Chapter 327, wherein Mr Snail is slowly creeping towards the finishing line

Managed to spare another couple of hours to play with the Laverda
today. There isn't that much outstanding so the original plan was to
just put the thing together today and be done with it. That said, I've
been unhappy with the "replacement" air filter I got, which one needs to
glue to the airbox, as no OEM-style filter is available. Well, none that
I could find, anyhow. I don't like this solution but if it's the only
one...

However, someone on the Laverda mailing list mentioned that their club
had had some OEM-style airfilters manufactured so I'm currently checking
if I can get my hands on one of them instead.

Nevertheless I did continue to assemble the bike - put the front
mudguard back in on its new unbroken stay, and started cleaning and
polishing the dull alloy. Fortunately someone must've spent a lot of
time polishing the bike so both the Borranis (which are a pig to clean)
and the engine side covers are slowly regaining their sheen.

Finally, I did put the freshly painted bodywork back on as I wanted to
regain use of the sofa. The paintwork is of course another job done by
UKRM's resident paint wizards, Beav & Son...

I would say this is an improvement over its previous vile green
incarnation:

http://www.bsdninjas.co.uk/scratch/lav-01.jpg
http://www.bsdninjas.co.uk/scratch/lav-02.jpg

It's pretty much complete now - apart from the air filter, the carbs
need balancing, it wants a rear tyre and I need to put some of that
paint protection film on the back of the tank to stop the seat from
rubbing through the paintwork. And I guess a new front tyre wouldn't go
amiss either, plus a decent service.

 

Looking very nice Sir. Very nice indeed. I really must get round to selling
a kidney and get another triple. A SO3C or even an old Mirage would be nice.
A man can live with only a single kidney after all. However it seems I can't
live without another Laverda.

JB

 

Thank you. You'll actually find that if you stay out of
Montjuic/SFC/Jota territory, Laverdas aren't that expensive. If I
discount the paint job and the (not yet fitted) electronic ignition,
this bike stands me around 2.2k-2.3k and I think I could have gotten a
similar one for a little less. The big advantage of this bike is that it
seems to have been sensibly restored a while back so I'm not undoing 33
years of bodging, but only five or six...

 

Very nice.

The cylinders remind me of my old Honda SS125... that was suitably
loud and rather peppy for a 125.

 

Coo, that's rather handsome.

 

Heh. "Suitably loud" certainly describes the Laverda rather well.

 

Or even my old CB77. Those old hondas did look a if the designers had spent
a little time in Italia.

JB

 

Except that they came out before the SF2

 

It's like late-night advertising for snack food that gives you instant
munchies. Want. Or something v. similar.