Finished at last!

[Laverda Dave]

Ratty is finally finished and is now on the road!

This one was a challenge but luckily for me so many members of this forum kindly helped me get the bike over the finish line. 

A big thanks to Ash for all his help with new bearings, so many replacement parts I lost count, refurbishing the ignition coils and general advice. Thanks also to Ted for the replacement gear shafts and the genuine NOS pistons and rings. Julie and Graham for the rebore, head and valve work and new parts and to Bryan for the advice when I found marks on the crank journal that looked terminal. Thanks also to Nigel for coming to the rescue yesterday when the Boyer ignition timing wouldn’t play ball (Boyer are now aware of the issue).

I only took the bike out for a brief four mile ride today as it was so cold and the roads were slimy but to quote Alan Millyard ‘It was just perfect’. Only a couple of minor things to fix, the front brake needs another bleed as sometimes I had to pump it. I need to make a new set of leads from the Boyer to the loom as the crimp connectors Boyer supply look awful, I have some correct connectors on order. The handlebars touch the fuel tank, I need to make some spacers to fit on the lockstops. The bottom yoke I bought doesn't appear to be a 400/4 item despite the ebay add. I think Ted had a similar issue with his 400/4?


I’ll drain the tank tomorrow and swirl some diesel into it, remove the battery and hibernate it for winter ready to run in next spring.

I have a TL125 arriving tomorrow, a mate has asked me to re-commission it for him so another project is already in the wings!

Thanks again all

[AshimotoK0]

That looks absolutely stunning Dave. You must be really proud.

Best colour as well according to Henry last night

[Johnwebley]

That looks absolutely stunning Dave. You must be really proud.

Best colour as well according to Henry last night

Wot he said

Well done, it does look good

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[magpie114]

Immaculate! Is it going in a vac bag?


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[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Looks as good as new Dave you must be chuffed to bits even if it's worth less than you spent on it this week. It's all about the challenge of the build iirc.👍


My lock stop issue was that I had fitted fork clamps to accommodate a 500 standard headlamp. On my 400 the tank was touching the left clamp but not the right one. In the end I used some resin to stick some metal on the left lock stop

[Sesman]

Yeah, really nice looking job. Congratulations.👏👏

[taysidedragon]

Quite a transformation!  Well done, looking good. 👍

[Bloggs]

Looking just the new one I bought in 1977!

I have found a problem with the bottom yoke on my current build, the bike had been crashed at some point and various parts used to get it back on the road.
The bottom yoke, I guess, was from a USA model and had the steering lock 'hole' in the wrong place. US model have the lock built into the keyswitch not the frame head tube.

Good work.

Michael

[Bryanj]

What connectors do you want mate i have a big box of assorted

[ozzybud]

It looks amazing ! Great job!  now we wait for spring.

I feel sorry for you all over there having to use those "Billboard" size license plates. Its big enough to slow you down without using the brakes. Is there any other options?

[Bryanj]

Not legal ones, but most get away with smaller ones as anything over 40 years old needs no anual inspection(mot)

[Craizeehair]

That looks incredible, what a great job.

[K2-K6]

Fabulous Dave, much hard work too and real credit of your attention to detail.

[Bryanj]

The Boyer problem just goes to pfove that just 'cos its new dont mean it is good, even if in this case it was only the instructions.

[K2-K6]

I feel the original mechanical system, when in good condition and set correctly is virtually peerless. Even more so considering it's age of design.

The Boyer would definitely be my choice to change though, thoroughly tested and with some interesting design features worth having.