It’s been a busy time since I last posted with a test day at Darley Moor and a visit to the 24 Heures du Mans (look into the Trips post 2023 for the ride report). The weather remains wet but there are blue skies beginning to emerge.
The bottom sprocket has the correct recess on the back
The trip to Le Mans meant I fitted a new chain and rear sprocket. I had two engine sprockets on the shelf but neither would fit because the back of the sprocket wasn’t dished. This leaves the sprocket in the wrong position to allow the lock washer to be used. Neither supplier knew the correct fitment but eventually AFAM provided the serial # (94803-19 h) for the correct item off ebay (listed incorrectly for an SFC1000. So go by the serial # not the description). It’s frustrating but then Laverda haven’t made anything for 40 years so I guess it’s to be expected if you don’t use specialist suppliers.!
Neat upgraded master cylinders that don’t look too out of place (note rack and headlamp sticker from Le Mans)
The big revelation was fitting new coffin style master cylinders. I did this primarily to get more feel on the front brake and the 15mm unit has done just that! I suspect the old master cylinder wasn’t operating properly because in addition to much improved feel (travel at the lever) the front brakes no longer judder. I’d expected the clutch to be lighter and the 13mm unit delivered – taken together and the fact everything is new it’s almost like riding a modern bike!
The last thing to fix on the bike is the oil consumption which stubbornly refuses to drop below at a litre every 1,000 miles. I’m heading up to Scotland soon to see if this can be fixed.
Andy fully focused!Tony on song
The day at Darley Moor was for Andy Bartlett to give his TTF1 replica a test in advance of the first race at Paul Ricard. Andy got everyone together and he and Tony Jiminez took the beast out for a few shakedown laps. The ‘beast’ actually sounds very smooth, the exhaust is probably road legal.
Andy and Paul ‘fix’ the weeping oil seal
The bike arrived on a trailer and tying it down had forced a bit of oil past the nearside fork seal. It took some brake cleaner and a rag to clear scrutineering but the track time showed once clean the problem didn’t exist.
Andy has done quite a bit of work over the winter including a trip to Scotland to sort the head and cylinders along with a dyno session. This work along with bits and bats across the cycle parts has produced a sweet bike. Both Andy and Tony were happy.
The next few weeks should be busy with the aforemented dash to Scotland to try and fix the oil consumption followed almost immediately with a ride down to the Circuit Paul Ricard to help out with Andy Bartlett’s first race of the season. What could possibly go wrong…
Happy New Year! Damn I just checked the blog and this is the first post since November!!! Well the loctite fixed the footpeg, the RGS footrest hanger is back in a box somewhere and Mrs A has got over her Awards Evening big night out so into 2024…
The headlight angle is wrong…irratating…
It’s just been so damned grey and wet for months! It’s not been particularly cold and the Jota has been covered in ACF50 – could go for a ride. Stuff however has got in the way along with a broken spring and plunger in the sprag.
Expensive at £33 but works a treat
It only took a couple of laboured cold starts for me to twig the sprag needed repair. Repairing the sprag was straightforward – springs from Motalia (the only Laverda parts seller left in the UK?) and a used plunger from a bag of sprag odds and sods. Assembly was straightforward aside from the need to hold the alternator to tighten the crank nut. I tried to find an appropriate peg spanner but settled on an HGV oil filter strap. Worked a treat!
While I had the alternator cover off I took the opportunity to hunt down the oil leak behind the cylinder barrel. As I suspected the gasket behind the starter motor wasn’t holding and with no easy (or cheap) way to get a new gasket in the UK I resorted to silicone… It seems to be working.
Unlike Silkolene or Morris you get a full 5 litres
Time for oil. I’d run a cycle of the Halfords 20/50 Classic in an attempt to sort out the oil consumption – idea being to ‘rough up the rings’ for improved seal. Putting this stupidity to one side what I noticed was how bad the engine oil smelt! It reminded me of years ago when a mechanic smelt my dismantled A65 and guessed I’d run it on Castrol GTX because of the smell! So think this is the last time I’ll use Halfords oil which isn’t noticeably cheaper than Morris or Silkolene. However for the first time ever I’m going fully synthetic! A bit of research came up with fully synth’ 20/50 at a better price than quality mineral oil. Decided to give this a go to see if oil consumption will go down + in the summer maybe fully synth’ will help the engine stay cooler (not something I can test in February…)?
