Laverda Jota vs BMW R90S. Ownership?

tyelav13 said:
I will throw my opinion in on the SF(1) v Norton commando (750) and even triumph bonneville (650 t120) as I own one of each. The commando (1968) feels a little sharper low down but no way is it faster than the sf1. The Bonnie feels as light as a pushbike in this company (with the SF1 feeling by far the heaviest of the three. Once up to speed there is only one winner and it isn’t British. As much as I love all three the Laverda is a far superior motorbike in terms of quality and I would jump on it to go anywhere without worrying whether it would get me there and back. My Bonnie is surprisingly reliable (although I regularly have to tighten things up) and doesn’t leak oil. My commando is lovely to ride but I have still not ironed out the little niggles - and I will back in the garage to fix a few things again on Monday 😂.
Click to expand...
I was out today, on my nicely sorted 850 Commando, Mk2 180 Jota, and airhead GS Beemer today. Back to back. Completely different animals, all have their positive attributes. The Norton is very nimble, for sure made for those skinny English roads, supremely grunty low end torque. The Laverda is long thundering effortless high speed, slow steering but ultra stable. Authoritatively lovingly LOUD. Beemer is predictable, unemotional engine output, but easy, handles s very good.

I parked the big Laverda at a specialty motorcycle shop this afternoon, primarily a Ural and Royal Enfield dealer but also specialized in all BMW’s. Many fine classics parked in the sunshine, of many makes. The crowd gathered around the beast from Breganze. I’m very lucky to be its caretaker. I won’t be trading it for an R90S. But still much desire an R90S.
 
tyelav13 said:
I will throw my opinion in on the SF(1) v Norton commando (750) and even triumph bonneville (650 t120) as I own one of each. The commando (1968) feels a little sharper low down but no way is it faster than the sf1. The Bonnie feels as light as a pushbike in this company (with the SF1 feeling by far the heaviest of the three. Once up to speed there is only one winner and it isn’t British. As much as I love all three the Laverda is a far superior motorbike in terms of quality and I would jump on it to go anywhere without worrying whether it would get me there and back. My Bonnie is surprisingly reliable (although I regularly have to tighten things up) and doesn’t leak oil. My commando is lovely to ride but I have still not ironed out the little niggles - and I will back in the garage to fix a few things again on Monday 😂.
Click to expand...
I'm glad you chimed in - I didn't want to be the ranter who says how fast his bike is/was, but when my SF1 was std it was definitely a fast bike. The guy I bought it from (original owner) got rid of his 850 Commando and said there was simply no comparison. I've come across many bikes over the years and the SF1 has surprised many. The guy in the vid? Who knows how well he's got that SF2 set up but I'll wager a well set up SF1 (and probably 2 and 3) would see off any Norton commando in a straight line sprint. I've blown away other SFs that were simply below par with setup - I swapped with a m ate on his SF2 once - my bike had had a fresh top end, rebore etc - he disappeared up the road on it - his was an absolute shize box.

Outright power doesn't automatically translate to fabulous acceleration from a standing start - sure, you need power, but power spread and especially fat torque through a wide range are going to give you results.
 
I will always LOVE the 69 650 Bonnie. Perfect balance, light weight with a lot of torque on the low end and can weave the curves - Providing you can get her started with them trickle Amal Carbs.

For a Kick Starter she actually sprained my ankle and through me over the bike a few times ;o)
 
Last edited:
Laverda SF said:
I will always LOVE the 69 650 Bonnie. Perfect balance, light weight with a lot of torque on the low end and can weave the curves - Providing you can get her started with them trickle Amal Carbs.

For a Kick Starter she actually sprained my ankle and through me over the bike a few times ;o)
Click to expand...
In all fairness my Bonnie (1972 oil in frame 650) is a first kick starter hot or cold. It is a lovely bike but it doesn’t take long to realise that it is not of the quality of the laverda sf1 (which is right up there as probably my favourite bike although I love the lemans 1 too). I have no axe to grind with any make of machine but I would say quality wise the commando falls between the two. I love riding all of them for what they are and have to agree with Ron that I just love big twins from this era. I personally think the SF range is a perfect classic bike to own as with a bit of maintenance they will take you as far as you want and at a decent high speed without dropping bits on the way, leaving oil on the road or worrying about reaching your destination (the lemans is the same).
 
Lots of interesting comments here. Cannot comment on the R90 - but a couple years popped into my local BMW dealer and took an R9T for a spin. Didn’t end well as I now own it - basic naked version. Fantastic day to day and distance ride - and, in my view, still retains some old time charm. Unlike many modern bikes there is a huge after market “scene” for personalising etc. which is good ( but not for the wallet). The oldies still have more “soul” though - and I have a reasonable chance of being able to fix them myself.
 
Rode 2 older BMWs and was not impressed, but that's not a huge sample. Rode a a Mark2 850 Norton to Adilade once, it had its points but was flogged out to hell so that wasn't a fair test either. I rode Bonnies for years and was shocked with my first serious Laverda ride, it was much faster and required serious effit to go around tight bends. I never worried about lines when cornering on the Bonnie, it could be adjusted anywhere you wanted it to go. My Laverda required exact placement and changing the line mid-corner was not easy, get it wrong and you would find yourself in big trouble. It took some time and a few mods to get it to wear I liked it but that was so satisfying, probably why I still have it 35 years later.
 
Vince said:
Rode 2 older BMWs and was not impressed, but that's not a huge sample. Rode a a Mark2 850 Norton to Adilade once, it had its points but was flogged out to hell so that wasn't a fair test either. I rode Bonnies for years and was shocked with my first serious Laverda ride, it was much faster and required serious effit to go around tight bends. I never worried about lines when cornering on the Bonnie, it could be adjusted anywhere you wanted it to go. My Laverda required exact placement and changing the line mid-corner was not easy, get it wrong and you would find yourself in big trouble. It took some time and a few mods to get it to wear I liked it but that was so satisfying, probably why I still have it 35 years later.
Click to expand...
Oh come on Bonnie pic now 😁
 
I don't think I have any. After my 1976 T140v was stolen, I bought a 64 Bonnie. It didn't stay standard long. I bought a 500 parallel twin Ducati and fitted its 35mm Maz frontend and rear wheel to my Bonnie, hated the conic hub front brake my 64 Bonnie had when I bought it and as I wanted more sprocket options than the 2 available std to Bonnies the Ducati rear wheel went on as well. It also got a pair of 32mm Dels grafted on as well plus a Rita Electronic Ignision. I got sick of muiltipal engine rebuilds attempting tooadding to upgrade power so it went to finance the 3c. A few years back I gave Marty my collection of AF spanners so I wouldn't be tempted to buy another one.
 
I part owned half a dozen airheads for a short time around 7 years ago. None of them particularly floated my boat, although the R1100S went a lot better than I was expecting. However, there is no way I would have swapped a Laverda for any of them, even my 350.
 
Rob7 said:
<snip> Unlike many modern bikes there is a huge after market “scene” for personalising etc. which is good ( but not for the wallet) <snip>
Click to expand...
Very true! When I worked in automotive marketing, Hardley Ableson was our role model (over some 25 years ago). Our analysts pointed out that there the amount of a new bikes purchase price was invested once again in accessories and personalization in the first two years of ownership.

Many have imitated this, BMW with its Mini is particularly noteworthy as far as cars are concerned, but of course most motorcycle manufacturers are not letting this business area go to waste either ...
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top