75th Anniversary July 2024

[hooksey]

One of the stand out demonstrations of the Breganze's participation in the event was the number of shops displaying Laverda items.
Here are some images for those unlucky enough not to have been there.
Photo's courtesy of Moto Club Laverda Breganze

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Nice Mr Sock, no doubt the locals have some connection from the past that was Laverda related. Now moved on and trying their hand at other ventures! Bravo

 

[Tippie]

Nice Mr Sock, no doubt the locals have some connection from the past that was Laverda related. Now moved on and trying their hand at other ventures! Bravo

The whole extended area. We stopped for food in Bolzano and a guy at a neighbouring table asked what bikes we were on. He was into bikes as he had come about as a result of his Italian mother's road trip on a Ducati to Marokko where she met his father and took him home to Italy as a souvenir. "Laverda" he exclaimed, "nobody knows about those bikes, my grandfather worked at the factory for 19 years!"

 

[Schurminater]

I have broken down just south of TAIO on the SS43 on the road to Trento. The battery is dead. While I wait for recovery I spoke to Ged at GCS. He suggested the regulator rectifier is knackered. The question to the Forum is, if I can get thr bike to Breganze, will I be able to find s new reg/rec and get it fitted, and a new battery if needed? I have no idea what to expect there. Thanks.

Anyone know the outcome of this?.......would be nice to know if repairs were made and a safe journey home was had.

 

[The Sock]

Anyone know the outcome of this?.......would be nice to know if repairs were made and a safe journey home was had.

Jo's post #388 (above)

"Unfortunately, Luigi’s Jota broke down shortly after our lunch break behind Cles. As there seemed no way to fix the issue at the side of the road we decided to continue with the remaining four.

Turned out later, that it was the battery (broken cell). After his woes with numerous taxi transfers, he could continue later and made it safely home to the UK eventually."

 

[LJ-2]

Just following on from shop front displays, glad the tradition is kept up, from the 70TH.

 

[martymoose]

Had a meeting with the pope this morning to end our Italian holiday, well, us and a couple of thousand others. The pope has stuff.. some inherited. Some stolen. Some given back. Stuff. Lots. Oh and some bloke did a bang up job of painting the ceiling. See you soon from the other side of the world.

 

[martymoose]

PS. Pantheon impressed me, hell of a building, Tony the concreter did an outstanding job

 

[chrisk]

Hi Haggis,
which route did you take from Breganze to the Austrian border, or rather, which passes did you drive over on this route?

After the Grossglockner and Königssee you were far east in Germanski, but then you found yourself 500km west in the Black Forest. I would be interested to know what all was on your bucket list? Just my curiosity as a passionate route planner …


Cheers,
Jo

Speaking of the Black Forest, did anyone run into the Black Forest Man from the 70th?

 

[LDC420]

Anyone know the outcome of this?.......would be nice to know if repairs were made and a safe journey home was had.

The Sock (thanks) tells part of the story but sadly not all. I made it home, as he says, but it wasn't quite so simple. The bike broke down at Calais. Flat battery again after two days on the road from Breganze. I was mystified. Luckily I was at Eurotunnel so they jump started me so that I vould board, then again on the English side so I could get home. There had been no signs of problems, but then I worked it out. For the last 40kms the sky had darkened and the rain poured so I put the lights on. That killed the battery. When I got home the battery charged perfectly and fully overnight so I fitted a new reg/rec and all seemed okay though, bavk in Italy, I have not had time for an extensive test. I am confident, though. Thankx for your interest.

 

[Haggis]

All the best! Good luck!

 

[pf1]

Speaking of the Black Forest, did anyone run into the Black Forest Man from the 70th?

They don't know what they missed

 

[chrisk]

They don't know what they missed

What a classic man

 

[ozijotati]

Well I’m finally home, it’s freezing here. Walked out to get the paper and a lovely frost on the ground, still in Breganze mode as had the thongs on.What a great time I’ve had, being shown some amazing WW1 war memorials up in the mountains and a Cold War nuclear base. Was blessed to have old mate Serge to show us these sites and give us a bit of the history of the battles that were fought in the mountains.

