The Dutch Laverda Museum V6

Update 16 - December 2015

First of all I would like to apologise for this late update. The Laverda V6 has already been running for a couple of months  and you as a reader have not yet been notified of this. Hopefully the smoke signals have reached you earlier though.

The v6 ran for the first time at the end of April.  I had a whole list of things to run through before the first start. "luckily" some visitors cancelled their visit at the museum which gave me a lot of free time on that Saturday. Quickly I ran through the whole list and at around 4 in the afternoon I was ready to fire it up. Everything was functioning as it was supposed to. There was a good spark and there was fuel, the carburettors seemed to be on the same level and the ignition was quite alright. There was oil pressure and there was enough water in the system. This would mean... the V6 would be able to run, right?

My wife Angelien and my son Aris were at home. A little help was welcome and it would look better on the camera. We had a fire extinguisher ready just in case, The camera mounted in the right way and an small petrol tank.

At the first starting attempt the new carburettors seemed to have some problems with getting the petrol through. Putting our hands on the intake-cones made some cylinders running  and after a few moments, with the help of Angelien and Aris who also put their hands on the intake-cones, the cylinders fired up and suddenly the V6 screamed out loud!

The engine was running way too fast. At that time there was no tachometer attached because this was still in repair. I tried to get the engine to calm down a bit but it wouldn’t work, so I had to shut it off.

What a sound!!

We were still shaking a bit  and decided to celebrate this achievement with a bottle of champagne.

One week later I was at a tuning company and this man told me that in order for the engine to run stationary, the butterfly valves had to be completely closed.The air will come through a bypass which makes it able to idle. After adjusting this the engine indeed ran much better.

After this experience I knew I wouldn’t get much free time soon to work on the V6. Almost every weekend would be spent with my son racing, museum visitors, in Juli to Spa Francorchamps with the V6, a visit to Breganze in September, a visit with the V6 to a show in Stafford in October and many long days at work with the new company.

Time flies when having fun and its already December now. I hope to finally be able to work on the V6 in the coming weeks with a tuner. Around 5000 revs  there is a gap in the rev-range. After the gap the engine hits up to 10.000 RPM.

When this V6 is finished, I hope to be able to continue with the second V6, the 1977 prototype. My hands are itching and I’m really looking forward to work on this project.

Will be continued...!

Greetings from Holland and enjoy reading watching and most of all listening
Cor Dees

Last items to finish and a final check!

Great Laverda Dealer and friend Gijs van Dijk working on the wiring of the V6.
His wife Marjan and son Luca are watching.

The man and his bike.

Museum day together with another motorcycle museum at Sassenheim. May 2015

My Italian brother Gianni Radin arrived from Breganze on his Laverda 500!!

July 12th 2015 - Spa Francorchamps.
Augusto Brettoni and his wife Anna, my wife Angelien, our son Aris and myself. Posing beside the mannequin of Brettoni with his 1972 leathers.

Telling the story of this V6 at the paddock in Stafford.

Angelien is watching.

Heating up the engine a bit and much too quick revving up the engine. They like it, I hate it.

Stafford Show: Overview of the Main Hall with the orange tent of the ILOC somewhere in the middle of it.

A beautiful stand of the English Laverda club

Of course I will support my son Aris, racing his KTM, but the orange colour is stolen from Laverda.

World famous photographer was our guest in November. Photgrafing several bikes in the Laverda museum.
Look at;  www.philaphoto.com