1974 Laverda 3C

[oldGSfan]

If the rim is anodized, sanding will remove what's left, which means more corrosion going forward. A double edge sword...

Not anodized, a bit of Mother's polish shows that. Similar to my Norton, the metal seems to be one notch above the same era Japanese. But the castings are prehistoric on the Norton. The Laverda seems a combo of the best of the two. The Ceriani fork lowers, engine cases, etc are so good. I need to avoid over-polishing; I don't like the look. The cases are sand cast and rough but charming, IMO.

[oldGSfan]

Getting into all the polishing, cleaning, and finding it's all quite good. I only had a quick look at the inside of the tank and thought it had rust. I checked the underside and it all seemed quite solid, so I figured it's recoverable, but dang, more rust removal from a tank, no fun.

Well, after a better look, it's mostly dried ancient (25-year-old?) gas, with the flaky chunks being carbon. I got 2 cans of Berrymans B12, and mixed with gasoline at about 1:4 ratio. I soaked it 2x so far overnight, half a can each time. It's cleaned up very well. I'll use up the other can with more gasoline, and then switch to de-rusting - there will be hardly any rust in the deep recesses of the tank, but a bit on the hump. The citric acid/washing soda mix will clean it up no problem. I think perhaps some BB's will be easy on the inside finish. It doesn't need aggressive scraping.

The tank is very nice for original paint. Obligatory picture:

[oldGSfan]

My gauges are apart, new faces and inner gaskets ordered from Germany. I've used the supplier before on my Honda CB750K (CB750faces) and was happy to see they do the Laverda faces. Very good value and quality. Mine are pretty faded, and the speedometer is spider-webbing.

[Grimly]

My preferred method for cleaning tanks is a length of small linked chain - about 2m or less of 1/2" light duty chain like you'd find on lavatories.
I moved to this after spending more time getting the gravel out than I did actually cleaning the tank.

[Rob S.]

We'll all be waiting for an audio/visual start up clip. Particularly audio. Before that (amateur?) track clip you posted recently, I'd never heard the big Laverda triple before, nor anything like it.

[oldGSfan]

My preferred method for cleaning tanks is a length of small linked chain - about 2m or less of 1/2" light duty chain like you'd find on lavatories.
I moved to this after spending more time getting the gravel out than I did actually cleaning the tank.

100%, thanks. I went and got a 5' chain, beats trying to fish out BBs. I've used a length of string with hex nuts on it, but that seems too aggressive for this tank.

[oldGSfan]

We'll all be waiting for an audio/visual start up clip. Particularly audio. Before that (amateur?) track clip you posted recently, I'd never heard the big Laverda triple before, nor anything like it.

It has been compared to a 'normal' 4-cylinder configuration (like GS1100E) at <3K rpm, with one cylinder that isn't firing. Then it gets interesting.

I am lucky to have some excellent local support. A fellow in Palm Springs has a modified side-stand - originally they weren't even fitted, but the center stand is fantastic. Then they created one that's not ideal. He lengthened and reinforced it, and put an extension so you don't have to put your foot nearly under the bike to deploy it. He's charging $40 for it. What a deal. Another guy in Ontario CA, which is closer, is a machinist and ex Honda/Mikuni employee.

He has a '76 Jota, which is a hotted up 3C with cast wheels and bodywork change (rear cowl). Also this Lav 750 sold as 'American Eagle' starting around '69. This is a '71. The engine looks suspiciously like a Honda 305 Dream or CB77 Super Hawk.

[oldGSfan]

The tank is clean. Always a gnarly job. I had about 2 gallons of well-used citric acid/soda mix, which was still working fine after dozens of jobs, and put that in first. Left it in for an hour, then did a shake with a chain inside. Drained and strained, then put it back in with another 2 gallons of fresh mix to fill the tank all the way up. After an hour, I siphoned about 3/4 out, put in the chain, and shook again. It looked immaculate, but I figured, why not dump the mix back in and let it soak another hour?

After that I drained the acid mix, flushed the tank with my garden hose, then filled it with hot water and washing soda, shook and drained with a rag in the spout to catch as much fluid as possible. Next, I dumped in about a pint of isopropyl alcohol in the tank, drained as best I could, then put a clean microfiber towel in the filler hole, and shook it to catch the leftovers. Then I put a hair dryer in the fuel filler hole to dry it out as best I could. Finished up wtih a heavy dose of fogging oil. It looks superb, but I don't. I'm wiped out. It looks the best of any tank I've ever cleaned, that citric acid/baking (or washing) soda mix is absolute gold.

[steve murdoch]

How paint friendly are both of your tank cleaning brews?

[oldGSfan]

How paint friendly are both of your tank cleaning brews?

Very. The citric acid/soda mix has a huge benefit of being mild to paint, plating, etc. With other benefits such as no nasty fumes, and ability to work with it, within reason, with minimal protection. The only other 'brew' I use is isopropyl alcohol, 70% cheap dollar store stuff. It's pretty mild. I use it a lot for paint prep, that and a tack cloth are all I ever need. I always have a bucket of clean water with a bit of baking or washing soda in, and a clean rag as standby, but it's just being extra cautious.

The first time I looked in the tank closely I was a bit worried, it was super crusty. But I realized it might be the fuel that had dried up, with rust flakes mixed in- which it was. So my first two cleanings were an appx 6:1 mix of Berryman's B12 chemtool with gasoline. That took out a huge amount of stuff. I am sure most of the rust may have come out with some agitation in that mix, but it's pretty explosive so I did the agitation only after I had let the gasoline/Berryman's do its thing for two 24 hour sessions, shake & drain etc. Then I used the chain inside once I was onto the citric acid stuff . Eye opening for sure. It looks new inside.