The rally was a hoot and catching up with cold friends and making new ones. Being there so long I get to see and do some different things and get invited to for dinner with various locals which is great. Got invited to the volunteers dinner and that was a great night, the guys and girls are very accommodating of an Aussie who can only order coffee and beer in Italian Missed out on catching up with a few people as it was so busy, disappointed that I missed out on catching up with Marnix as he was pre busy.Ah well next time
Tom

 

[The Sock]

Since The ILOC Magazine 'La Vera Vista', with the second instalment of my Breganze '24 article, is out now, I'll put the first up here. Second in about a week.


Breganze ’24, 75th Anniversary Celebrations



Many, many years ago, as Public Relations Officer for ILOC, I got used to chatting to various motorcycle magazine editors. During one of these with Dave Calderwood, Editor of ‘Bike Magazine’ I was railing about the shallow nature of most “Road Tests”. In many cases the writer had spent little more than an hour or two with the motorcycle and knew little about it. A case in point, Charlie Deane of ‘Motorcycle Mechanics’ reviewed a Laverda triple and was unimpressed by the performance, although he did admit to “taking it into the red on one or two occasions”. Ie. Above 6,500RPM where it’s beginning to get into its stride.

I suggested that to truly be able to write an accurate description of a Laverda, he should ride it, for an extended period, with experienced Owner/Riders. Thus the (in)famous ‘Hic, Mines A Triple’ article was born. Dave, unfortunately, broke his leg a couple of weeks before our 28th June, ‘80 departure date, the late Jim Lindsay filling the role. The rest, as they say, is history.

I couldn’t help thinking of that trip as I made my preparations for my own journey back to Breganze on 1st July, ’24.

Since the interminable rain, which seems to have been falling since last August, was not something I particularly wanted to make my way in, I kept an eye on the weather radar and planned my ride to stay in the dry.

Deciding, for my first time, to try Le Shuttle I had paid the exorbitant rate for their ‘Flexiplus’ ticket, as I wanted to be able to turn up and go. My first impressions were not favourable, experiencing nothing which could readily be called customer service but, at least, they got me across the Channel in reasonable time so that I could wait while every tin box passenger had been allowed to form a minor traffic jam before I could exit the carriage.


Le Shuttle’s luxurious motorcycle accommodation

Once I had managed to get past the throng, I was able to get on with getting on.

The plan was to get out of France ASAP, I’d been advised that it now was very unfriendly to those who might, on the odd occasion, fracture a speed limit. Even before I made Belgium something, looked like a bollard on the side of the road flashed at me, what it was I have no idea but, since I was side on to it, I couldn’t see any prosecutorial risk and carried on my merry way.

Once I was in Belgium I could get on with getting on. I saw quite a few motorcycles, mainly “adventure bikes”, BMWs mostly. After some miles, I spotted three ahead which, somehow, looked familiar in outline. Catching up, it proved to be the Staines Massive: Steve, Kevin and Tommy on a prial of RGSs. We carried on, in convoy, for some miles before taking a coffee break. They had set off from Blighty on Sunday and experienced somewhat unpleasant weather and were surprised, and perhaps a little envious to discover I had set off earlier that morning and had remained dry.
The Staines Massive: Steve, Kevin and Tommy’s RGSs while we ate lunch.





It’s funny the home comforts that one misses when abroad. Nowadays, when petrol stations seem far less numerous than they were when my bike was new, I rather like the UK Motorway signs that inform the proximity of a number of Services, allowing planning of refuelling. There seemed little consistency in distances between fuel stations over there and no indication of when the next one would appear, which gave me “fuel anxiety”: that horrible feeling, once the taps have gone on to ‘Reserve’, when the miles rack up and there is no sign of a fuel station. As a fuel station hove into view, I was a little far back to be able to get in front and signal my intent in time. Following signs for the next one led us on a convoluted route to a service station on the wrong side (northbound) of the Autobahn.

After topping off, we had a light lunch. Steve called it right. We should have tried to retrace our route in, back out to the Southbound side of the Autobahn, but my TomTom was making it look easier heading North and looping back.

The best laid plans! After a magical mystery tour, when finally on the southbound side, we had lost Steve and Tommy, the remaining RGS then tried to shed its mirror, forcing Kevin to stop, leaving me back solo.

Johannes, one of the Laverda Forum Members, had invited me to join him and a few Laverda Freunde, in Längenfeld, on the Austrian side of the Timmelsjoch Pass at Hotel & Restaurant Zum Hirschen on the Wednesday evening, riding with them over to Breganze on the Thursday.