Someone who knows what they’re doing!
Before getting going I was visited by Andy Bartlett and his compression tester. Cylinder 1 and 2 gave 180 psi cold but #3 delivered a disappointing 165! I was counselled not to arrange head removal before trying a ‘warm’ test and hey ho they all hit 180 second time round (although #3 could still be described as ‘lazy’). #3 has a ‘bruised’ piston according to the SLS which explains the variance (which is within the 10% variance across the cylinders rule). However can’t lie – I don’t like it. Still it’s only £30 for a compression tester so I’ll get one of these and do periodic checks.
Finally having checked out the plug caps for resistance Andy also noticed the offside horn rattled. I found another in another odds and sods box – couldn’t be bothered to see if it works, it just doesn’t rattle!
First proper ride was for coffee at the Black Dog cafe, Devizes. The wet weather meant many of the back roads are flooded so it had to be mainly dual carriageway and motorway but I did manage to ride past the standing stones in Avebury.
Despite intermittent heavy rain it was great to be back on the Jota with the engine pushing me forward with that glorious growl. You could see people wondering why this classic bike was out in the shitty weather but it’s covered in ACF50 so what the hell! A quick chat with another ‘baby boomer’ about his GSXR and how he wished he’d bought an RGS before it was time to turn round and head for home. Must do that more regularly.
A long time since my last post but it’s for a good reason…I’ve been riding the Jota! Still there’s a bit of catching up to do and I’ll post updates on Spain, France, Brands Hatch and two National Road Rallies over the coming weeks.
The Jota has turned into my daily ride. I’ve now covered 15,000 miles since May ‘22. Back in the 80’s the Jota was my only ride and I never thought anything of it. Keep an eye on oil consumption and away you go. The Honda has been taken off the road (SORN’ed) to deny me the temptation of head grips, 70 mpg and brakes that work in the rain! Using the Jota regularly has been a joy – every ride results in a smile! It goes great, sounds great and parked up looks great. You’re never short of someone who wants to reminisce. Petrol won’t get cheaper, I won’t get stronger so it’s time to get the miles on and not worry about an ‘investment’.
The Jota costs a bit to run as I always use E5 fuel (I paid £1.72 a litre recently) and change the oil at 1,000 mile intervals. The rear tyre lasts around 4,000 miles (tho’ the front is still fine at 14,000) and a chain goes for 8,000 miles. However if you compare this to the ubiquitous GS and dealer servicing I think I’m ahead + who ever bothers to talk to a GS rider..?
Machynlleth
I’ve been out with Andy Bartlett on his unrestored 1200 Mirage. We met up near Worcester and had a ride out to Aberdovey – covered 400 miles in the day. The weather was humid but the roads free of traffic and dry. It was great again to get out on the Jota and hear two 180’s thunder through the valleys 🙂
This wasn’t my first ride with Andy as he’d invited me along to watch Rob Burrows do a track day on his Monty. This ride was the first time I’d ridden with another ‘well used’ triple and it was interesting to get Andy’s feedback. He thought the Jota accelerated off the throttle better probably due to its recent rebuild but also maybe down to the Mikuni flatslides.
Castle Combe pits
The track day was a good day out. Rob’s Monty ran well tho’ suffered a bent gearchange lever due to oil on the track!
There were lots of interesting bikes being taken out including an ex-GP MBA 125 which was thrashed mercilessly and was only ‘bested’ by competent riders on much bigger bikes!
My personal favourite was a BSA A65 chop. It was built in the late 70s and the current owner seemed intent keeping the vibe – adding BSA pillion pegs as decoration along with a plastic skull’s head to go on top of the hand gear-change.
Bilbao
May saw the Jota set sail for Santander and a subsequent tour across The Pyrennes to Marsaille to watch round 1 of the EEC. The Jota was wearing a fresh head gasket which I was testing on behalf of the Scottish Laverda specialist (SLS).
Note areas where oil has crept along gasket and breached flame ring
Removal the old item showed that the SLS had correctly predicted failure of the old item. Failure is caused by a poor flame ring and thin gasket material. Oil travels across the gasket and into the poorly sealed combustion chamber.
New triple gasket. Flame ring to gasket body ratio optimised. Copper crush rings replace rubber o rings
The SLS gasket has the correct height/thickness for both flame ring and gasket along with integral copper crush rings to replace the rubber o rings on the studs. Indications were promising in that after 50 miles the head tightened by just one nut flat. A further 500 miles required no further tightening so the new gasket proved itself less prone to movement.
