Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126610
e-r 00 0") Big three-cylinder motor and half fairing dominate the Jou's appearance. Impression: 1982 Laver"" 1000 Jota Beauty €:I beast in coachwork orange By Karel Kramer Leaning across the entire front seat of his car, a you n g man yelled in to the freeway travel-induced wind rush: " Who makes that?" Those kind of questions and glances followed o ur Jo ta test bike everywhere it went. It drew respectful admiratio n at the Rock Stor e and waves from European sport bike 30 pilots of all genre. A few onlookers expressed loud opinions th a t they wo u ld n 't be caught dead on "J a pa nese iron" whi le th ere were still bikes li ke the Jota around. In the midst of all this speculation a nd worship from afar, where does the Laverda fit into the mains tream of motorcycl ing? Quite frankl y, it does n 't, and that ma y no t be all th a t bad, for Laverda or for enthusiasts. Despite a ll its bright orange coachwork, the true standout a mo ng th e Lav erda's features is th e massive three-cylinder en gine that dominates a large portion of an even larger motorcycle. One could say th at th e J o ta lo oks like a motor with wh eels. When yo u fire one up for the first ti me, tha t seems a bit more than mere ilIustion. The J ota p rod uces what is mos t ki n dly described as a hea lth y rumble, so me wou ld say n oise. At idle, the motor , when thoroughly warm, settles into a lu m p y idle remin iscent of an over -cam med, big-bl ock Detro it mo tor. About th a t ti me , you step orr , turn the mo to r orr and take a mi n u te to see what slows th is thing down before you take orr. Under the orange The Laverda does not sneak out of Ital y in the nude. The rac y halffairing is th e fir st thing th at most would n otice, since it is so unusual in th is age of psuedo-ch opper bikes. Pr otruding from th e fairin g edges are full y adjustable low bars th at mount in a rather contemporary ha ndl ebar clamp. With a few minutes and an allen wrench. the rider can have the bars adj usted to a myriad of shapes includi ng American Superbike style. Pu tt in g the bars in some of the posi- • ,tio ns would. however. ca use -interference with the fairing. The ends of the bars are surrounded by simple controls. excep t the ligh ting switches whi ch hav e a few more settings than seem necessary. After years of horror sto ries a bo u t Italian elecrrics, our test bike was qu ite a su rp rise. After four magazine tests and a four-hour endurance race. all of which piled up 9.000 mil es. th e electrics on the Jota perform ed very well. That's good news for Jota owners sin ce a button on the right side o f the bars replaces th e kickstarter. Below the bars is a ma ssive - for a street bike - front fork assem bly. Each fork leg carries a Brembo caliper which induces friction onto a cast iron dis c to scrub orr accumulated acceleration. A sturdy looking aluminum wh eel is shod with 4.10 x 18 Pirel li while the rear shares th e same circu mference but has a 4.25 Pirell i. A similar brake adorns the rear. and the swingarm is supported by Marzocchi ga s pressurized shocks; the front suspension is from th e same ma n ufactu rer. Between the wheels is a massivel yfinned three-cylinder, dua l overhead cam. five-speed engine. The transverse three displaces an actual 981cc, rough ly 60 cubic inches for the unmetric types . Power leaves the crank via a primary cha in and passes to the ch a in through a wet, multi-plate clutch. The clutch is noteworthy in two wa ys: First. no weaklings pull it in many times in a row. and second, it is actuated h ydraulically. a bit of an oddity on a bike. All three cyli n ders breathe through 32mm DellOrto carburetors and exhale through a light ly baffled, chromed three-into-one-into-two exhaust that tucks in brilliantly. Ground clearance is definitely not a problem on the jota. An oi l cooler ri des on the front downtubes. About all that is left is the fuel tank, which holds a claimed five gal lons befor e it goes on reserve. We didn ' t get a chance to chec k tha t figure, bu t if true, the Jota is not a miser o n gas beca use it went on reserve around 120 miles a fter a fill-up. T he seat is th inl y pa dded, and wh ile not co mfo rta ble, it 's not really u ncom forta ble eit her, mostly because th e rider's arms are supporti ng h is body. T he seat looks like a solo model but will carry a passenger. Ca rry friends for short, necessa ry jaunts a nd less friend ly sorts as lon g as you wis h . The seat does hide an adequate tool kit, and a ha ndy opening in the tail section that h olds a pair of gloves or two. Under the hea ding of creature comforts is a short list. The foam grips Specifications Type Air-cooled, four-stroke. vertical parallel three cylinder. Displacement . •. . .... . • . . . . . . . • .. . .. . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . .. . . 981 cc . Bore and stroke 76x74inm. Comprenion ratio 9.3 to 1. Starting system Surting motor only. Ignition system Transistorized. Transmission .. .... . ....... ....... . .• .. . . 5 speed. consunt mesh . Carburetion 3 Dell'Orto PHF 32mm. Frame design Double cradle. Rake/trail 28 degrees/6.7 inches. Front suspension/travel . . .. .. • . . . ... .. .. . ... Telescopic fork/5.5. Rear suspension/travel Twin shock/4.76 inches. Front tire 4.10 H 18 Pirelli Phantom. 4.25 H18 Pirelli Phantom. Rear tire Dimensions Wheelbase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 inches. Seat height (claimed) 33 inches. Ground clearance 6 .2 inches. Net weig ht. 512 pounds. (clai m ed) 6 .2 gallons. Fuel tank capacity Suggested retail price $5995