Being old enough to have experienced UK hoteliers failing to find a reservation when one had the temerity to arrive on a motorcycle and claiming they were full, you can Imagine how surprised I was when I looked up the hotel’s website and was greeted by this:

“Biker stop needed?!
18.05.2024 - 03.11.2024

The tank is getting emptier, the legs more tired, the sky darker...
Which motorcyclist or cyclist hasn't experienced this?
No problem!

Just take a short breather at the Hotel Zum Hirschen and enjoy our exclusive 15% discount on your room booking!

Including our Hotel Zum Hirschen pampering breakfast buffet and daily free admission to the Aqua Dome Therme Längenfeld from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm (small surcharge on the day ticket) or from 6:30 pm until closing time.
(Applies on the day of arrival, but not on the day of departure)

See you soon!
Until then, we wish you a safe and pleasant trip to Zum Hirschen in Längenfeld!


Any questions?
Just send us an email or give us a call for detailed information.
We are always here for you!


Let us know your vacation wishes and we will be happy to make you a detailed offer.

Booking hotline: +43 (0)5253 5201”



How could I refuse?

I decided to get there on Day 2 and take a rest day in the Spa, so I pressed on, completing 512 miles on my first day.Leaving an easy 250 mile ride to Längenfeld for Tuesday. Arriving at lunchtime and checking in, I was told that the hotel had a Sauna and Steam Room, normally open from 15:30-21:30 but, since she knew I was coming, they were already on. I was really beginning to love this hotel. Location was great, too.


Hotel Zum Hirschen car park

After a relaxing steam bath, I decided to pop up to the new Timmelsjoch Motorcycle Museum. Passing 2,000 metres, the temperature had dropped sufficiently for me to question my decision to ride up there in my T-shirt. Once stopped, however, the sun was plenty strong enough to make me glad not to have to hump a leather jacket around.

The Museum has an impressive collection, well displayed in a lovely building but, for me, motorcycles were built to be ridden, not to sit, lifeless, in a building and be gawped at. One strong point of gratitude, though, I had not realised how astonishingly ugly the “modern” Brough Superior was. I would have taken a picture but didn’t want to risk cracking the lens on my iPhone.

Upon returning to the hotel, I heard the unmistakeable sound of a 120° Triple, which turned out to be Manfred, one of Johannes buddies, looking for the hotel on his very crisp sounding SFC1000

 

[The Sock]

Manfred’s breathed-on SFC 1000



After a very enjoyable rest day, the others arrived from Germany and Luigi from the UK, on his Jota, who had seen my postings on Facebook, joined us. A few beers and a good dinner were duly consumed.

Thursday morning dawned, bright and sunny as we assembled for departure. Although there is a toll for the Pass, I heartily recommend it. Not too challenging, it’s perfect Laverda territory and, despite the harsh winter weather it suffers, its surface recalls a race circuit rather than any major road surface in the UK in the post-covid, pothole fest we have to suffer at home.


By the Timmelsjoch summit.


The Italian (Tyrolean) side.

Lower down on the Italian side, SE of Meran around Bagni di Mezzo on our approach to the Hofmahdjoch/Passo Castrin.



To be continued,...

 

[Jo]

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Lower down on the Italian side.



To be continued,...

The last picture was taken SE of Meran around Bagni di Mezzo on our approach to the Hofmahdjoch/Passo Castrin, an area with very low traffic and beautiful scenery. Sorry for being such a nitpicker …

 

[The Sock]

The last picture was taken SE of Meran around Bagni di Mezzo on our approach to the Hofmahdjoch/Passo Castrin, an area with very low traffic and beautiful scenery. Sorry for being such a nitpicker …

Now corrected, Jo.

 

[The Sock]

Breganze '24 Part 2​

Volker, travelling with a van, offered to take our luggage, to lighten the load. Luigi, who had a rucksack and had been suffering from a pain in the back, accepted. I, although not superstitious, declined.

As we made our way over the Alps, after paying a small toll, were treated to fabulous scenery, excellent roads and in keeping with my record, so far, dry, sunny weather. I was glad that I had taken Jo’s advice and put on my Laverda polo neck, on top of my T-shirt, as it was a little chilly going over the 8,230 ft. summit. My old Met Instructor had drummed the -2°C per 1,000 ft elevation into me and it certainly wasn’t far off, as we crested with sizeable drifts of blown snow lining the road.

All too soon, we were descending into the Tyrolean region of Italy, the temperature rising as we descended.