Jota at LCF rally – Clecy
Oil consumption dropped but with 3,500 miles up was creeping back. A week in boiling hot Normandy showed smoke on the overrun and at tick over so a trip back to Scotland was arranged. Head off revealed the gasket had sealed perfectly. Oil consumption was put down to barrels scored by carbon deposits and contaminated piston rings.
The pistons were okay so a set of barrels were bored and new rings fitted. 600 miles on and the bike is performing well – I’d go so far as to say it has more punch than ever. A frustration however is that moving towards Autumn I won’t know for sure if the oil consumption issue is cured until next spring when I’ll start racking up miles again.
As a bonus the suspension on the Jota has also been overhauled. The SLS replaced the fork seals which has improved damping especially reducing judder when braking at a junction.
At the same time I was visiting Scotland Falcon Suspension reconditioned the leaking rear shocks. This meant I dug the original silver Marzochi shocks out of the garage. I seemed to remember they leaked 30 years ago but not so anymore…guess the oil is long gone! They were adequate for solo work albeit perhaps lacking a bit of damping. Back to the Falcons one unit was found to have a stone chip on the damping rod. A new, larger bump stop was installed and my hope is that I can now run standard 100 Ilbs springs two up without grounding the tyre into the mudguard. Mrs A and I are carrying a few more pounds than in our 20’s but even so not enough to cause this issue. Hopefully the refurb’ will solve a problem that Falcon had never encountered before.
Route avoids a lot of motorway + integrates stop at cafe in Ayr
I’ve enjoyed ‘commuting’ up to Scotland. It’s around 450 miles so can be done in a day. The Jota sits very happily at 80/90 mph and despite what folk might think the riding position is very comfortable. A Jota isn’t cramped and the forward lean means weight isn’t transmitted to the lower back. I also find the Jota bars fine,,,especially at high speeds. I’m now 8 miles west of the original HQ so changed from the M40/M6 to riding cross country to Worcester and then the M5/M6. The ride over to Worcester breaks the monotony of the motorway and it seems quicker to make the M6. For the last ride back I mixed it up with a lunch stop in Ayr, over to Dumfries and the M6 to Sandbach from where I headed past Shrewsbury over to Leominster, Tewkesbury, Stow and home.
Camped down at Leyland Day Care Centre!
I did however get caught out riding back to England – running late and impending thunder storm meant I needed to find a campsite at short notice. A Day Care Centre in Leyland provided the perfect solution – a wide porch provided cover for me to sleep next to the Jota listening to the heavy rain beating down and the disco beat pulsing from the nearby High Street. Perfect open campsite!
The little Turismo had been ridden the 8 miles to the new HQ and then stubbornly refused to restart. Good fortune intervened however with a visit from Dean Young who was lured in by the promise that we could ride the two British LaverdaforHealth bikes to the big Willersey meeting if only mine would run…(shameful manipulation by yours truly). My ploy worked and Dean’s expertise soon had the Turismo singing. First off he tested the ignition coil by turning the engine which showed a spark – not at the HT lead but from the ignition coil wire in the flywheel magneto. This meant the lack of sparks was probably points related (a new plug already in place so that was discounted).
A common problem is the points sprung steel blades shorting on the backplate through oil contamination. Dean addressed this with a small run of heat shrink, adjusted the points and bingo!
The two British ‘LaverdaforHealth’ bikes reunited
The pub meet in Wellesey had been built by Malcolm Cox and featured Andy Bartlett and his race winning RGS, Phil Todd, Alan Bell, Richard Slater as well as Pete PK Davies and his errr endurance racing Norton (ahem…). Laverdisti glitterati for sure. There was a dizzing and dazzling display of Laverda – lots of orange and silvers, 120 triples, a few 1200’s, couple of Zane’s and just a smattering of SF twins (including one SFC). Apparently there were 86 Laverdas across the day which most likely made it the biggest UK Laverda meeting in 2023. Plans are already being laid for 2024 and the 75th Anniversary (which weirdly makes me think of the 1200 30th Anniversary model…where did 45 years go)!
The 80 mile round trip was perfect for the Turismo. Bowling along the open road reminded me of the ride to Italy in 2009. The little bike rolled happily along only requiring occasional abuse in 2nd gear on hills. The little 100cc engine responds well to revs and the tall top gear ratio means it is difficult to abuse it for long periods. Would I ever repeat the ride to Breganze? Never say never and on this evidence it seems that it would be able to repeat the feat!
