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Messages - Laverda Dave
1
« on: Today at 10:16:09 AM »
The speedo has an F1 dial face rather than an F2 on it that has a km/h scale in green, the trip grommet is crumpled and the stainless steel gauge mounting plates should be secured with cap nut rather than plan nuts.
I noticed the Speedo face Peter but not the lack of cap nuts. When you work with these all day I guess you notice the small but important missing details. He should have sent the clocks to you for your expert repair👍.
2
« on: Today at 10:12:18 AM »
They are metal tipped Nigel. I would need a suitable collet to mount them into the lathe. I tried putting them into the chuck of the Dremel but they wobbled!
I have some old genuine valves so I'll clean one up and try one of those.
3
« on: Today at 09:36:21 AM »
Peter Horton refurbished the original clocks including converting the rev counter to a suitable 400/4 item from the 250 rev counter that was on the bike. They look fantastic and I asked Peter to put the MPH/KPH face on the speedo for no other reason than I like them :-).
This morning I collected the finished paint set from Tony at Cyclesprays in Horsham, Sussex. He has done a marvelous job considering the tank I took to him! He placed the decals on the tank (decals supplied by Piki (Reddice) on here) and clear coated them with the same on the side panels. I'll decide it I want to put the saving lives sticker above the fuel tank, I don't really like the look of it!
I went to refit the carbs yesterday but thought I'd bench test them first with fuel to check the floats, of course one leaked really badly (No 1). A frustrating three hours spent adjusting the float and re-testing got me nowhere and it looks like I'll have to fit one of the new Keyster float valves to replace the original as the tip looks worn. What is it about 400/4 carbs, they work fine one minute and flood the next!
Next job will be to fit the carbs and handlebars with the switches.
That's so fast Dave, just sitting on the table in such a yellow way!!
Seriously top job on the paint - local guy to you?
🤣. Luckily the phone camera has a very fast shutter speed Tim and I was able to capture the photo despite the speed of that tank in its full yellow glory🫣. Cycle Sprays is a 120 mile round trip for me but Tony is really good (it took him just over a week to paint everything once we had decided on the exact paint colour). I've used him a few times before and when I find someone who is good and does what they say they will do I stick with them. To do the full paint set (two sidepanels, tank and headlight bowl including the prep (I stripped the old paint off the tank)) including applying the decals and clear coat cost £580 which to me is a good price. I could have got it done cheaper elsewhere but there's the old saying 'If you think a professional is expensive wait until you employ an amateur'. Tony is also a biker, he had his Harley V-Rod at his shop yesterday with an amazing paint job as you'd expect!
4
« on: Today at 09:19:46 AM »
My only observation about 400 carbs is anecdotal if the flooding is not when the bike has been running normally.
lf the bowls have little or no fuel in them you can get a situation where as the float bowls drop down down at an acute angle they rest against the bowl side causing a potential sticking incident.
This enables a situation where sometimes there is a jam of the valve in the 'gap' between the float bracket brassware and the valve seat as it is out of the normal operating range/angle of seating due to the low fuel level in the bowl.
The above jam is such that even thought the petrol is pouring into the bowl the float is unable to rise as it should as the valve is stuck in the above 'gap'.
This does not happen as an event every time my fuel is switched on after being stood for a few days or drained over winter.
I have just rocked the bike from side to side whist astride my 400 this causes the flooding to stop pretty much immediately after any petrol in the overflow pipe has run out.
I suspect it is linked to the brassware attached to the float and possibly previous attempts to adjust the float level.
I mounted the carbs in the workmate and made sure they were on the level. Frantic tapping of the bowl did nothing to free a sticking float (if that's what it was). Looking at the float valve needle with a pair of watchmakers glasses I can see a very slight ridge so this is probably enough to prevent the valve properly closing. I have a bag of old carb spares so I'll see if I have an old valve as fitting a full set of Keyster parts once before they all leaked!
6
« on: April 18, 2024, 06:18:42 PM »
Good luck with the op Dennis. I had a biopsy carried out on my right ear a couple of weeks ago and it is still too painful to even attempt to put a crash helmet on! Carpel tunnel issues, you must have been a MGP or Superbike racer, a true motorcycling god 
Hope the result is a negative on biopsy Dave. I had similar about 8 yrs ago on right ear about 10 o'clock position, with no further action.
Nice bit of blanket stitch though  and all healed invisibly now.
Thanks Nigel. Mine was in the same place as yours! I got the 'All Clear, No further action required' letter on Wednesday, a full four weeks early so I was a happy bunny. Just got to let it heal properly now before I get back on the bike. They said it was sun related damage which is wierd because I have always used Factor 50 sun lotion (i.e. a blanket) but apparently and according to the dermatoligist, sun damage occurs between the ages of 2 and 10 years old and we didn't have sun lotion back then!