Jo plans his routes meticulously and saw us stopping in St. Leonhard for a very welcome coffee, while locals and passing bikers could enjoy the sight of several Laverdas. It also gave me a chance to shed my polo neck back into the saddlebags.


Refreshed, we pressed on through stunning scenery and swooping roads, real Laverda country. Stopping for lunch in Cles , we then topped off with petrol for the final leg to Breganze. Shortly afterwards, we realised that we were one short on the numbers, Luigi was missing.

Manfred went back up the road to see what had occurred and found Luigi, stopped by a failed battery. Fortunately, his breakdown cover quickly dispatched a local auto electrician to diagnose and, hopefully, fix the problem. The repair guy wanted to try charging the battery overnight, to confirm it had failed, so we had to carry on in ‘missing man’ formation. Fortunately, Luigi made it to Breganze, and his Jota complete with new battery, joined him there, later.

Meanwhile, Jo, Manfred and the rest of us carried on towards our destination. Well sort of, Jo had planned us a little detour up the old military road to the Kaiserjägersteig , by the Strada del Menador south of Caldonazzo. The route up betrayed the road’s military origins: the width and steepness set me up very nicely for Saturday’s odyssey up to the Asiagio Plateau, (More on which, later).

As we rode, my TomTom kept urging me to turn around, we were heading away from Breganze. Had the road been wide enough, I might well have done, but the views were spectacular.


(Picture courtesy of Johannes Bol)
Once over the top, however, the road had been widened and resurfaced and was an absolute treat to ride. My spirits raised by miles of glorious bend-swinging, I, finally, arrived at my accommodation. The Casa di Campagna Costello, in Sarcedo, a mere 3 km. from the Piazza Giuseppe Mazzini, Breganze’s centre of festivities.

The heat, in the sunshine, had begun to gently cook me in black leather, but with the aircon on full and a cold shower later, I was ready to head into the Bar Centrale for a delicious cold beer. On the way, I passed the old Laverda factory.



I had arrived! For the third time I had brought my Triple back to its place of birth.


Although the official festivities started on the Friday, there were already a fair number there, including fourteen Australians, who had come halfway around the world to take part. It was a treat to put faces to names of many other Members of the Laverda Forum. It was heartwarming to see the lengths the town had gone to to support the Anniversary. Practically every shop had some Laverda item in the shop window, kindly loaned by the Museo Laverda.
With darkness falling, it was time to head for bed, for tomorrow the 75th Anniversary Celebrations would commence.

The sun rose on another beautiful day and, heartened by a delicious breakfast, I rode into town for registration, looking forward to the weekend’s activities.



Pretty much, every Laverda model was represented among the throng. Some standard, many modified and a few extensively reworked. While not to everyone’s taste, I was struck my Marc Weytens’ SF750. It boasted many clever touches and seemed like a good use of an SF that was beyond restoration to original. I imagine The Bike Shed crowd would take it to their hearts.



With Magura hydraulic clutch and front brake operation, front and rear long travel suspension and a very neat exhaust system, routed inside the rear mudguard, exiting downward to soften the noise footprint, it was a purposeful looking evocation of the marque.


Piero joined us for pizza in the evening and, after remarking on my first visit, when he took the ‘Hic Mob’ out for lunch, he was keen to see mine and insisted on taking photos of Giovanni and me with the bike with his own camera. Giovanni then kindly took a photograph of Piero and me, with mine.

Saturday’s rideout to the Asagio Plateau was wonderful, riding with so many other Laverdas. The pace, necessarily, was somewhat slower than my usual, however, and following a Lesmo reminded me of the smell of two-strokes and how quickly you realise it doesn’t compete well with Castrol R. Moving up the queue, resolved that issue.

I couldn’t help but be impressed by the compliance of the local car drivers to the Marshall’s instructions to halt while the cavalcade passed and only saw one reacting the way I would expect the average Brit driver to behave. More Marshalls soon joined and made his compliance inevitable.

After a break for refreshments, we continued our journey.


The route up to the plateau was liberally sprinkled with hairpins. My practice on by the Strada del Menador had set me up nicely, but I was a little surprised to see that several riders had no sense of the line to take through one.

As we approached the summit, the road surface quality deteriorated significantly, towards gravel and potholes. My recent years’ experience of riding UK roads made me feel at home. I did feel sorry for the SFC750 riders but laughed, in my helmet, when Marc Weytens floated like a cloud past everyone on his SF Special.