The three amigos
Tony Winterton joined us for breakfast on his ‘twisted twin’. He’s put some baffles in the silencers and added period crash bars. The 88° twin still roars but isn’t so aggressive. The crash bars are kinda cool and will look really period with the planned addition of some spot lights. Tony followed the little singles until we got onto open road out of Burford and was away.
Owned this since 1978…yes the mat is to catch oil
While all this Laverda stuff has being going on I’ve slowly got my 1965 BSA Lightning back on its wheels. The BSA was mothballed when I got the Jota in ‘87 and has sat collecting dust and rust for near on 40 years. Comparison with Laverda is inevitable although not entirely fair. The Laverda is just more robust, modern and usable…however the BSA does have some plus points. Parts availability in the UK is excellent and parts are cheap too (£200 gets a good cylinder head). Performance wise the BSA is sufficient to have fun on and makes a great noise. The BSA benefits from modern electrics, starts easily and its small size a bonus. If I was thinking of getting a classic bike now I have to say something like a Triumph T140 or Mk 111 Commando would be tempting. Having time and money to rectify the flaws inherent in British motorcycles means that they can be turned into practical daily riders – especially if that amounts to less than 5000 miles a year.
There is still a lot of work to be done in the Laverda garage. It seems that the Jota and Turismo are cured for now. The question is what will be the next Laverda project? Maybe an Atlas or maybe a 120° triple…
Kept meaning to post but not a lot has happened – the Jota has kept rolling along 🙂 Since I the trip to the Belgian rally in September 2022 and having the oil cooler welded there’s been no issues. I’ve been using the Jota as my daily rider and aside from continued oil consumption at a litre every thousand miles it runs great. With regards the oil I’m assured it’s a known head gasket issue and that a replacement will be available by the end of April. It’s not ideal but I can live with the consumption for now.
The Jota is turning out to be more fun than I could have thought. It’s a ponderous thing to wheel about but once it’s moving all that weight goes away. The handling is tight and the engine pulls well. The more I ride it the more I use the performance. The Mikuni flatslides were a great choice as the bike idles and is smooth from very low revs with no snatching. I’m getting high 40’s mpg so my tank only needs filling every 200 miles which is so much better than the 125 miles it gave on Dellortos. The good running may also be down to the Ignitech ignition which must contribute to the smooth running and excellent starting 🙂
Preparations are underway to take the boat to Santander and from there ride over to Paul Ricard to watch Andy Bartlett race. Before we go it needs an oil change, back tyre, rack fitting and 2 litres of oil for the panniers! What could possibly go wrong…
A long time since the last update. So for these past couple of months I’ve had the luxury of really just riding the Jota! This picture was taken today after a 50 mile blast to take advantage of the incredibly mild weather. The roads were a bit damp and with the rear tyre getting low I didn’t ‘test’ the handling.
There was however a purpose behind the gentle morning bimble. I rode with a friend the other day who reported some smoke out of the right hand silencer when pulling away or overtaking. No smoke on a stable throttle. Pulling the plugs confirmed this as the primary side was perfect but things got worse as we moved to the alternator. I cleaned the plugs and then took it for a bit of a blast deliberately going on the local dual carriageway so I could rev up to 7,000 rpm. The bike ran really well and inspection of the plugs seemed to say all was well. Sometime this week I’ll pull the plugs again to see if a gentle bimble brings problems – though when I pulled into the drive and revved the bike it didn’t seem to smoke.
I have a few thoughts if it is burning some oil. First off the top of the pistons are a bit wet. This was something the engine man pointed out when the twisted crank was fixed. A different set of oil rings was put into the motor and initially oil consumption seemed negligible. I’ve noticed however that now oil consumption is somewhere around a litre per 1,000 miles. Are the rings still not sealing properly? To test this I’m going to change over to Kendal oil as run in Harleys. I used to run this back in the day and the motor seemed to be happy. I’m currently running Silkolene V twin 20/50 which to my eye seems quite thin. I know it can’t be but maybe a very traditional oil might be better? I’ve also considered 500 miles on a sump of Halford’s Classic 20/50. This cheap oil is used to break in engines and maybe I need to roughen up the bores and then go back to the expensive stuff? Could all be nonsense as discussions on ‘what oil should I use’ are normally silly. When I first got the Jota in ’87 I ran Duckhams Q and it was fine…
My second thought is petrol. The smoking happened after I filled up in an Esso station I’d never used. The petrol was E5 but now I’m back to Shell Super E5 I wonder if this will make any difference? I know this is petrol and not oil but might be something in it..?
