So signed off having bled the front brakes – all was looking good until I decided to pop into the garage to check things out…and found that the damned brake splitter had decided to leak over the front mudguard!
I was pretty surprised at how ‘relaxed’ I was about this given it had taken quite a bit of time to get the mudguard to a ‘good enough’ standard. I’ve reasoned that a rub down and rattle can respray isn’t too much to worry about. Now had the fluid leaked onto say a powder coated surface perhaps this post would’ve been written entirely in CAPITALS.
Before we got to ‘fluidgate’ I’d visited Clem for a coffee and chat and took along a cracked hydraulic clutch cover over for inspection. I figured that as a ‘coded’ welder he was well placed to tell me if it could be fixed. It can!
Apparently these cases fail due to flexing in operation. The normal fault is where the case bulges a crack appears. Of course my case was broken due to my heavy handiness 20 years ago (old habits die hard) in over tightening the bleed nipple. The repair could’ve just been welding up the nipple and running it ‘blind’ as the bleed nipple isn’t necessary if you fill the case and push the slave piston down to prime the hydraulic line. However boring out the old cylinder and putting in a new, stronger unit will mean the case will not crack again. The repair above shows a bleed valve going in horizontal but I’ve asked for no nipple provision. What I intend is to put my original case in the loft and run the repaired unit as it ought to be more reliable.
I’d arranged for a Laverda specialist to come and sort the wiring. Always useful to have someone who knows what they’re about to offer advice. First off I was struggling to fit my shiny chainguard – not a surprise as it’s supposed to fit a 750! Lucky I’d kept the one off the bike and despite some slotted holes and dents and scrapes it fitted and looks ‘good enough’. The SF chainguard will maybe get sold sometime in the future when I’m sure I have no use for it.
Moving on from the chainguard I’d fitted the clocks the wrong way round. It’s easy to fix and I wonder how long I’d have spent trying to fit the speedo and rev counter running across one another before I realised the mistake!
I also had the adjustable bar joints configured in an unconventional manner. It would have worked but maybe would have been cramped. It should help kick the brake pipe out away from the fork shroud.
I got help to fit the rear brake spring and actuating arm and also found out why my starter motor didn’t line up with the crankcase locating holes.
I’d been trying to fit the later SJCE starter as fitted to the RGS. When it was pointed out this wasn’t a Jota starter I dug out the Bosch unit. These units work in different ways though I always believed they were interchangeable. You can see the SJCE mating flange is thicker but I can also tell you the mounting holes are slightly different such that the hole closest to the cylinder is compromised. What’s odd is that I have run a Bosch on an RGA (more later). I’m yet to check that the Bosch starter works but you can maybe see that the output gear is showing signs of wear?
Fortunately I have an old Bosch starter that blew up on the RGA. For some reason it engaged when I was pulling away from the lights and span itself to death! I’ve got lots of broken bits kicking about and the plan is to use the output gear from this wreck as it’s in pretty good condition.
Note the freshly painted oil cooler which was installed. This was made possible by Graham whoput the engine connectors on his lathe and opened up the holes – thanks Graham.
Unfortunately there isn’t a happy ending to the post where I report all the electrics are plumbed in. There was initial excitement when the instrument lights all worked for the first time in 20 years 🙂 However time, a dodgy left hand switch and the availability of relay bases was against us. A plan is being cooked to get through this as I want it ready to run in March 2022.
Almost but no cigar…
Nick 🙂
Bent screwdrivers, big hammers and old Laverdas 