What Laverda model is this?

compsciguy

compsciguy

New member
Location
California
Hey all,

My father-in-law recently passed away and he has a 1982 Laverda bike that he bought back in 1990 and has been on-and-off working on for the last 35 years.

Does anyone know which model it is? I don’t know a thing about bikes, so while he has the historic paperwork for parts he purchased and registration, it’s somewhat inscrutable. Some photos are attached.

Thanks for your help!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2024.jpeg
    IMG_2024.jpeg
    248.6 KB · Views: 144
  • IMG_2025.jpeg
    IMG_2025.jpeg
    230.1 KB · Views: 125
  • IMG_2026.jpeg
    IMG_2026.jpeg
    259.8 KB · Views: 125
  • IMG_2028.jpeg
    IMG_2028.jpeg
    297.4 KB · Views: 123
  • IMG_2029.jpeg
    IMG_2029.jpeg
    302.1 KB · Views: 121
  • IMG_2030.jpeg
    IMG_2030.jpeg
    271.8 KB · Views: 139
  • IMG_2027.jpeg
    IMG_2027.jpeg
    266.2 KB · Views: 148
compsciguy said:
Hey all,

My father-in-law recently passed away and he has a 1982 Laverda bike that he bought back in 1990 and has been on-and-off working on for the last 35 years.

Does anyone know which model it is? I don’t know a thing about bikes, so while he has the historic paperwork for parts he purchased and registration, it’s somewhat inscrutable. Some photos are attached.

Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
1000 3cl
 
Since it is a 1982 bike with the series II motor, I believe the only 180 degree 1000cc triple they were making at the time was the Jota. The last year for the 3Cl was 1981.

No a question for the forum, did Laverda ever make series II bikes that actually had a Jota spec motor? I thiought the real Jota ended witht the series I motor?
 
Last edited:
1981 Jota 180 degree crank, I think you US guys got them in 1982 as well, whereas most other markets got 1982 120 degree cranks.

But …. I was wrong one other time, and stand corrected
 
compsciguy said:
Hey all,

My father-in-law recently passed away and he has a 1982 Laverda bike that he bought back in 1990 and has been on-and-off working on for the last 35 years.

Does anyone know which model it is? I don’t know a thing about bikes, so while he has the historic paperwork for parts he purchased and registration, it’s somewhat inscrutable. Some photos are attached.

Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
With engine- and hopefully also frame number 8130, fixed engine mounts and ignition on the left, it is one of the last maybe 25 - 30 180° Triples built I'd say. Ex factory, it was called "Jota" and most probably came with a half fairing. That said, green could be original if accordingly ordered... Else it would have looked like this:

1774260396728.png

1200ts said:
No a question for the forum, did Laverda ever make series II bikes that actually had a Jota spec motor? I thiought the real Jota ended witht the series I motor?
Click to expand...

Well... As Slater mainly did nothing else than order pre-tuned 3CL's with parts from the factory tuning catalogue, ANYONE could actually order the same. The 4/C cams and slightly higher compression pistons were factory parts and were available on order/request since 1974 or 1975. The only thing that Slater fitted were the mufflers, rest was factory equipment. Credits to them though, to having had the idea to use these racing intended upgrades for street legal bikes. And they also gave this configuration it's name "Jota" after the spanish 3/4 dance.

Not sure what the fuzz really is about the "original" Jotas, as they were simply factory upgraded bikes with different mufflers. But - if it floats anyones boat - so be it.
 
The MkII engine was introduced at #7237 for 1000cm³, #3063 for 1200.

#8130 was most probably born as in Lothars' pic. I'm not aware of the later 180s being available without a fairing.

As the Jota 120 was introduced for the '82 MY, #8130 could be a late '80 or '81 bike that was sold and first registered in '82. AfaIk, the 180s ran to around #87xx. I seriously doubt the factory had the capacity to keep the 180° tooling running to build 180s and 120s at the same time. The 120° engine was meant to herald in a whole new era, the faster the 180s were forgotten, the better...

piet

Need to correct that... 180s apparently ran only to #813x according to the Laverdamania register. So #8130 is most definitely one of the last of the '81s.
 
Last edited:
Wow, thanks so much for the detail here everyone — what a beautiful bike!

I’ll have to look and see if I can find that front-mounted guard/wind screen thing. I did also notice in his receipts that in the early 90s he purchased “as close as possible” to the original orange paint. :)
 
Engine #8130,,that’s really close to final production of the 180 crank triple. A really solid package to be honest. Well worth saving!!

Where is it??
 
So in 1982 if you bought this series II Jota new at the dealer, would it have the Jota cams and pistons from the factory?

I know in some countries, Jota's were just a 3CL with a Jota decal as they could not pass noise and emmission rules. And many dealers and customers added the Jota parts.

Assuming this bike is still the same as it left the factory, what cams and pistons will it have?

When Laverda ended series I motor production, I thought that was the end of the Jota and everything after was just a 3CL with Jota badges on the side cover????????
 
All 1981 Jotas sold new to Australia were full house Jotas built at the Laverda factory, they even had a special compliance plate stating low volume procedures apply so they could legally be registered.
 
compsciguy said:
~San Francisco!
Click to expand...
So a north American delivery machine. My #8041 -1000 180 Jota was assembled July 1981 for 1982 delivery and registration. Your #8130, if you look at the headstock, North American bikes had a 17 digit VIN and manufacturer date. I’m guessing August 1981.
I’ll revert to much more knowledgeable fellows on this forum regarding which 1000cc models other than the mk2 Jota was imported into North America. Im
Guessing either Roger Slater , or Lance Weil??
 
1200ts said:
So in 1982 if you bought this series II Jota new at the dealer, would it have the Jota cams and pistons from the factory?

I know in some countries, Jota's were just a 3CL with a Jota decal as they could not pass noise and emmission rules. And many dealers and customers added the Jota parts.

Assuming this bike is still the same as it left the factory, what cams and pistons will it have?

When Laverda ended series I motor production, I thought that was the end of the Jota and everything after was just a 3CL with Jota badges on the side cover????????
Click to expand...
As said, you could order from the factory what ever the factory offered. Different Importers decided what would sell best for their markets, some markets (like Switzerland and France) did have more serious emission-testing and therefore A12 Cams were even designed and installed in these markets. Could be, that to push sales, the factory decided to sell these upgrades as standard from a certain point on to get rid of old stock, push final sales numbers until the 120° models were available - or simply because they ran out of A11 cams - who knows...

At the end, it does not really matter as you can upgrade ANY ex-factory Laverda with simple components-exchange to a "Jota"... :cool:
 
compsciguy said:
Hey all,

My father-in-law recently passed away and he has a 1982 Laverda bike that he bought back in 1990 and has been on-and-off working on for the last 35 years.

Does anyone know which model it is? I don’t know a thing about bikes, so while he has the historic paperwork for parts he purchased and registration, it’s somewhat inscrutable. Some photos are attached.

Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
So we have established the bike is a 1982 Jota 1000.

What do you intent to do with the bike, keep it or sell it?
 
My understanding is that all the bikes shipped to the US by the factory at that time had the A11/12 cams in order to meet the California state emissions regulations.

Absolutely Lance Weil did major works on Laverdas in the US, 4C cams etc. etc. before his untimely demise. However, he was also known for billing for the work and not doing wot he said.

Basically the cam cover needs to be removed to take a look see. Hey, it needs to come off anyway to check the valve clearances during recommissioning...

J
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top