CLUB LAVERDA QUEENSLAND
ESTABLISHED 1982
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LAVERDA Basic Maintenance:
Rabbi says:
LAVERDA Basic Maintenance:
Lubrication:
Two areas that can be overlooked in general maintenance are clutch cable top nipples and the speedo drive.
If you are undoing the hex on the speedo drive that holds the worm gear be careful as it is easy to break the die cast housing & I’m not sureif replacements are still available.
Throttle cable:
Kawasaki Z1000 (mid 70's) will do the job. Does anyone know of othercables that will do the job on a Laverda?
Copper washers:
Laverda used these in several places on Twins and Triples.
The ones under the Allen keys holding the cam cover are for clearanceas well as sealing.
If they get too thin the Allen keys will bottom out in the holes inthe cam pillow blocks, possibly cracking them as well as not sealing properly.
Make sure that when disassembling the crankcase halves on a Lav thatyou note which studs have the copper washers fitted under the crankcase studs. This saves oil leaks &/or panic phone calls in the dark hours.
New copper washers are usually too hard and need annealing. Theeasiest way is over a gas (oxy or stove) flame. Annealing is the processof heating a metal then letting it cool SLOOWLY so don’t pull itstraight out of the flame but withdraw it slowly.
Another method used to help copper gaskets seal better is silver frost paint. We used to use it on Norton head gaskets etc.
Tapered shafts:
Laverdas are well designed so I haven’t heard of this particular problem arising but here goes...
If you have something coming loose on a tapered shaft, (pommie alternator rotors being a favourite), put a little valve grinding paste on the taper then lap the two pieces together by rotating one on the other until bothsurfaces are no longer shiny. This roughens the surface, increasing thesurface area and helps the two pieces key together. Don’t forget to thoroughlyclean both pieces before assembling them after the lapping.
Rabbi says:
You all have found different quick or easy ways of doing various jobs so why not share them with your fellow club members? Even if you don't have a Lav, someone out there is gonna have the same problem as you.
Here are a couple of bits & pieces I have picked up in nearly half a lifetime's Laverda-ing. Some of these are Triple only, others are for lotsa bikes.
1. Early (single cam) Honda 750 Fours' exhaust to head gaskets are exactly the same as those on the Triple, but cheaper & easier to find.
2. If the rubbers in your Triple & early 750 clutch flog out & you have to replace them, you can use bolts & nyloc nuts instead of replacing the original rivets. I did this as a temporary emergency measure about 15 years ago.. They are still fine. Just make sure they are evenly tensioned and will not touch anything as they rotate.
3. A low speed knock that sounds like big end may not be crankshaft. It may be the bearing or bush where the two parts of the gearbox mainshaft mate up. I replaced my crank bearings unnecessarily because I didn't check this area, just assumed that the crank bearings had gone. The best way to check is to remove the clutch assembly from the mainshaft then grab the mainshaft & try to move the end up and down. If you get movement, especially if accompanied by a dull knock, SMILE!.. gearbox bearings are LOTS cheaper than crank rebuilding.
Rabbi
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