Gonna check out a Laverda 3C (1L triple) tomorrow. Excited.

[oldGSfan]

Well, one within my price range came up, very clean but has been sitting.

If I get it, I'll sell one of my '83 GS1100Es. More for room than money, but the money will help as it will need the usual going through.

I've always loved these. It's not a Jota but that's fine, I can't afford one of those and it's close enough. Wish it was orange, but red seems to be an Italian color, no?

 

[dorkburger]

Cool. Good luck.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

Ah, man, a Jota is on my bike bucket list. That's a sweet machine!

 

[steve murdoch]

Ah, man, a Jota is on my bike bucket list. That's a sweet machine!

Me too!
I hope you get your hands on that one.

 

[Rob S.]

What year is it?

 

[oldGSfan]

What year is it?

It's a 1975. Only 12K miles

 

[LAB3]

Parts availability and prices would scare me off from the get go but I haven't looked into it either. Some would say similar things about an old bike made by "The big four" but as we know it's not huge issue.

 

[rphillips]

Were Laverdas sold in the U.S. or were they all imports? I've never heard or saw a dealer anywhere I've been.

 

[oldGSfan]

Were Laverdas sold in the U.S. or were they all imports? I've never heard or saw a dealer anywhere I've been.

They were sold here. Originally under the 'American Eagle' brand then Laverda branding. Never in big numbers. They performed on par with big Japanese 4's of the day, but were double the price.

 

[oldGSfan]

Parts availability and prices would scare me off from the get go but I haven't looked into it either. Some would say similar things about an old bike made by "The big four" but as we know it's not huge issue.

There is a vendor in Nakusp Canada, Columbia Car&Cycle and they are well stocked and reasonably priced, according to the Laverda forum.
​

 

[oldGSfan]

Well, I bought it. I need to go up with my trailer tomorrow to pick it up. It's very nice, will come out stunning after I give it the treatment. I believe it can be one of the best around. Laverda triples have been near the top of my list for decades. Finally, I get one.

 

[Nessism]

Well, I bought it. I need to go up with my trailer tomorrow to pick it up. It's very nice, will come out stunning after I give it the treatment. I believe it can be one of the best around. Laverda triples have been near the top of my list for decades. Finally, I get one.

Super awesome! That thing looks really nice! A jewel! Good luck with the clean up. Shouldn't be too hard, if the mechanicals are as nice as the cosmetics!

 

[oldGSfan]

Super awesome! That thing looks really nice! A jewel! Good luck with the clean up. Shouldn't be too hard, if the mechanicals are as nice as the cosmetics!

It showed no signs of 'messed with' Original everywhere. Guy had so many bikes, a round case 750 Ducati, several Benellis, some road racers. Mostly Italian. He worked for American Honda so Benelli Sei and Quatros will seem familiar. He got the bike from a relative who was a JPL engineer who had retired, then passed away, not riding it in his later years. On Non-Op since '05. Any non-runner is a gamble, but I gave it a good look and I think it's gonna be fine. Time will tell.

 

[Nessism]

Looking forward to your ride report, Tom. I seem to remember the Jota vibrated a good deal at higher rpm's, but this one should be at least somewhat better. About 80 hp, according to Wikipedia. Similar to a GS1000.

 

[rphillips]

Top of your list for decades, heck, it's about time... Congrats, will certainly be watching it come around.

 

[oldGSfan]

Looking forward to your ride report, Tom. I seem to remember the Jota vibrated a good deal at higher rpm's, but this one should be at least somewhat better. About 80 hp, according to Wikipedia. Similar to a GS1000.

They have a 180 crank, somewhat unique for a triple. Two outers rise and fall together. Maybe cost reason. They went to a 120-degree crank later, but no counterbalancer. They rubber-mounted the engine. The 120-degree engine had a rocking couple, the racers stuck with the 180 crank. Heck, I ride a Norton, and I'm fine with it.

It's right side shift, 1 down, 4 up. chain on the right too. So I'll have the Norton, which is 1 up, 3 down on the right, plus the Suzuki, which, as we know, isn't like the others. It will literally keep me on my toes.

It has a huge leading shoe rear brake. It's the same brake they used on the front on the earlier models.

 

[steve murdoch]

Congratulations on acquiring the bike!
You got the bike and i spend an hour going down a Laverda rabbit hole on Youtube.
They have a great sound as well.

 

[oldGSfan]

Congratulations on acquiring the bike!
You got the bike and i spend an hour going down a Laverda rabbit hole on Youtube.
They have a great sound as well.

Anything you see on the Jota is gonna be relevant up to a point, and there's much more media on the Jota. Not much on the 3C. Jota was orange (cool!), hotted up 3C. The 3C is sorta plain Jane but it's as close as I can get and unique in its way. Sorta like DucatI, the SS got all the attention but the GT is a great bike too. I love the Borrani wires with Brembos, big 38mm Ceriani forks, Ceriani shocks, Red is OK. Matches my 83 GS1100E and the Norton.

 

[oldGSfan]

Stripped the 3 Dell'Orto 32mm carbs, they were completely gunked up, 20 years with petcocks on (not a vacuum system). My chem dip didn't do a thing so I figured it was past its prime and got a fresh gallon. That did the trick, but the center one was still locked up, so I heated the body up to about 180F and dropped an ice cube on the slide - it nearly fell out. I only need one float and three new needles & rebuild kits. Not cheap! The bores and aluminum slides are good, thankfully.

BTW the Petcocks are really nice items made by Orlandi. The internal tubes and filters are disintegrated and NLA, so I'll have to figure something out.

I also stripped the brakes down. They are Brembos, and are also used on Guzzis and Ducatis. 15mm bore MC for dual discs isn't so great for feel, but we'll see. I set up the supposedly awful CB750 single disc with organic Ferodos and braided lines, and it did fine - these must be better.

I thought the MC was seized, but it freed up with a little PB blaster and heat. I drifted out the retainer from the hydraulic junction end, very easy. It's a one-time press fit ring, not a snap ring. The bore is fine. I like the fact that the brake components are black anodized, you can heat them up a bit without melting paint off.

This pic is about mid-way through cleaning, I have dunked again and used the ultrasonic, then fresh cold water, then heated them to dry. They look great. The bracket holding them together is held on by six 5mm hex screws. They take a 3mm allen wrench, and that won't take much torque. Nothing I tried was working and I felt I was gonna round them. I didn't think I could completely disassemble and clean them, so I took them to a shop - they wanted $200 to remove them. I decided to try cleaning them in situ, and succeeded, thankfully.

 

[oldGSfan]

Oh, here's a pic when I got it home, waiting for my son to help roll it off, as I was a bit nervous (and tired), and there's no front brake, which helps on a ramp. The Lafranconi silencers are extremely scarce and in super good shape. I've seen them listed for half the price of what I paid for the bike.