorcycle riders as 'Organ Donors'. More often than not, if the 'Donor' was not wearing a helmet, a telephone call would be made to 'Legacy One', the organ harvesting team.
 
Most pedestrians, and cyclists, and motorcyclists for that matter are hit by cars.
Put the pressure on car drivers first.
By that logic, on railroad crossings, most motorcylists, pedestians, cyclists, trucks and pigeons are hit by trains 😅
In the USA, medical coverage is an optional part of your Motorcycle Insurance Policy, just as having Health insurance is optional. Motorcycles are a risky proposition in the event of an accident, both physically and financially. If you have no accident medical or health insurance coverage, you are 100 percent responsible for your medical/injury costs, unless someone else was at fault.

I worked for several years as an RN in Emergency, where it was common terminology to refer to all motorcycle riders as 'Organ Donors'. More often than not, if the 'Donor' was not wearing a helmet, a telephone call would be made to 'Legacy One', the organ harvesting team.
Thanks -takes a special kind of person to work there, cynical humour seems to be almost an requirement ;)
I suppose those insurances, if they are like here, will go to great lengths to either pay less or not all if a person could have prevented injuries e.g. by wearing a helmet or protective clothing?

Anyway, getting back on topic, I installed a Garmin Zumo 345 clamp, holder and power supply my wife found cheaply in Italy on Vinted. We already have a 390 so now we both have one. It was cheaper than getting the mount, power supply and bracket separately -essentially a free 345 in the set! The whole setup works with the latest 3x series, so no need to buy new stuff in a few years other than the navigation itself. Connected it to the ignition coils, not sure if the power adapter draws power in standby.

Somewhat fiddly, originally I'd want it to be more centered, but the clamp doesn't fit underneath the handlebar there. When got it all installed it nearly added an extra dent in the tank...

Got a tour coming up in a few weeks with some collegues, one of them is a true roadmaster and has lots of routes to choose from. Still need to get some BT speakers in my helmet, but that seems to be another world on it's own -both with features and prices!
zumo.jpg
 
You may recall a few days ago I wrote about fixing the oil leak on my 840, but didn’t elaborate on the cause.
Well I can now reveal it was down to an incorrectly fitted bearing on the rear gearbox shaft. Unfortunately it will remain a mystery as to why the person, who built the engine for the bike’s previous owner, didn’t fit the correct part or at least modify the part to make it fit correctly, as they are a long time dead. The surprising thing is they did a lot of good work on the engine, and apparently had a world wide reputation for building and tuning engines.
The outer casing of the bearing in question should have had a slot in it in which to locate a half ring that keeps the bearing in place. Without the slot in the bearing, the gear shaft wasn’t seating in the crankcase correctly as the half ring was preventing the bearing from slotting into the correct position, so the crankcases were never going to mate snuggly in that corner and it was only going to be a matter of time before the seal failed. Admittedly, it seems it did remain leak free for quite awhile, but presumably a longish period of storage followed by a sudden return to action was sufficient to break the seal. Whatever, a shallow groove was cut into the bearing case and the two halves of the crankcase went back together much more snug than before.
I have spotted that ARA have an ACU test day at Jurby planned for 28 June so I will try to get myself booked on to it and get a few laps in and check all is now well on that score. It will also help me to become a bit more proficient and comfortable working a right foot gear change, although I also intend to take the left hooker Alto bike for a shakedown too, assuming I manage to replace in time the leaking radiator I discovered today. 😕
 

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allI van say to this is what Piet already posted…

Even bodging and shortcuts CAN be done right, just need to recognise the implications! An imbecile can ruin a perfectly good engine, even by going by the manual. :rolleyes: I've met a few... some even have a fully equipped workshop, but as long as they don't understand which end of the screwdriver to hold, their
 
Holy shaez, Andy!! I'm VERY surprised you aren't asking in Wanted for a replacement set of cases. That gearbox layshaft bearing is a roller type. The slot is redundant and I'm guessing is there because some earlier incarnation of the motor used a ball type and needed to locate via a snap ring. The layshaft should butt up against the stepped shoulder and side play should be determined by the shoulder of the positioning screw in the case on the clutch side. could be wrong, but I don't think a roller bearing will ever have a snap ring groove.

Bolting the cases down when any of those gearbox bearings is sitting on top of a retaining ring would have done horrible things to the cases.
 
You may recall a few days ago I wrote about fixing the oil leak on my 840, but didn’t elaborate on the cause.
Well I can now reveal it was down to an incorrectly fitted bearing on the rear gearbox shaft. Unfortunately it will remain a mystery as to why the person, who built the engine for the bike’s previous owner, didn’t fit the correct part or at least modify the part to make it fit correctly, as they are a long time dead. The surprising thing is they did a lot of good work on the engine, and apparently had a world wide reputation for building and tuning engines.
The outer casing of the bearing in question should have had a slot in it in which to locate a half ring that keeps the bearing in place. Without the slot in the bearing, the gear shaft wasn’t seating in the crankcase correctly as the half ring was preventing the bearing from slotting into the correct position, so the crankcases were never going to mate snuggly in that corner and it was only going to be a matter of time before the seal failed. Admittedly, it seems it did remain leak free for quite awhile, but presumably a longish period of storage followed by a sudden return to action was sufficient to break the seal. Whatever, a shallow groove was cut into the bearing case and the two halves of the crankcase went back together much more snug than before.
I have spotted that ARA have an ACU test day at Jurby planned for 28 June so I will try to get myself booked on to it and get a few laps in and check all is now well on that score. It will also help me to become a bit more proficient and comfortable working a right foot gear change, although I also intend to take the left hooker Alto bike for a shakedown too, assuming I manage to replace in time the leaking radiator I discovered today. 😕

I had to reread the post, to check that no half ring was fitted and a plain bearing was used, that reread confirmed that a plain bearing AND a half ring was used....... is why I don't drink too much beer when playing with motorbikes.
 
Holy shaez, Andy!! I'm VERY surprised you aren't asking in Wanted for a replacement set of cases. That gearbox layshaft bearing is a roller type. The slot is redundant and I'm guessing is there because some earlier incarnation of the motor used a ball type and needed to locate via a snap ring. The layshaft should butt up against the stepped shoulder and side play should be determined by the shoulder of the positioning screw in the case on the clutch side. could be wrong, but I don't think a roller bearing will ever have a snap ring groove.

Bolting the cases down when any of those gearbox bearings is sitting on top of a retaining ring would have done horrible things to the cases.
Right on the money of course. Correctly adjusting the layshaft position is often done by a shim between the roller bearing’s outer cage and the shoulder on the r/h side of the crankcase.

Marnix
 
What’s worse is the engine builder was provided with a complete engine AND a brand new set of crankcases to work with! Fortunately I’m not intending the bike to be a long term ride, I just want to do a small number of classic road races with it before I hang up the race helmet. The bike then may make a few outings at selected classic parade events.
 
Just for installation I made one out of an old pipe fitting just to see that everything lined up. Have ordered the real part and hopefully it should be here by next week 😆
Replacement spacer arrived so all buttoned up now
 

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Right on the money of course. Correctly adjusting the layshaft position is often done by a shim between the roller bearing’s outer cage and the shoulder on the r/h side of the crankcase.

Marnix
I was going to mention the shim option on the right shoulder, Marnix, but thought it might have been a fix I do, but not common practice. Either way, to fit a snap ring into that groove is astonishing. You'd have to source one individually as they usually come as part of the cartridge ball.
 
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