Finally have I got the beginnings of a blowing head gasket. I hope not is all I can say to this. The bike has done 3,000 miles since the twisted crank was fixed.
So putting aside oil how’s it going? It runs great and everytime I go out on it I smile. It’s a glorious thing to be out on, the noise, the power the taut handling and of course the admiring looks.
It’s heavy to wheel around and I wonder if a side stand might be a good addition. The centre stand is very easy to use but I wonder if I am going to drop it sometime as I roll it off the stand?
The Mikuni carbs’ are excellent – no snatching at any revs and at least 30% better fuel economy. The throttle still retains the original annoying ‘one and a half’ turn to get fully open. This more than anything restricts how hard you spin the bike up. I’m only running one throttle cable on the ‘push/pull’ system but I am going to see what dual cables feels like. When I first used both cables the throttle was too heavy but that might have been a routing problem. What I notice is that sometimes the throttle doesn’t fully close. It may be me being slack shutting off but let’s see. The only downside is I just have to ensure I don’t leave them on for fear of another hydraulic lock. I did leave the petrol on for 3 hours the other day and before starting removed the plugs just to be sure (petrol hadn’t leaked past). It’s inevitable this will happen sometime in the future so always pack a plug spanner hey!
The brakes and suspension are heavy and hard. With the former you have to pull the lever but they work okay despite the bike’s weight. I’m impressed that the rear works as it never did back in the day. An upgrade would be a 14mm master cylinder on the front.
The front forks are spindly things that do judder a bit at slow speed. I might have slightly warped discs but there’s no pulsing at the lever so I think it’s the forks. A winter overhaul may bring benefits. The rear Falcon shocks are excellent – tho’ I might go for stronger springs for pillion and camping duties. Overall the handling is best described as ‘taut’ but also classy. It doesn’t feel like cheap suspension even tho’ it’s dated. It’s not harsh tho’ it is firm. I prefer this to the softly sprung Honda NC I own. The thin tyres and taut handling combine to reward committed riding – lots of counter-steering and rising revs out of corners brings a lot of rewards. I’m also exploring the impact of shifting body weight and this helps. With regards tyres I’m finding the rear wears quite quickly. With 3,000 miles on the back the tread is noticeably lower and this contributes to high speed head shakes. It might make 5,000 legally but I’ll put a fresh rear on in the spring. The front goes twice as long as the rear.
So I hope I can start planning for a full 2023 of Jota adventures. I can’t see any reason why the Jota can’t be a daily rider and frankly as the curtain appears to be coming down on petrol now is the time to be riding rather than polishing these ‘classic’ bikes!
Time was ticking down to the Scottish National Road Rally (SNRR) and the whirring noise in the engine was diagnosed as main bearing failure. The engine was dismantled in the Scottish workshop and it turns out the hydraulic lock had not only blown the head gasket but twisted the crank out of alignment. The super strong Arrow con-rods had survived intact, rather than bend, which would have happened with a standard rod, the crank gave. So engine out for the fourth time and hopefully now fixed. With the repair complete Mrs A and I set off at 6 am on the Sunday morning to take on the SNRR. You can read how we got on in the ‘Trips’ section of this blog.
The engine felt good after the head was nipped down. I’d decided to ride south via the A68 and A1/M1. Heading over to Selkirk and then down to Darlington was a real joy. The A68 was a good workout, the sun shone and the Jota got lots of admiring comments which made me feel that maybe all this grief was worth it.
Having the Jota home I was keen to ride it so arranged an evening with Tony over in Leicester. The Fosse Way over was great fun and the prospect of swopping over to his SF840 ‘twisted twin’ very alluring 🙂
Twisted Twin
Tony built the special SF with his Dad. The crank is a twisted to 88 degrees it runs a Metz ported bathtub cylinder head and lots of bits and bobs off a variety of Laverda models. The Jota pipes combined with the crank phasing make it sound awesome 🙂 At the moment it’s in a ‘rust rod’ condition – which to be fair looks cool. It’s obvious to anyone this bike is special.
