Out and About on your Laverda.No bull,Just photos

iis_iis said:
Hands up whom here have actually ridden a HD
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Both hands are up.
The answer is, “Every time I go home on leave.”
And other times when I can.
Full restoration on 1972 XLH almost complete.
Rolling restoration continues with the 1977 XLCR.
Just like my Laverda 3CL, they are both bikes that require one’s full attention when riding, very ‘involving’
Unlike my 3CL, neither has ‘good’ brakes but can be made better with modern materials and careful set up and proper maintenance but must be ridden in sympathy with the design and performance capabilities.
XLCR handles ok for such a long bike. Tree stump pulling torque, to re used an old and over used expression. Lots of fun.
The XLH has similar torque but less power as it has lower compression etc. etc. is surprisingly comfortable over longer distances.
 

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This is my XLX -1000 that I had when I was twenty two, I look fourteen. I took it part exchange at the shop, took it for a ride and didn’t like it but kept to see if it would grow on me…it didn’t. Huge jump between third & fourth, clonked into every gear , wasn’t remotely fast, brakes were barely up to it and soul less. After a year it jammed in second and I put an Andrew’s gear in it to fix it “ they all do that…”
I did like the riding position & wide bars but rest was shite. Then I bought my beloved Guzz😍 which I loved from the minute I saw one at Earl’s Court show…thirty years later it’s still better than a Harley!
 

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Exmoor beast said:
This is my XLX -1000 that I had when I was twenty two, I look fourteen. I took it part exchange at the shop, took it for a ride and didn’t like it but kept to see if it would grow on me…it didn’t. Huge jump between third & fourth, clonked into every gear , wasn’t remotely fast, brakes were barely up to it and soul less. After a year it jammed in second and I put an Andrew’s gear in it to fix it “ they all do that…”
I did like the riding position & wide bars but rest was shite. Then I bought my beloved Guzz😍 which I loved from the minute I saw one at Earl’s Court show…thirty years later it’s still better than a Harley!
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Correct me if I am wrong and with the concern that I'm taking this thread well away from what it should be about.
I believe Exmoor beast you are talking of a Moto Guzzi 1000S, my brother has one and when he first let me have ago, some thirty years ago, I was really pissed off. I'd spent considerable money time and effort to get my BMW running, handling and stopping well, and here straight out of the showroom was a bike that all that my BMW did but so much better.
Never forget that disappointment I felt at the time but also the joy of my brother's Moto Guzzi.
 
Charley said:
Correct me if I am wrong and with the concern that I'm taking this thread well away from what it should be about.
I believe Exmoor beast you are talking of a Moto Guzzi 1000S, my brother has one and when he first let me have ago, some thirty years ago, I was really pissed off. I'd spent considerable money time and effort to get my BMW running, handling and stopping well, and here straight out of the showroom was a bike that all that my BMW did but so much better.
Never forget that disappointment I felt at the time but also the joy of my brother's Moto Guzzi.
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I have been equally disappointed with a BSA Rocket gold star, a Dunstable Suzuki GT750, every Bimota I’ve worked on ( loads) and I’m afraid to say most BMWs- bear in mind I was service manager at biggest uk BMW dealership. The list of disappointment I may add werent actually purchased by me but I had high expectations that were dashed. I was British bike mad as a kid and they proved the single biggest let down of my life, utter shite. Still, I know people that love the bikes I hate …my Lambretta seems to incense some people and excite others!
 
Exmoor beast said:
I have been equally disappointed with a BSA Rocket gold star, a Dunstable Suzuki GT750, every Bimota I’ve worked on ( loads) and I’m afraid to say most BMWs- bear in mind I was service manager at biggest uk BMW dealership. The list of disappointment I may add werent actually purchased by me but I had high expectations that were dashed. I was British bike mad as a kid and they proved the single biggest let down of my life, utter shite. Still, I know people that love the bikes I hate …my Lambretta seems to incense some people and excite others!
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I used to work with/for J. Cray of BMW Airhead race tuning fame and we serviced other makes of bikes of BMW owning customers too. Both BMWs and other makes surprised me both good and bad. I’ve been enjoying British bikes for years. All modified. Some Yanks, some modifications and now my Laverda. No modifications required, just learning how to set it up correctly and learning how to ride it.
My Indian Enfield purchased in Chennai, the only new bike I’ve ever own, piece of shit on so many levels but so many fun memories I will struggle to part with it when it happens. Lots of modifications very few obvious to the uninitiated all necessary just to make it work.
 
Just to get back on topic, not that the above doesn’t make interesting reading, I had a day out on one of my 500 twins, stopping off on the way home to pay homage to my old mate, the late great Steve Hislop. I once entered a 350 championship race at Donington on a no longer owned 350 Laverda. Steve won the race that day and, unsurprising, in the process lapped me twice on his pukka 350 race bike. (Obviously, if i’d had the V3 350 Lesmo it would have been a different matter...😜)
 

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Karmann Ghia? Type 3 was manufactured in Wolfsburg, not Osnabrück.
Twin carb engine often had issues starting if the engine was still hot after a drive.
Called "Eselsohren Käfer" (Donkey Ear VW Bug) in Germany back in the day.
Don't miss them....
 
Alzero said:
Type 3 Squareback VW
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1600 TL... Traurige Lösung/Sad solution.

Guess they were OK for their time. Thoughtlessly thrown in the crusher when their time was up, now quite sought after. As with many mass-produced cars of the 60s-70s. Iron oxide has ensured there's not many left.

piet
 
Gerald said:
Don't miss them....
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Completely agree, Gerald! The cars of our youth – what bad designs and concepts were there back then! Take the old Volkswagens as an example: low performance, poor chassis, and exorbitantly high fuel consumption. The successor, the 411, was a complete flop; the K70 came with a water-cooled NSU TT engine, but already as a front-engine/drive concept.

I read somewhere that Volkswagen then adopted Audi's designs, such as the A50 (Polo), A80 (Passat), etc. The Golf Mk1 was also derived from them. It was a paradigm shift at Volkswagen, but without Audi, Volkswagen would have gone bankrupt back then.

Today, everything is more standardized; different concepts are practically nonexistent among mass manufacturers anymore. But the cars are also more uniform ...
 
I once drove a Station Wagon version for a day; it was a fun thing. Easy to spin its wheels in 1st gear, 850 definitely not a 1200.
 
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