After lunch we made our separate ways back to Breganze. Unfortunately, while leading, I took a wrong turn and, yet again, led the Staines Massive, among others, up a narrow and deteriorating goat path before, with some difficulty, turning round and once more picking up the correct route. Freed of the constraint of the marshalled convoy we had come with, we got stuck into riding with some vigour down the mountain. Several left or rights(?) later, the number had reduced to a few and the pace grew higher. Finally, somewhere near Bassano del Grappa, it was down to me and Paul Haynes (Haggis).


Paul deserves some sort of award for his determination and persistence getting to Breganze. His SF was suffering from gearbox issues, so he planned to take the Jota. In a pre-trip service, he discovered that one of the exhaust clearances had closed up. After some miles of shakedown riding, the “I’ll just check” bug forced the cam cover off again. Damn thing had closed again! Undeterred, he regretfully reverted to his 2nd reserve, a Honda Blackbird. Bad luck, like buses, tends to arrive in twos or threes. Sure enough, twenty minutes short of the ferry port, the Blackbird turned up its toes!

Many might have thrown in the towel at that point. Paul is made of sterner stuff. Returning home, next day, with the recovery truck, his wonderful wife offered her Suzuki V-Strom as an option. How many out there would’ve offered their bike to this ‘Jonah’ impersonator? I’m pleased to report that he made it, and camped, too!

We finally tumbled back into the Bar Centrale for a refreshing cold brew. Paul had particularly enjoyed the sound issuing from mine, each time I wound it on. Cunning plans are afoot to try to get some future group riding in, in the manner that the Australian Laverda Riders do so well.

Speaking of Australians, it was impressive to see how many of them had come to share in the Celebrations. They were, without exception, an extremely affable bunch and I spent a fair amount of my time there in their very enjoyable company.

Saturday’s Dinner was excellent and an object lesson that there is no reason to sound a dinner gong when the opportunity to hear two immaculate SFC 750s in harmony is available.

Sunday came around all too soon and despite the Prizegiving, speeches and other things still to come , I could not help but feel that this marvellous occasion was drawing towards its close.

 

[The Sock]

Still much more fun was had and many, many laughs. It’s a special thing: This Laverda community..

Too soon, it was Monday morning and I was heading back for Blighty. Taking the Brenner pass, all ran smoothly until the centre Dell’Orto spat a bit of its slide. It’s a known issue on smooth-bored carbs, so I was carrying a spare.

Took about 25 minutes to change and I was on my way. Stopped in the same hotel in Sinsheim as on the way down.

Up early on Tuesday morning and onwards to ‘Le Sh*thole’. After the unfailing pleasantness of the Europeans, it’s a bit of a letdown when faced with the grim dullness of UK Customs and Immigration staff, perhaps that’s why some prefer to take a rubber dinghy across. The service on one is, probably, considerably more gracious than on the train!


The entire 2,100 mile trip had remained dry, at least until within twenty miles from home, when it rained with a vengeance.

I can’t sum it up any better than the late Jim Lindsay did all those years ago:

“A great trip with the best people anyone could ask for... I wouldn’t have missed it for all the Hondas in Japan.”

 

[hooksey]

View attachment 93684

Still much more fun was had and many, many laughs. It’s a special thing: This Laverda community..

Too soon, it was Monday morning and I was heading back for Blighty. Taking the Brenner pass, all ran smoothly until the centre Dell’Orto spat a bit of its slide. It’s a known issue on smooth-bored carbs, so I was carrying a spare.

Took about 25 minutes to change and I was on my way. Stopped in the same hotel in Sinsheim as on the way down.

Up early on Tuesday morning and onwards to ‘Le Sh*thole’. After the unfailing pleasantness of the Europeans, it’s a bit of a letdown when faced with the grim dullness of UK Customs and Immigration staff, perhaps that’s why some prefer to take a rubber dinghy across. The service on one is, probably, considerably more gracious than on the train!
View attachment 93686View attachment 93687View attachment 93688

The entire 2,100 mile trip had remained dry, at least until within twenty miles from home, when it rained with a vengeance.

I can’t sum it up any better than the late Jim Lindsay did all those years ago:

“A great trip with the best people anyone could ask for... I wouldn’t have missed it for all the Hondas in Japan.”

Bravo Mr Sock.......your presence has been mentioned on Aussie shores back in Vic. Seems the Aussies took to you also.