'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
I've owned three Laverda triples, the Iconic Jota 1000, a Jota 120 Formula and finally an RGS. The latter being by far the best bike Laverda made. The Mirage 1200 was essentially a big bore Jota.. same frame, wheels, brakes etc. The Jota had cams with more lift and duration.. the famous 4C cams, while the 1200 was touted as a fast sports tourer. Cant say I noticed that much difference between the two when I tested a 1200.
My Jota 120 Formula was a very limited Slater special, that used the best of the time to try keep up with the Jap opposition.. 4c cams, Goldline Brembos, lightweight Astralight wheels, 3-1 exhaust and a huge one piece tank / seat unit, based on Euro Endurance racers of the time. Slaters (the UK importers who also created the Jota) only made 7, mine was the seventh.
Found it top heavy and unwieldy, so sold it after I got it back on the road after restoring / tuning it.. 1200cc conversion etc. The RGS was much more nimble, though I preferred my Ducati 900SS and the Guzzi LeMans TBH.
That Laverda is a big lads bike. It looks lovely.
I remember whilst at College a Jota spanking my pals brand new Z1. The owner of the Z1 thought an Italian “cast iron engine” wouldnt stand a chance against his smart Jap 4 . How very wrong. From memory both bikes were pretty sketchy at high speed handling.
Merch... you obviously have a thing for the Italian stuff, have you ever owned a Benelli Sei? A good friend of mine from near Buckley had a 900 in green, lovely thing but he swapped it for a mint LeMans 850, then had both knees replaced and found that a bit of a struggle so now rides an NC30. He’s 72 and still pretty damn quick..😈😈
He currently has a mint 916, and a Bimota YB thundercat engined thingy for sale as they’re 2 heavy for him now.
Did they go from a 180deg crank to a 120deg crank laterly?
Yes they did, changed around 1981, a short lived model as it was replaced by the RGS a couple of years later.
After a long long wait, I finally collected the paintwork for my Guzzi project on Friday, very pleased with the end result. The tank and seat unit are both handmade in Alloy, the former made by TAB2 in Wales, while the latter was made by John Williams of the Tank Shop in Dumfries..
The start of my planned Africa Twin nut & bolt restoration has been delayed as the guy doing it had to have an operation. In the interim I’ve been wondering whether to change plans and, rather than restoring it to as new, ask him to come up with a plan for customising it. I’m still in two minds though, so thought I’d get some other opinions.
The bike is a 1991 XRV RD04, so the first of the 750 models, and they seem to be fairly rare these days.
So, what would you do, have some fun with it or rescue what is now a classic?
please rescue!
don't bastardise!
it's a nice old bike, pretty sought after and capable for its time.
When we where young.
59765359_2160753450708752_349704814290010112_n by David Brenchley, on Flickr
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Traded the Jota for a 900SS, or skinned rabbit as my mother called it.
My first Ducati was an 89 900 supersport. It was quite a shock coming from modern Jap fours.
Here's an old pic of my 78 SS900 Desmo, probably the only bike of the many I've owned that I regret selling, having owned it for twenty years.
Yeah, gotta say that was a mistake.
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Memories... Fabulous bike.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
One of my current projects is to put a tuned Gpz1100 engine into a 78 Z650 frame, along with modernish suspension, brakes etc. I needed tp polish the engine covers before they could be used, however as I got started, I noticed a shallow dent in the clutch cover. I could've got another from Ebay, or bought an aftermarket one from the Japanese / US tuning shops. Nah, that's too easy... so lets make one instead. This is how it was done, its a little deeper than the OE version, in case I want to use a lock up in the future.
You’ve got to many toys👍👍
Ooh that 900ss, the kind of bike I spent my early youth dreaming about and admiring. They were always out of reach financially, and even now at £24k for the example below, more-so!
https://www.madeinitalymotorcycles.c...i-900ss-1978-1
Steve
Yes it looks odd. Its actually not one thicker piece of alloy, but three, as once I decided to make one, my mate (who did the hard work) decided he'd make two more for himself, and since the set up takes the main amount of time, its not much more work to make three as one.
This is something he has been working on during the recent lockdown, makes my stuff look easy..
Andrew what’s the small rectangular display below the sat nav. Is that std Ducati, or something you have added.
Steve
Did a quick trial fit of the new paintwork on my Guzzi project, though various mounts aren't fitted yet (still got to finish the dreaded wiring), so it doesn't fit quite right in the pics..
A nice couple of hours spent on the Husqvarna 701 Enduro, removing the original smaller bash plate and installing a bigger , tougher replacement. More bolt on-bolt off than true modification I suppose, but it's all spanner work...and in the sun too!
I will be fitting the Altrider bash plate to my GSA Triple Black tomorrow. The one I fitted to my last GS was infinitely easier than this one. Hopefully some of the instructions will make more sense tomorrow.
Makes over 100 lb/ft of torque from below 2000rpm, peak 145 lb/ft at 4500rpm,
Here it is from a few years ago on a dyno.. its a bit loud
https://youtu.be/s2Jo-fipEAM
In other news I have been given an early 80's Kawasaki Z650, in large bits, so as one good turn deserves another, I'm going to put it back together, and give it to a good friend who is currently without a bike.
New custom seat designed from my tattoo.
New Headlight, pegs, exhaust wrap, tyres, brakes, discs and spring clean.
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“Don’t look back, you’re not heading that way.”