Your Favourite Honda ;o)

Always appreciated the Honda marque. In general, japanese bikes are very dangerous. If cars would have had similar problems with their driving characteristics, they would be forbidden by law.

My first motorcycle I ever had was a CB125T 1979. I was 13 years old when I bought it. Bought it in parts and sold it in parts.
A friend asked me to repair his Suzuki GT125 1975. After it started to work, he asked would I buy it for 500 euros.
There was no need to build the Honda after I bought the Suzuki.

Sometimes I still regret I sold the Honda. Would have been a lot of fun on short distances. I sold both of the Japanese bikes.
Nowadays I have just European motorcycles and never sell any of them. Problem solved forever. :)
 
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Laverdas were not hyper expensive. More than standard Oriental stuff but so far superior in ride experience that attracted us. Prices were comparable to Guzzi, Ducati and even cheaper than BMW and the latter two of them had people updating all the time and still do today with their expensive offerings. A bit more power and tech etc every year making the previous model virtually a gutless shitheap.
 
For what market area? For Finland they almost were hyper expensive (as were the spare parts) as used to be the other named brands. Not nowadays or the last ones, of couse. Finland was notably poor before the Nokia era, very steep progressive income taxation, all new vehicles had add 128% tax., etc.
A normal practice was that bottom plates of many passenger cars were welded from the very front to the very rear, like a patchwork quilt. I'm a young man, but have even done it many times myself. When I go to motorcycle events, some older people come to tell me that they wanted a Laverda, but never had money to buy one (back then).
 
If I could afford a Laverda, 2nd hand but not very old, I think they were not expensive (in Australia). I probably paid less for my 19,000 bile 2 yo SF1 than a new CB750. I've still got that bike. No comparison.
 
Tippie said:
Laverdas were not hyper expensive. More than standard Oriental stuff but so far superior in ride experience that attracted us. Prices were comparable to Guzzi, Ducati and even cheaper than BMW and the latter two of them had people updating all the time and still do today with their expensive offerings. A bit more power and tech etc every year making the previous model virtually a gutless shitheap.
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I paid 50 % more for my 3CL/Jota than a Z1000 would have cost.
I find that hyper expensive. I took out a student loan to purchase it.
Paul
 
Paul Marx said:
I paid 50 % more for my 3CL/Jota than a Z1000 would have cost.
I find that hyper expensive. I took out a student loan to purchase it.
Paul
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How much was an MV Augusta of similar capacity? As if Laverda could ever offer a 3CL/Jota for the same price as a Kwaka Z! For a small scale manufacturer, they weren't expensive - exclusive, maybe. You got what you paid for.
 
piranha-bro2 said:
How much was an MV Augusta of similar capacity? As if Laverda could ever offer a 3CL/Jota for the same price as a Kwaka Z! For a small scale manufacturer, they weren't expensive - exclusive, maybe. You got what you paid for.
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MV isn't comparable and Count Agusta ( no u ) never said that people would buy a new MV every 3 years to keep the spares side of things afloat.
Instead of consolidating a niche like Guzzi, Laverda wanted to play with the mass producers, where price is a determining factor.
They failed and sank.

As for getting what you paid for, you paid for amateur importers with a limited dealer network and a factory that couldn't keep up with the spares demand. And that in France, where Breganze is a lot nearer than Hamamatsu.
Paul
 
MotoJouni said:
When I go to motorcycle events, some older people come to tell me that they wanted a Laverda, but never had money to buy one (back then).
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That one got old, for me, a long time ago.
When I bought mine, the retail price was £2,200. Working as a mechanic, on £2,000 a year, in a motorcycle dealership, I got a trade price, but the truth stands; if you want something, you find the money.
If you don't buy it, there was something else you wanted more.

I worked with a chippie (carpenter) who, in his twenties, ran an Aston Martin DBS.
Still lived with his parents, though.
Priorities, I guess.
 
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I’ve always tended to view Hondas as solid/reliable bikes rather than exciting. For example, my wife’s Honda Melody wasn’t particularly exciting, even when I used to ride it off road.
However, I did often wonder what the RVF would have been like to ride compared to my OW01.
 
