Laverda (1973) 3 C 1000cc PRE JOTA 180 THREE CYLINDER
Price: £10 000 ≈ $12917 ≈ €12052
Item location: Horsham, Sussex, UK
Last update:
Seller notes: Extensively restored with an engine rebuild just a few miles ago in 2014.Resprayed bodywork and frame.
Brand: | Laverda |
Model: | 3C |
Year: | 1973 |
Condition: | Used |
Color: | Orange |
Mileage: | 10 000 |
Engine (cc): | 1000 |
Transmission: | Five-speed manual |
Starter: | Electric start |
Drivetype: | Chain |
V5: | Present |
ID: | mfs0220164568 |
Description
1973 Laverda 3CThree Cylinder 1000cc
Cards taken. Add 2 percent fee. National and world wide delivery availablePart exchange considered for another motorcycle or motorcycles. Why not revitalize your bike collection?www.ebykes. biz
This specimen has been saved from a static life as mechanical art to be offered as a fully roadworthy motorcycle. just as it should be. This particular machine is number 331 of the initial production run and was one of the very first to have been imported to the UK. following on from the very earliest batch of triples produced with a drum front brake. It has the immensely sought after 19 cm headlamp. reputed to be worth £1000 alone.
Back in the 70s. it is now hard to believe the impact such exotic machinery created as we have since become increasingly blase with the sheer number and performance of such a wide range of models. T'was not so back then! The revolutionary Honda 750/4 in 1969 and subsequent arrival of the Z1 900 from Kawasaki in 1972 left enthusiasts awe struck as the British industry of the time was still churning out Neanderthal creations such BSA 650 twin Thunderbolts which evolved from pre WW2 concepts. The 3C therefore arrived on this very limited stage rather in the manner of Tyson Fury: Large. unusually powerful. noisy and brash!
Despite their present 'classic' status. these machines were. in fact. reliable and practical. Way back in the early 1980s. I commuted almost daily in London for several years aboard a 1976 3C without any mechanical or electrical issues apart from broken clutch cables thanks to the uber heavy clutch which had the effect of creating a dose of 'lobster claw' in my left hand. Apart from this improbably tame use. the Laverda was also toured several times around France. again. without any problems. Fond memories but also a painful awareness. even after almost four decades. that these bikes are weighty. Real wimps need not apply.
Details of this machine are comprehensively documented in a thick file. the following comprising a brief summary:
Registration in 1973. No road tax payable.
Recorded mileage : 10. 00 miles (As per available. lengthy MOT history but cannot be warranted )
MOT: 8th September 2016. Advisory: Brake discs slightly pitted
Modified clutch action to ensure it is lighter to operate! A significant improvement to usability
Original dual seat available
NEW MOTOBATT Hi Torque battery
Recent work undertaken:
Frame: stripped and epoxy coated. all steel parts re-zinc plated. Rear sub frame and main stand mounts repaired. Front forks complete strip/ clean. new steering bearing set. new dust cover. Wheel spokes cleaned and tightened. new bearing in rear sprocket carrier. Brakes. front calipers stripped and rebuilt with Brembo seals and pistons. Master cylinder stripped and rebuilt. Rear brakes stripped / rebuilt. new rear tension bar fitted. New rear Hagon rear shocks. Swingarm rebuilt.
Engine: stripped. new gaskets. lock washers. oil seals. timing chain. 2 x primary drive chains. 2 x primary outrigger bearings. gearbox sprocket. Liners glaze blasted. new gudgeon pin circlips and all parts refitted. Cylinder head checked and valves lapped in. Camshafts and bucket followers replaced. Gear selector return spring replaced. Carburettors fully stripped and cleaned. New petrol pipes. New speedo cable.
The 3C will require an oil change very soon once it has covered 100 miles since reassembly/ post-bedding in then again in 1000 miles with head torque/ cam clearance check at 500 miles.
Background:
One of the casualties in the motorcycle world in recent years has been the disappearance of Laverda
Laverda 1000 3CAlthough a small family concern. in the early 1970s Laverda were at the forefront of the Superbike revolution. Laverda produced their first large capacity bike. a 650cc hyperthyroid Honda Super-Hawk look-alike in 1966. but company boss Massimo Laverda wanted something larger. During 1969 Laverda grafted another cylinder onto their single overhead camshaft twin. and the Laverda 1000cc triple was born.
As is typical in Italy. there was a considerable delay between the display of the prototype at the end of 1969 and the first production version. By the end of 1972 Massimo finally agreed. and the 10003C entered production. albeit with a few bugs not ironed out. The engine gained twin overhead camshafts. and a troublesome Bosch electronic ignition. Engineer Luciano Zen was also a courageous engineer when it came to choosing the Laverda 1000's crankshaft layout. All other triples used crankpins 120 degrees apart. but the Laverda placed its crankpins 180 degrees apart. This gave the effect of a British vertical twin with an extra cylinder in the middle and the 1000 always shook.
In 1982 Laverda changed to the more usual 120 degree crank. but some of the rawness of the earlier bike was lost. The crankshaft was a pressed up affair. consisting completely of ball and roller bearings. while the two valves per cylinder were operated by twin overhead camshafts. Like the 750 the camshafts were driven by chain. as was the primary drive. Everything about the triple was solid and massive. The crankcases were not intricate die-castings. but strong thick-walled sand-castings.
At a time when 750cc was considered large. the 1000 3C redefined parameters. Weighing in at 240kg. with an 820 mm seat height. the 3C unashamedly catered for the larger rider. It was also seriously fast for the day. with a claimed 80 horsepower at 7250rpm propelling it to 220kph. And despite its size and weight the big triple really handled. Built in Breganze at the foot of the Dolomites with thousands of kilometres of twisting road on its doorstep. if the Laverda had to do anything well it had to handle. The heavy duplex steel frame was conventional in design but made to withstand any flex. In many respects the Laverda deviated from the Italian norm. Most Italian manufacturers in the early 1970s sourced all ancillary components within Italy. But Laverda used Japanese Nippon Denso instruments. British Lucas switch gear. and German Bosch electronic ignitions. They were always high priced motorcycles and Massimo only wanted what he saw as the very best components. Italian companies provided the important running gear; Ceriani suspension. Borrani 18-inch alloy wheel rims. and Laverda the twin leading shoe 230mm drum brakes. By 1974 the triple gained twin Brembo front disc brakes and by 1976. cast alloy wheels.
The 3C eventually evolved into the legendary Jota. and during the 1980s was developed into the 1000RGS and 1000SFC. By 1986 they were amongst the last relics of the 1970s. All the Laverda triples were very different to comparable large displacement Japanese motorcycles. but the raw muscle and rough running of the earliest 1000 3C placed it even further apart. The 1000 3C was blatantly loud. uncompromising. and uncivilised; light years away from equivalent offerings from Germany and Japan.
Five things about Laverda:
Pietro Laverda founded the company in 1873 in the northern Italian town of Breganze to manufacture agricultural machinery. including wine and olive presses. By the 1970s Laverda was Italy's leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery. specialising in combine harvesters and employing 1500 workers. It was one of Pietro's grandsons. Francesco. who decided to experiment with motorcycles. In 1948 he built a 74cc four-stroke engine and assembled a complete motorcycle at home in his spare time. During the early 1950s the 75cc and 100cc Laverda singles dominated their classes in the Milano-Taranto and Moto Giro road races. Although Aprilia bought Laverda intending to re-launch the company in 2003. this didn't eventuate.Similar Ads: