Thanks for the honor of having "Bike of the Month"
Scrumpy asked if I would post a bit about the Jota.
It was one of three(likely more) imported to the US by the late Lance Weil and sold to the Local Laverda dealer. As imported it was the original silver/black when sold. The owner opted at a later date for a black/orange color scheme and some really questionable mods
The bike was crashed (rider missed a corner) killing the original owner and doing some damage as well. The Jota mufflers being replaced with what Roger Slater was supplying at the time. It was repaired, about 3,000 $ in damage and sold. The second owner blew the motor, breaking the center piston,damaging the crank, took a 1/2 in chunk out of the liner and sort of F##ked it up
The bike then sat abandoned in a adobe shed for years, blown up and unloved :sad: :sad:
Having sold my RGS and wanting another Laverda I came to own it through a friend who bought
it. I think I paid 1,600 for it back in 1998. (have quite a bit more in it by now!!!)
it was a mess when I got it, one step away from the junk yard.
A lot of work has gone into it. The motor is Jota spec, Red Just finished a head rebuild and plug
conversion for me (he did a wonderful job !!). Jota Mondials / 4C ... the usual. I was torn between silver/black orange/silver when it came time to respray,obviously went orange/silver.
The color is a Lamborghini color, a light metallic orange the frame was powder coated.
running gear is near stock, later thick web wheels, KONI 7610 shocks, Bridgestone BT-45's, steel lines
changed to right side shift. DMCII + addition charging coil solved all the ignition/charging issues
It is basically a stock 1977 Jota with only a few mods. The only issues are a few minor oil
weeps and it is a bit tough to get into fifth, (shifts fine cold buy gets a bit harder at it warms)
Minor claim to fame is that PK Davies did several laps at Willow Springs on it. The shifting giving some trouble, slowing him down a bit. After looking at the tires it didn't seem to be an issue in the corners.
Thanks again for your votes, the are more photos the members section at coppermine under jota2
http://laverdapedia.com/coppermine/index.php?cat=10036
David