Out on the road I watched as Tony glided off into the distance. His SF felt more compact, revved freely perhaps vibrated more and at least matched the Jota’s power. The SF is fast but it’s total focus means I wouldn’t necessarily jump at riding it to Breganze!
Here we go again…
So stopped to talk about the bikes and after a while it was time to return the keys and head our separate ways. Luckily Tony noticed oil on his left boot and inspection of the Jota showed a cracked oil cooler… 6 hours later I rolled home courtesy of recovery…
Two part oil cooler
The nearside oil cooler pipe had cracked from the main body. Luckily there was oil left in the engine so no damage there. The challenge was on tho’ to get the bike ready for the trip to the Belgian Rally. I came up with a few options:
Don’t go!
Take the Honda (noooo)!
Get a new oil cooler (not enough time)
Fix the existing oil cooler (dispatched to a specialist welder)
Borrow a replacement (contact with friend made)
Plumb out the oil cooler altogether (visit hydraulic specialist)
I arranged to borrow a ‘cooler from an early triple – the type that has the horns attached to it. It looked promising as the cooler has oil pipes held by jubilee clips and it could use the ’81 mounting rubbers. Unfortunately the engine connectors are a different size (smaller) so this option wasn’t going to fly. Things were now getting a bit desperate but then a call came through that the ‘cooler had been welded so all was well. I did however still want a contingency so still visited the hydraulic specialist who knocked up the parts to make a link pipe should I have further problems…
It’s called foresight…
We set off for the Belgian Rally. Everything seemed good and then the offside oil cooler pipe broke in exactly the same way! Good job I had the contingency on board (go to the Belgian Rally in the ‘Trips’ section.
So now I’ve had the offside oil cooler pipe welded and once again it’s looking good. I left the specialist welder however with a warning that maybe I needed a new oil cooler. The oil cooler I fitted is essentially what you’ll buy from a specialist Laverda supplier – a Citroen Dyane 6 oil cooler with the inlet/outlet pipes customised. I think however these coolers are perhaps not made to the same standard – the pipes seem to have been fixed to the cooler via a press process. Having mine welded will make this stronger but the system isn’t really strong enough. I see on my ’84 RGA the hoses are attached direct to the cooler via a 22mm nut. This arrangement takes out the weak thin pipes so this is probably the way to go.
Autumn has arrived and winter salted roads will soon be upon us. I’ve done my fair share of destroying Laverdas in winter conditions and with a Honda on hand have no desire to go down this road this year. I’ve therefore probably got a month or so before the Jota is laid up for winter.
So the Jota has gone back to Scotland for fixing…again. I tried all kinds of trouble shooting to try and find the source of the noise. I disabled the clutch pushrod then disengaged the gearbox by removing the primary chains. I bump started it without the alternator and sprag, replaced the cam chain blade and finally took out the outrigger bearing behind the ignition. The whir is still there so the conclusion is either it’s coming from the oil pump or the crank itself! I could’ve taken the oil pump apart except this involved undoing the big nut on the end of the crank (the ‘Jesus’ nut). I decided this was asking for trouble so sent it to the expert.
I’m pretty dis-heartened as you might imagine. I was so made up when I first rode the bike home but now with every problem my enthusiasm wanes. The summer is almost done, if I’m lucky it might be ready for the Scottish and Belgian rallies in the first and third weekends of September.
Idle hands make the devils work…
So with no enthusiasm to poke around with the Atlas still on the bike lift my attention turned to the RGA. The engine is built and under the bench. The swinging arm was in need of paint as was the frame so with all this hot weather I thought a ‘rattle can’ session was in order.
I’ve got a couple of swinging arms for the RGA as I bent one when the chain snapped many years ago and replaced it when parts weren’t so expensive. When I had the Jota rear wheel straightened I also got the swinging arm fixed. This arm is the replacement and has suffered through the many years of winter salt.
Better but could be improved…
Digging through my stash of rattle cans I found some acrylic primer and gloss black. Not sure why I had this paint though clearly I’d used it on the RGA brackets as when I applied a coat the finish didn’t crinkle (see later). The primer and paint went on well and initially looked good…however having looked at it this morning I can see that really I should have rubbed it down between coats as the ‘rust rash’ is pretty bad…
That’s better
The frame had been blasted, primed and painted with silk black many years ago. I thought the silk finish would look better but changed thinking ‘gloss’ might lift the black parts. So I started off with a good base and subsequently screwed this up by applying acrylic gloss which promptly crinkled up. I wondered if the silk was acrylic but of course didn’t do the sensible thing of trying it out on a part of the frame that is rarely seen…Still with the weather so hot it was off to Halfords for a can of ‘normal’ paint. By the time I got back some light work with emery paper and I got a couple of coats on. Looks okay I think.