7
« on: April 18, 2024, 04:59:20 PM »
Peter Horton refurbished the original clocks including converting the rev counter to a suitable 400/4 item from the 250 rev counter that was on the bike. They look fantastic and I asked Peter to put the MPH/KPH face on the speedo for no other reason than I like them :-).
This morning I collected the finished paint set from Tony at Cyclesprays in Horsham, Sussex. He has done a marvelous job considering the tank I took to him! He placed the decals on the tank (decals supplied by Piki (Reddice) on here) and clear coated them with the same on the side panels. I'll decide it I want to put the saving lives sticker above the fuel tank, I don't really like the look of it!
I went to refit the carbs yesterday but thought I'd bench test them first with fuel to check the floats, of course one leaked really badly (No 1). A frustrating three hours spent adjusting the float and re-testing got me nowhere and it looks like I'll have to fit one of the new Keyster float valves to replace the original as the tip looks worn. What is it about 400/4 carbs, they work fine one minute and flood the next!
Next job will be to fit the carbs and handlebars with the switches.
8
« on: April 18, 2024, 04:52:00 PM »
A bit of progress over the past couple of weeks.
The big win was getting the engine finished and installed into the frame although I seriously can't recommend lifting an engine on your own from the work bench and onto the floor!
The rebore was done by Graham (Trigger) with the +50 NOS Honda piston sets. Graham also refurbished the head and this included replacing a bent inlet valve and a couplke of exhaust valves as well as a bit of welding to the combustion chamber where it had a chip on the edge.
Once the engine was in I installed the sump, put the forks in and the wheels on a temporary basis to allow me to get the rolling chassis onto the bike lift.
9
« on: April 18, 2024, 03:15:36 PM »
That looks fantastic in the sunshine.
I've not been out at all, once my ear gets better and I can put a crash hat on I'll be out in time for rfd sunshine 🌞
10
« on: April 16, 2024, 07:36:28 PM »
Does anyone have a couple of the breather guides for sale?
These are the wire guides located on the main stand pivot tube pinch bolts. They hold the fuel breathers/overflows from the carburettors to prevent them rubbing on the chain etc.
I borrowed a clip and bought a piece of stainless steel to make a couple but admitted defeat after a couple of attempts as it became too difficult to hold, heat and bend on my home made jig.
I have tried DSS, CMSNL and 400/4 bits without any success.
Condition is unimportant as I can get them replated if I need to.
Cheers
Dave
11
« on: April 14, 2024, 09:27:10 AM »
Good progress though Johnny and working on it is obviously now getting under your skin👍.
Amazing to think you can still get piston rings for something nearly 100 years old and considering Jag owners struggle to find replacement parts for cars 10 years old!
12
« on: April 13, 2024, 09:36:29 PM »
Very sad news Ted.
I think the previous replies by others sums it all up, we never know what life has in store for every one of us on a day by day basis. Personally I have always believed in fate and how everything happens for a reason both good and bad. There's the old saying that you have to endure the rainy days to fully appreciate the sunny ones.
I hope you both take the positives from the situation, Morgan beat the odds he was given at birth and went on to live a much longer life than predicted with the help and love of those around him.
Best wishes to you both.
Dave
13
« on: April 13, 2024, 04:17:37 PM »
Good luck with the op Dennis. I had a biopsy carried out on my right ear a couple of weeks ago and it is still too painful to even attempt to put a crash helmet on! Carpel tunnel issues, you must have been a MGP or Superbike racer, a true motorcycling god
14
« on: April 13, 2024, 04:02:55 PM »
That was a good workaround Ian. The lathe is the best tool I have ever bought, so useful. I used it this week to enlarge a centre hole in a 20mm stainless washer by 3mm. Turning it up in the lathe ensured it was circular and it fitted perfectly.
15
« on: April 13, 2024, 01:02:06 PM »
The USA is now experiencing national grid problems with demand outstripping supply. The generating companies are saying it is caused by the increasing amount of domestic heat pumps and the increasing number of electric vehicles requiring regular charging! When all our politicians decreed the world go all electric where did they think the increased energy requirements was going to come from!
It's alright for the climate activists to say wind and solar but you can't produce solar power when the sun doesn't shine (common in England especially in autumn, winter and spring, and turbines only work when the wind blows! Solar panels only last 20 years and have high replacement costs. As for building vast wind farms out at sea, they are built by American companies because they receive massive subsidies from the UK government to build them, another type of lend/lease where the tax payer is ripped off. Off shore wind farms are also a big danger to sea birds with a massive increase in death rates.
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