New SF2 was the exact same price as a Ducati 750 Sport and about 40% more than a CB750. We were lucky in '70s Australia with excellent support. But you are correct Paul, we were idiots buying them, even more so for keeping them. I cannot understand your negativity towards Laverda.
 
Tippie said:
New SF2 was the exact same price as a Ducati 750 Sport and about 40% more than a CB750. We were lucky in '70s Australia with excellent support. But you are correct Paul, we were idiots buying them, even more so for keeping them. I cannot understand your negativity towards Laverda.
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I love my Laverda and have done so for decades.
I ride them a lot.
I cannot understand your incapacity to see what's staring you in the face concerning the demise of Moto Laverda due to bad governance which has nothing to do with how one can enjoy the motorcycles.
I do however understand all too well why you feel reassured when criticising others.
Paul
 
In Finland a new 750 GT was double the price than a new CB750, triples far more expensive, no-one ordered even a single triple for years. Two triples were imported in late 1970's, all others in 1980's. Ducatis were 350cc and 450cc singles, mostly non-desmo. Probably just one two-cylindered Ducati was imported to the whole country in 1970's, the others are all later. A new VW beetle had a little bit higher price than the CB750. Many people in Finland think that most British motorcycle brands are just single cylindered motorcycles. The truth is that the twins and other were almost never imported, because they were too expensive.
 
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My SF2 brand new in 1974 was $1950
The 750 sports ducati was $1900. The GT Ducati was $1600
CB 750 Honda was $1350. Kawasaki was around $1600
Plan was to trade my 250 desmo in for the GT but the only Ducati dealer at that time had run out of GT stock and I wasn't interested in the sports.
There were 2 SF2s in the window of a newly crowned Laverda dealer and they were there for along time. Laverdas were unheard of in Perth back then. As I didn't want to wait the 4 months for the next shipment of GTs I decided to buy the Laverda as they also offered me a good trade in for the 250 where as the Ducati dealer wasn't interested in my 250.
I was a 3rd year apprentice earning about $60 bucks a week so had to buy it on finance over 3 years. That was alot of money back then.
So glad I brought the Laverda over the GT and was the start of a 51year passion.
I brought the first new Laverda sold in WA. It was rare as.
 
".....favourite Honda" ? - ok, this has to be up there. Been used and abused for nearly 30 years and still sounds the nicest and quietest in the neighbourhood. Black motor made in Japan 5hp so was also a mulcher using a plug instead of catcher which makes it work even harder. (Worth noting that here in the subtropics we use these things year round and covers some ground)
Oh yeh, the pressure washer in the back ground also has a Honda motor. Pretty hard to beat the quality of a Honda stationary engine........;);)
20251002_094932.jpg
 
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Honda C50 `s ...... BSA Bantams ....... Excelsior Consorts ....... Post WW2 there was a NEED for these things ...... austerity , petrol rationing and so on .......... Until things began to improve that is , and the cheap car kicked the cheap motorcycle into touch .

In Italy Laverda got in on the act of supplying small motorcycles , because people NEEDED cheap transport ......... Until the Fiat 500 came along and spoilt this cosy state of affairs ......... although the Italian climate meant the small motorcycle or scooter could still be marketed alongside the Fiat as a fun / youthful / fashionable item .... for a while at least ........ Not so in the UK , where the " weather " had riders heading for the warmth and comfort of the Ford Anglia / Morris Minor in their droves , now that they were able to afford it .......... It`s not so easy being fun or fashionable with water dripping off the end of your nose ......

The problem as far as Laverda ( and others ) was concerned is that people no longer needed their products ....... so they had to turn their attention to marketing items that people might WANT ........ so the solid , dependable base of providing a product which people need , is replaced by the fickle , uncertain model of providing a product which a much smaller number of people MIGHT want .......

No one NEEDS an SF2 , 3C , SFC Electronica ........ A very small number of people might WANT one , but is that any sort of basis or foundation for a viable , profitable enterprise for a small basically stand alone company ?

Combines went to Fiat Agri ........ Only Massimo re-invested capital into Moto Laverda out of all the family members .....

MV Agusta had helicopters . BSA had guns / tanks / steel works / taxis / cars and God knows what else .......
....... Up to date and Triumph has house building , Ducati has Volkswagen , and so on ........