So there we are – Turismo running good. Jota back at the mender, Atlas alone on the lift and yet another project re-ignited. Shambles….
So the Jota was fixed and ready for collection. The head gasket had been blown full out, presumably by the hydraulic lock. While the engine was apart a new set of oil rings were also installed as inspection suggested the Omega originals might not have been settling in. Finally more head scratching around the starter motor which for some unknown reason is too tight to the intermediate gear. This is not a new problem but one that had existed before the engine was rebuilt – possibly something to do with crankcase repair necessitated by a broken chain (I wasn’t aware that this had happened before I bought the bike back in 1987).
So the engine sounded great and first impressions were that it was smoother and perhaps a bit more powerful? The ‘clack’ that I’d reported when I collected the bike first time round had gone. I sailed down the M74, M6, M61 and I think the M60 to firstly meet an old friend in Whaley Bridge. He’d gone on pillion to Le Mans in 1995 on the Jota (yes with the hump seat you had to be good friends) and it was fun remembering the trip 🙂
By the time I got home everything was fine – now I can enjoy the summer…
Trailer of shame…
….or maybe not!
The bike ran great for the National Road Rally (NRR) until it suddenly developed a whirring noise from the primary side of the engine. There was no smoke or any indication something was wrong just a whirr that went up and down with the motor. Consultation meant game over for the NRR and a call to the Automobile Assocation 😦
So investigations have begun to trace the source of this noise. The primary chain was slackened off with no change. Cam chain tension seems fine. The bearing behind the ignition given the okay. The clutch pushrod removed to eliminate the potential of a spinning clutch slave cylinder piston and all the starting side removed in case there was trouble in there. Now the primary chains have been removed which ought to show if the noise is engine or gearbox derived. I’ve also left off the starter sprag alignment tag as maybe this was rubbing?
Clutch slave cylinder
An unexpected discovery was the overall condition of the clutch slave cylinder. I’d been told the hydraulic fluid was going black very quickly possibly due to the repaired cylinder being too soft. Certainly once I removed the boot there’s something going on in that it appears to have aluminum powder on the upper surface. Whatever the outcome of other lines of inquiry I’ll revert back to the original case.
So I’ll leave it on a cliff-hanger…when I start it this time will the noise be gone….
This is where I should be…but I’m sat at home watching Moto2 on the TV 😦
The Jota engine has been doing quite a bit of traveling since my last post.
Fiat Panda to the rescue
I wanted the motor fixed as soon as possible so came up with the solution to pull the engine, dump it in the Panda and drive to Scotland. Cheapest option and it gave me and Mrs A a couple of days in a shepherd’s hut near Dumfries 🙂 The engine was checked over but aside from a slightly tight exhaust valve clearance was given a clean bill of health. Compression was consistent across the engine (checked via jump leads on the starter) and the absence of oil around the head gasket suggested it was okay.
The engine was put back in the bike and started…https://youtu.be/2nlO3oPlU2g ….well that didn’t go well did it! I fell into deep depression and had to be coached into a more positive frame of mind by the Scottish ace mechanic. In fairness it’s difficult to fix something when you don’t see the engine run – I should’ve coughed up the money to ship the bike back first time round.
The bike was duly collected and via a free ‘pity’ pass taken to Scotland. News from Scotland is positive so I should be picking the Jota back up this Wednesday…
Let there be light
In the meantime preparations for the forthcoming National Road Rally (NRR) were underway with the Turismo. I spent a bit of time on the electrics which first of all meant fitting a bicycle lamp to augment the lights. The bicycle lamp is a lot brighter and combined with an existing auxiliary rear lamp I should be seen.
