W/E 7th July 2019

This week saw me cobble the Turismo together and take on the 2019 National Road Rally. Full report can be found over in the ‘Trips’ section.

Nick 🙂

W/E 3rd July 2019

So as I write this folk are converging on Breganze from all over the world to celebrate 70 years of Laverda. From what I’ve read seems to be a great adventure can’t wait to hear all the tales 🙂

Back at ‘Bent Screwdrivers’ HQ work is underway for the National Road Rally. The Atlas is still not fixed so I’ve had to fall back on the Turismo. So far so good with the bike starting and running well. Even the lights work so not too much to do – oil and a new battery to hide in the tool box to run the brake light.

One problem that I had to sort was knackered rubber engine mounts (yes the 120 range of triples isn’t the only rubber mounted Laverda). I’d tried to get some replacements before without success so a trip to ebay and some ATV steering bushes for under a tenner provided the solution. I had to cut them down with a hacksaw and trim the edges with nail scissors and now the engine doesn’t move sideways when I pull in the clutch.

The plan is to go for a Bronze award which means 300 miles in 20 hours. In the past the Turismo has achieved a Special Gold (540 miles) but with a family crisis still roaring my low personal reserves mean I’m going to cut myself some slack. One difference however is that unlike previous National Rallies on the 100 this time I’m using maps not a satnav. I know that nothing could possibly go wrong but just in case there is the fallback ‘Daytime Chrome’ award requiring just 125 miles that I’ve put behind my ear.

I’ve also taken advantage of the hot weather and gone back to the triple frames that need painting. The RGA frame was already black but I wanted a better finish so I took it back down and reapplied the paint. The RGS frame needed another coat of priming before I apply its top coat. It would be nice to have a triple for the Scottish in September…

Nick 🙂