its a good thing you mentioned that Andy
us Laverda owners are very lucky here in the UK that there have always been quite a few outlets that operate with low overheads,
Toddy started out (on his own) operating from a garage at the bottom of his girlfriends garden, before that he was involved with a shiny shop, I think as director, but not full on owner (Morphy's) and then he had his own low overhead (sort of) basement shop workshop in croydon,when i first saw that, and the work he had set himself to get it up and running, I thought it would kill him, and his business. after selling Motodd and a short break he then traded from a garage and outbuildings from his house in Whytleafe, and then for a bit more near Lincoln.
Alan Bell (Miura) has traded from home for many years after he too closed his "shop" on the outskirts of London (Hayes)
Ralphy boy (Motalia) trades from home with workshops that stand alone in his rear garden.Which probably means he owns it,(which is none of my my business)The one he had before that was also a "trade from home" operation where he sold Velocette parts and then stumbled upon Laverda
Then there was the sadly now deceased, Mike Waugh, who specialised in the 500's again trading from home, and also doing a full days (well nights) work elswhere
Cant leave out Steve Winterton, who tends to move premises every now and then, but all of them low budget type places, more to our benefit than to his.
We did at one time have others such as the Clarke brothers from Dunstable again tradeing from the garage in the back garden, and to an extent the very low cost used parts that come from the brothers grim (Kneeshaws)
Richard Slater has traded for years (more than 40) from proper premises, and with a glass shop front, albeit a little out in the country, but a major part of what they do is rent out space to other users, in the past this has included 3 cross motorcycles and Motex ( a Harley Dealer) but there are varous business that have arrived and departed in the past, rangeing from a fabricator welder, sheet metal worker, scaffolding erector,electricians, builder and even (on a small scale) an Egli licensed frame builder.All of them help Slaters keep on doing what we want them do do
Recently we have been offerred the services of someone with whom I have every faith in, Keith Nairn,he has now opened industrial premises in Glasgow, but offers cheap bike transport from anywhere in the Uk, he also has bought the complete inventory of the now retired Phil Todd, I wish him well , and I think his qulaity of work will do it for him, he does what he says he will.
We do need to thank them all, because without them we are stuffed,if it wasnt for the fact that they wanted to do it, we would be dead and burried.I have probably had "run ins" with all of them at one time or another rangeing from being slightly disgruntled to absolute bloody furious, but again I must say that without them, I would not have had more than 39 years of constant Laverda fun, and I am able to still talk to all of them.
CLEM