So as soon as Laverda were forced to move away from providing cheap transport within Italy , they were doomed ........
alongside many others of course ....... any number of British and Italian companies , large and small , fell by the wayside ........
Ducati only managed to survive by the skin of it`s teeth ....... Morini , Benelli , Garelli , Gilera all gone , or merely a name on a factory wall in China ......


Meanwhile Japan , India , and China continue to prosper ....... a massive home market demand for their products means they now have the capacity to produce high quality motorcycles in large volume ....... not so much motorcycles that people might need , but much more importantly , motorcycles that people might want .


So ........ What is the point of all this bollocks I`ve been going on about for the last five minutes , you may ask ?

Well , it`s this ......

I would suggest that Massimo Laverda`s favourite Honda was the CB72 / 77 Hawk ..........

He even went to the trouble of making a motorcycle that looks like it .......

The only problem was , from a business point of view , is that Honda got there first ........



BTW ..... I`ve just remembered .......

Regarding the possibility of Laverda ever producing a motorcycle in sufficient numbers for it to be marketed at a competitive price ........

Piero was once was discussing that wooden mock-up dohc water cooled four engine that was being touted as a possible basis for a mid-eighties Laverda .....

He said that the idea was abandoned because in his words .....

" Not only would it be a copy of the Yamaha FZ750 ..... " ( which it did resemble ..... he said something to the effect that when you aim for something , you follow the same path ... ) ...... " It would also be a more expensive and inferior copy ........ " ............

Says it all , really .............
 
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My list of Honda made stuff:

1974 CT70 k3
1982 Honda HRA21 lawn mower ( bought new)
1986 Honda pressure washer
1989 Honda RC30 (VFR750R)
2008 Honda XR650L

Reliability has been the first word to describe these things. It’s kinda why you go with a Honda around d these parts. This summer season. Ow rolling into fall, you see all the lawn and shrub and maintenance companies trimming and clearing for the season en mass. 90% Honda equipment. They can’t afford to play around. Time is money.
The bike in this group that I can well and truly say I run very hard is the XR650. It simply doesn’t care. Last July I’d was commuting home on the highway, massive crash, very slow traffic, all the cops were there,,,it’s 36C, hot,,,as all the commuters passed the crash it was a race at high speed with no worry about a ticket. Cars passing me at 200kms hr +. So I rolled into it, floored, pinned , top speed, 155km/hr,,,for 45 minutes straight. Rolled into the driveway, and the things just idles, didn’t care, just putters along up the driveway. Started it up 5 minutes later, sat calmly idling. Not many machines you can do that to without some kind of mechanical failure.
 
Steve G. said:
My list of Honda made stuff:

1974 CT70 k3
1982 Honda HRA21 lawn mower ( bought new)
1986 Honda pressure washer
1989 Honda RC30 (VFR750R)
2008 Honda XR650L

Reliability has been the first word to describe these things. It’s kinda why you go with a Honda around d these parts. This summer season. Ow rolling into fall, you see all the lawn and shrub and maintenance companies trimming and clearing for the season en mass. 90% Honda equipment. They can’t afford to play around. Time is money.
The bike in this group that I can well and truly say I run very hard is the XR650. It simply doesn’t care. Last July I’d was commuting home on the highway, massive crash, very slow traffic, all the cops were there,,,it’s 36C, hot,,,as all the commuters passed the crash it was a race at high speed with no worry about a ticket. Cars passing me at 200kms hr +. So I rolled into it, floored, pinned , top speed, 155km/hr,,,for 45 minutes straight. Rolled into the driveway, and the things just idles, didn’t care, just putters along up the driveway. Started it up 5 minutes later, sat calmly idling. Not many machines you can do that to without some kind of mechanical failure.
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That’s because “they are trying to sell a lot and doing whatever is necessary” to do that. But that lawnmower and pressure washer don’t have soul and character do they?
 
Alzero said:
That’s because “they are trying to sell a lot and doing whatever is necessary” to do that. But that lawnmower and pressure washer don’t have soul and character do they?
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I certainly did not buy the lawn mower for ‘soul or character’. I wanted it to run. It’s a one pull start after 43 years of continuous use, I believe I chose very wisely. When I’m in the middle of Baja Mexico on the ‘red pig’, I think I chose wisely.
 
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