1974 Laverda 3C

[oldGSfan]

Im home in 2 weeks. If youre not in a hurry he can ship it to me in Canada and Ill ship it to you. Hey, I bought a 250 Hustler new so it rings a cord.

Thanks for that - I spoke to a fellow in Canada yesterday at Columbia Car & Cycle in Naksup B.C. of all places, he's the Laverda guru and has rare parts. He has one. I think it's 3D printed by the guy in the UK who won't ship. It's a high-quality 3D printed repro done with proper materials on a very expensive setup, from what I've read. Since I already have a pending order for a couple hundred $ with him. Just waiting on his confirmation. I also have relatives in Australia so if this falls through I have that backup.

[Big Block]

Great: Nakusp is a 2 hour ride and ferry ride from me. Kind of in the bush, not where you would think for Laverda parts, Sounds like you have it handled.

[oldGSfan]

To avoid pinching tubes, which, despite my best efforts, still happens on occasion, I got a Baja Designs no-pinch tool. It's a game changer. They are advertised for dirt bikes, but it works for any wheel over 18". Of the 4 bikes I have, 7 of the wheels are 18" or over, and 4 run tubes - only the GS1100E rear is smaller.

[oldGSfan]

Got my tires mounted. The tool made it easy to mount the front, but the rear was a real chore. Shinko 712, they do the job, and there are very few alternatives out there. Bridgestone BT46 are 2x as much, and 110 or 120/90-18 rears were out of stock wherever I looked. Avon is another possibility, but both sizes are out of stock everywhere I checked.

I will have the chain peened and the gearbox outer mechanism shift pawl on after that, then the rear tire. All parts are in hand, and most of the grimy cleanup, polishing, and painting is done. Gonna be a beauty! The spokes were flaking, so I cleaned them and brushed some Seymour stainless paint on. They look decent. I wasn't willing to re-spoke with new stainless ones.

[oldGSfan]

I installed the rear wheel today. A bit fiddly with brake linkage but got it done. Shinko 712s, they are fine for me, I've been using them on my GSs, I can't tell any difference between them and the 2x more expensive alternatives. Nice to still be able to find a bargain tire that performs well. I should have the chrome headlight mounts tomorrow and then I can put the front end on.

[Big Block]

Thats really looking nice!

[oldGSfan]

Front end nearly done, just need to get the tach crimped, speedo is done. I got the headlight ears chromed and bought new shrouds that they mount to on the upper fork tubes. I should have had mine chromed as the ones I had done are better. Oh well, future task if I care to. Very tedious to get the headlight area and signals done, but it's looking good.

[oldGSfan]

Down to the last bits of polishing, only the main engine side covers to do. I figured that getting the technique down pat on other parts was best, then really do a good job on the covers. Maybe too much bling on the levers, but they can acquire patina when I quit polishing and start riding, which should be in a few weeks I'm guessing. Aluminum gets several grits of sanding with my Dremel, start 180 and finish 800, then wet sand with 1000. Next it's Tripoli and green rouge on the buffer, and a final hand polish with Mother's mag & wheel.

[steve murdoch]

That whole front end looks great!
I'm going to need your address.

[Big Block]

Shinier is better! I agree, the finish will calm down a bit with time and road use.

[oldGSfan]

Going through wiring, some things to correct, takes time, but gotta get it right.

I moved the Voxbell horns up under the headlight, technically a later mod. They moved around on the Laverdas. Mine were originally on a bracket connected to the oil cooler, but that caused cracks, so I read. They were modded by a service update to put them on the engine mounts, facing sideways, and I felt that, being chrome (decent, not perfect in this case), putting them on display and facing forward made sense. Strangely, there are rubber horn mounts under the headlight, unused. Maybe fouled the brake lines.

Anyway, the 1/4" spade connectors were the straight-on type, and stuck out like dog's nutz (1st pic). I was thinkng some flag-type black terminals would work out, and I thought hmm, where did I see those? Well, my GS1100E donated its bits to the cause. They aren't visible behind the oil cooler on that bike anyway, so I swapped them. I think it's more 'sano' as we oldstars used to say.

Loudest horns I've ever heard on a bike, one low and one high. The washers are labeled high and low, alto & basso. Cheap way to ID them on the assembly line, I suppose.

[oldGSfan]

I got an LED H4 headlight bulb, but because of its longer protrusion from the back, it wouldn't fit into the shell, even though the Bosch-style 3-prong connector is compact. I resorted to doing the mod I did on a Honda Dream, which had an unobtanium square-ish sealed beam that I cut up to mount an LED - bent the prongs 90 degrees and ditched the connector. I dissected an old plastic connector to grab the 3/8" spade terminals and got out the shrink wrap - solved. Thankfully, my hackery is hidden.

Ed (Nessism) came through with a SH775 - I am hoping that plus the LED headlight and fancy flashing LED taillight I had on hand will do the trick with this weak charging system. Somehow, the bike racked up 12.7K miles on the weak original ignition and simple regulator-only charging system. Like my KTM450, only one coil from the alternator is for the charging system; the other is dedicated to the ignition. It's rated at 120W. My KTM 450 is similary split, gives about 60W on DC output and ran the headlight on the AC circuit. I changed it to the DC side, and LEDs worked out fine on it. And we think Suzukis have weak/troublesome systems! Big bucks to upgrade the ignition and charging system on these bikes.

Bleeding the front brake is proving to be the mult-day chore I expected. I got the calipers reverse-bled (I think), but nothing's pushing up to the master cylinder. I bled the MC and it's pushing out fluid at the calipers but there's a lot of air in there to purge. My least favorite job on a bike.

[Rob S.]

Remember, we're going to need extensive video and, perhaps more importantly, quality audio!

Knowing of a few of your previous projects, I don’t think it's too soon to congratulate you on a job well done.

[oldGSfan]

Remember, we're going to need extensive video and, perhaps more importantly, quality audio!

Knowing of a few of your previous projects, I don’t think it's too soon to congratulate you on a job well done.

Thanks, Rob, I know you like videos. I scored a free GoPro, which only needs a new battery, and I'll be all set for a riding video. My other one, a Rylo, is OK but GoPro is easier to use.

I got the front brake bled, about my least favorite task on a bike. I bench-bled the MC with the line to the splitter intact, 'sealed' the end of the line with a baggie and zip tie, then quickly joined it to the splitter. I got an M10x1.0 x AN-3 adapter, so I could use a brake line with a swivel/compression fitting. I had to work quickly to get it routed and fastened. A bit of spillage when I removed the baggie, but not too bad. Brakes are firm.

I struggled for about an hour with the reverse bleed, nothing through the MC, then I realized that I had put in a little eccentric screw that allows for adjustment of the brake lever. That means the return feed is blocked, so yeah, shot myself in the foot. Took it out and saw bubbles in the reservoir once it was all together. A bit of this and that, and it was done.

[oldGSfan]

My habit of hoarding motorcycle parts forever unless totally clapped is paying off, lots of little bits now on the Laverda are Suzuki items - nice thick ground for the SH775 with a copper terminal end, rubber boot for starter terminal, right angle flag style horn rubber terminals. Sounds terminal, eh? Plus several baggies of nuts, bolts, and washers come in handy when I drop something that disappears into some nether region of the garage to hide for a few years.