Vdue that Works -- Nekkid First

[dnovo]

Photos of the last, and best iteration of the bike that sank Bimota, the Vdue. Turns out that not only was the FI defective, but the crankcase and other internals needed attention and were completely rebuilt. The result is what Bimota wanted to accomplish all along, the ultimate two stroke, light, razor sharp handling, and it actually works. None of the original bikes ever ran properly. Later efforts to cobble together a cure for the FI were marginal at best, and simply slapping on a pair of carbs didn't address the other problems that turned up later. A handful of dedicated enthusiats in Italy and elsewhere finally worked it out, and a handful of these bikes now exist. Too bad it couldn't be done in time to save the original Bimota operation, but the new one seems to be doing quite well.

Here is the bike sans fairing, so you can see the inner workings Dave

[rodericb]

Thanks for the pics Dave. What are the black plastic containers on the right and left hand side of the engine? Airboxes? Also, what do the "flash" and "gear" buttons on the instruments do?

Ha ha I love the 80's japanese touch with the light sensor which has "light sensor" written next to it in huge lettering!

[dnovo]

[QUOTE=rodericb;358847] What are the black plastic containers on the right and left hand side of the engine? Airboxes? Also, what do the "flash" and "gear" buttons on the instruments do?QUOTE]

They are airboxes, and they are carbon fiber, not plastic. This version is carbon fiber loaded. The dash is still being puzzled out with the .pdf versions of the translated manuals. "Gear" is a quick shift hook up for racing, which I don't think works on this version. Still puzzling out "Flash." The manuals aren't bad, for a translation, but it is still not the easiest thing to get through. Dave

[ZAWA]

Flash might be a shift light, button with flash might be for setting it. Just a guess.

[rodericb]

Yeah, that's an idea. There's the light up the top of the instruments which has flash written underneath it, which looks like it may well be a shift light. Just have to work out how to set it I guess! Dave: can you read/speak Italian? What does the Italian manual say?

[dnovo]

Okay, here is what Mungo's tired brain came up with: "Flash" is the setting for the shift light. You use the button to set it so when you get to what you want to use as the optimum shift point, you get the big red light in your face.

"Gear" is still a puzzle. The SB8 Santa Monica has a like set up, and I have a question winging its way to the boys at the factory to answer this one, but I am guessing it lets you program shift points in various gears.

Got some further feedback on the last of these Vdues. It seems that the issue was not just the injection. The crankcase was not properly done and there was some blow past or leakage of mixture into the crankcases, with not enough 'meat' to deal with the problem. The rebuilt bikes have new crankcases, and a host of other minor, but important mods along with the addition of carbs to get around the fuel injection woes. Reading along at the various Vdue sites, it would seem that the number of FI and computer 'bandaids' in use on the original and intial mods make me more comfortable with carbs, which lets you set up and tune without having to play programmer.

None of this detracts from the initial --- and quite brilliant --- concept of the Vdue. All of this could have been sorted out given a bit more time and money behind the project. (Hell, look at what is going on at Buell with the oft-delayed production of the 1125.) All it would have taken was a bit more time and a bit more cash to develop this first 'in house' engine and Bimota would have had a world beater. Unfortunately for the original Bimota company, cash was lacking, and they ran out of that, and money, and adios Bimota.

Pity. Dave

[dnovo]

Rod: As to your signature, "RIP Laverda....until the rebirth" one needs to watch what one wishes for. I am a dedicated fan of all that is quirky Italian. Besides the Bimotas in the collection, and perhaps the only Magni 1200S Sport in the US, I have a pair of Laverdas, a neat SF2 and "The Beast' -- a 1200 Mirage TTS. The latter, with its 'gentle' 180deg crank and Jota cams will rattle your teeth loose, and that's at idle, wait 'til you are out scuffing the sides of your boots on the asphalt.

I sampled the first 'rebirth', the Ghost Strike, and it was too much of a 'me too' effort to play Japanese sportbike and built like garbage.

If all we get in the newest iteration of Laverda is yet another example of a me too like the current Benelli models (or, I will copy the current crop of other Italian exotics and then copy Laverda with a big 3 cycl to be just 'enough' different, but then do not sort out the injection, properly set up the suspension bits, and then top it off with crap build quality and crap customer support) then I will stick to my old Laverdas.

Nostaglia is sometimes not what you remember. I can deal with temperment in a thirty year old bike, I don't need to be a beta test site for a current manufacturer at my expense. Thanks but no thanks. Dave

[Catimann]

Is there a web site with a review or some such article about the Vdue?

[rodericb]

Originally Posted by dnovo

one needs to watch what one wishes for.

Yes, I know what you mean. I have a 1997 750S and it's okay but it does (did!) use some pretty old tech in the engine department so it's a little bit "safe". Some of the build is a bit average and at the time I was buying it I'd thought of it as Guzziesque or maybe where Ducati were at in the late eighties. Didn't have much of an Internet back in 1997 so I couldn't do much research on them. I had heard of some heat problems with the 668 model.

But nevertheless I've been through the beta tester program and as such in the ensuing period have steered clear of MV Agustas and Benelli and they're still using the owners as beta testers. MV Agusta owners cutting holes in fairings, changing radiator fans and even making new water pump impellers to cool the things down, loosing coolant, electricals going haywire. Benellis have various failures and are off the road for weeks and months awaiting parts. Bimotas are a bit different as they've always used a proven engine and just have some problems with the peripherals - with the notable exception of the V-Due.

My formative years in terms of motorcycle appreciation were between the Breganze and Zane period so I had certainly never ridden a Breganze era bike and had seen barely a handful of them - mostly noisy and ratty old triples being ridden by blokes with a crazed look in there eyes. That whole thing seemed a bit too "enthusiast" for me!

I've always preferred smaller and lighter bikes. I'd chosen to buy 600cc jap sportsbikes instead of 1000's and had owned a 1991 900SS along the way too. The small and lighter twin cylinder Zane era bikes were appealing to me and were something different to the 748. I'd love a Breganze era 750SF/C. I don't expect any new Laverda bikes any time soon, that's for sure.

Maybe one day I'll ask Piaggio to sell me the Laverda name for one Euro and if for some crazy reason they do, I'll build my own 750SF/C for the new century along the lines of a NCR or Bimota - nice and simple and effective. Don't know where I'll get the parallel twin engine from though!