Modern tech
To restore the rear brake light I upgraded the battery that powers it. These days the front lamp is a 6 volt item intended for a VW. The problem is that this bulb draws too much so if you activate the brake light the weedy fly wheel magneto dims the front light! I’d hidden a big torch battery in the tool box and this was now finished. So a modern rechargeable AGM battery for a fiver seemed like a good way forward 🙂
Positive
The tool box lid is normally held in place by the original button at the base and I suspect by a little screw in the top. I’d been running it without the screw and bound with red electrical tape (yes I know but better this than lose the tool box cap)! Modern wire is thinner at 1mm and this would sneak through the hole for the screw and onto the positive terminal. The negative terminal goes to earth on a mounting bolt in the tool box. It works 🙂
Insulating washer
I’d learned from previous rides out on the Turismo that a perennial problem is the rear tank fixing point. I’d planned to fix this by putting a nylon shoulder washer on either end of the mounting bar.
Insulated
I took off the seat and retaining nuts only to find I’d already fixed the problem by putting petrol pipe over the end of the frame support. It looks like a good job (surely I didn’t do this) so I’ve left well alone!
Plug
I cleaned and adjusted the points but I still wasn’t happy with the ‘cheesey’ feel of the plug when I put it in. I’d pulled out a B6S and wondered if this was too hard. I’d remembered maybe a B8? Consultation suggested this change might make it easier to start so I ordered up a B7S and B8S. It did start and run okay but I had a niggling doubt about the thread despite not seeing any evidence of cross threading. The answer seems to be that the ‘S’ plug is too short. So we’ll have this fixed for Sunday and the quest for a Bronze award in the NRR. What could possibly go wrong…
So here we go again. The Jota is back in pieces after just 1200 miles. I suspect the head gasket has blown but it may be worse (knowing how my luck goes it probably is). Left the fuel on and the engine pulled a hydraulic lock. Removed the plugs and fuel sprayed out of #1 cylinder. Plugs back in and hesitantly I started it up – sounded fine. Rode a mile to get fuel but despite running okay the primary side of the engine was covered in oil 😦
At least the oil is clean hey…
I ran a compression check and the middle pot appears to be down. So it’s engine out and back to Scotland.
I’m a hog for you baby
Still I was enjoying the Jota for the short time it was running. Such a gorgeous bike to look at and listen to. Every time I parked up a bloke would come along and talk about his bike and experiences. A Laverda is a great way to meet people 🙂 Aside from the engine blow up tho’ there are various things that need sorting and I’ll use the enforced downtime to see if I can polish the stone.
Good livin’
So a ride out with Mrs A resulted in the suspension bottoming and bolts damaging the rear tyre. Now me and Mrs A are carrying a few more pounds than 30 years ago but turned out the springs were a weedy 80 Ilbs item whereas standard Laverda is 100. Robin down at Falcon Shocks sorted this while I waited so when we’re ready normal service can be resumed. I must say for solo riding 80 weight shocks worked well but I doubt I’ll be motivated to swop springs unless I know I’ll be riding alone for any length of time.
Into the Futura…
Having the downtime means I’ll also crack on with getting the standard ‘Futura’ fairing fitted. I’m undecided about the looks of this fairing but when I know there’s going to be long motorway work ahead a fairing would be an improvement. If the fairing goes on I’ll also wire up the indicators.
I’m also musing how to fit mirrors on the bike. The handlebar unit I’ve been loaned only works at low speeds – it just goes into a blur at anything over 40 mph. Orban bar end mirrors were recommended but reading reviews suggests these are more about style. I think a traditional item for when the bike is naked would be okay but with the fairing this won’t work. Laverda didn’t fit mirrors to this fairing as standard and I’m advised that adding them by mounting directly onto the fairing just means a blur fest! Thinking about this maybe a frame needs to be incorporated like the RGS or any other Jap’ bike I’ve owned. Still first up is to get the fairing mounted and then move onto the mirror issue.
Oils well
Oil coming out of the top is going to be resolved but there was also an issue with oil coming out of the bottom. I was embarrassed that my freshly repaired engine dripped oil. Initially it was thought to be coming past the copper washer under the nut holding the igition wiring. I’ve now traced it to one stud forward and installed a copper washer. I also think the primary chain adjuster bolt with its stack of washers leaks. The oil level was dropping so to be sure it’s not burning oil the exodus from the bottom of the engine needs fixing!
All alone
So now the clock is ticking for the LCF rally in Les Vosges toward the end of June. Hopefully the Jota will be back and road hardened. If not then I need to see if I can develop a Plan B. A fresh starter motor means the Atlas engine spins over so I have to see if it will run. I don’t hold much hope for this engine as last time it didn’t seem in good health but hey leave an engine alone for long enough and it’s sure to fix itself hey!
Bent screwdrivers, big hammers and old Laverdas 