Cars and bikes I’ve come across in my travels

dothebeat said:
You know.....when I bought my Laverda in the eighties and my Ducati a few years later everybody told me exactly this: you will be in constant trouble...... you will be working on it more than riding it...... you will be constantly waiting for parts...bla bla bla..... I didn't have any more issues with my bikes than all the Jap riders who told me I would.
Now the bikes are gone and I own a Lotus. Same story: everybody knows how bad they are. How badly they brake down all the time. Nope. Not true for me. I guess I'm a lucky bastard.
One thing is for sure: Lotus as well as Laverda you don't see on every corner and both are plenty of fun and character....
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Neither Lotus nor Laverda could buy enough television time or magazine space to buy a good reputation.
The commercial department and the ad man rule.
Paul
 
dothebeat said:
You know.....when I bought my Laverda in the eighties and my Ducati a few years later everybody told me exactly this: you will be in constant trouble...... you will be working on it more than riding it...... you will be constantly waiting for parts...bla bla bla..... I didn't have any more issues with my bikes than all the Jap riders who told me I would.
Now the bikes are gone and I own a Lotus. Same story: everybody knows how bad they are. How badly they brake down all the time. Nope. Not true for me. I guess I'm a lucky bastard.
One thing is for sure: Lotus as well as Laverda you don't see on every corner and both are plenty of fun and character....
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Which model do you have? I think it was the older ones that were so troublesome. Chapman put all the companies development money and resources into racing, not product improvement and quality control.
 
Alzero said:
Which model do you have? I think it was the older ones that were so troublesome. Chapman put all the companies development money and resources into racing, not product improvement and quality control.
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I've got a 2003 Elise 135R with the infamous Rover engine. It is - with the exception of the fuel injection - a completely analog car: no ABS, no assisted steering, no ESP, no aircon, not even a brake booster. It is super light, very simply built and just beautifully balanced to drive.
I could see me driving a baby Elan too, because it's the same philosophy, but the prices have gone off a bit too much for me....
 
We had a very late Mk11. Grilles not spots, front suspension and auto were 340 parts. Jag expert here reckoned it was a useful upgrade.
It was all original too. Probably built in the runout period for the Mk11 when they were accumulating 240/340 parts prior to starting production.
 
the front of the Mk1 is not 100% stock nor is the front of the MK11, spotlights were optional on some models and stock on others, front suspension was the same on both and auto was available on both, most UK cars were manual, most USA cars were auto. Dont get me started on Dunlop (yes Dunlop) disc brakes.

I have seen one with a V12 fitted (bleeding bloody blimey!) but not factory built.

I have had several, an ex Spanish embassy 3.4, RHD, manual/overdrive wire wheels, a Daimler V8250 auto, a 3.8S type auto ex police, and a Mk10 a 420G andf an E type, flat floor manual/wire wheels (but only for a fortnight) loved them all wished I had kept the ex Spanish embassy one.
CLEM
 
Leaving Monmouth travelling north towards Hereford / Collington there used to be a nice metallic blue / grey Marcos 1600 GT parked by the side of the road ( had a Corgi model of one in white ) ..... this was going up the hill just past the Girls School ( School coat of arms read " To Serve And Obey " ....... now removed for some reason .... ) .......
 
There's a Beacham Daimler for sale here in NZ. Beacham do upgraded Jags and Daimlers and have done for 20 plus years now. This one is the Mk!! shape and has been fitted with a supercharged Jag V8 - as Rangerover and assorted late Jags. Plus upgraded brakes, transmission interior etc etc.
Very nice car - and it was on my "I'll have that" list if I won lotto. Until I saw the potential problems as in Paul's latest project.
Enough potential expensive problems - and known difficult access - to put me right off it.
 
I met the rider this morning in the garage on the ferry while we were waiting to disembark. He has no English and I have no Italian, but I showed him this post and that he was internet famous on the Laverda forum! He was impressed when I showed him a picture of my Executive and called his buddies over to look. He also indicated that he couldn’t see much that was close to his bike over the tank bag, he was a little guy like Muggsy Bogues in the photo with Manute Bol.
 
I’d never heard an Italian pronounce Laverda before, very different from the way Americans say it. We emphasize the second syllable and they put the stress on the first and last: LA-ver-DA vs la-VER-da Or maybe it’s just that guy’s provincial accent?
 
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He didn't correct your pronounciation? LA-verda is the way I have heard native speakers pronounce the name.
Ask an Italian to pronounce Aermacchi...... :giggle:
 
Have been corrected by Italians from Bari, Rome and Sicily etc. on several occasions.
But you are right with speaking spanish in the Veneto area, also in Tuscany.
 
Gerald said:
Have been corrected by Italians from Bari, Rome and Sicily etc. on several occasions.
But you are right with speaking spanish in the Veneto area, also in Tuscany.
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There was a Facebook thread between Italians asking how Laverda was pronounced, so must be something out of the ordinary.
Paul
 
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