Archive stuff

Andy J said:
The revised 500 models, as they had stopped building the 350, came out around 1982/3 when the new noise emissions etc took effect and killed off the Montjuic.
I have a fairly good inkling that the bike I bought had been sat in his showroom for awhile and he probably put the price up when other prices went up.
I’ve certainly never seen or heard of another bike like the one I bought, so unless anyone else can show otherwise, I think my bike was the only one.
Typically, a month or so after I bought the 350 he put on sale a rebuilt 500 Monty for the same money. However, if I had bought that instead I probably wouldn’t have bought off Richard Slater, in 1982, the first of two ex 1980 IOM TT Formula 500 race bikes I have owned.
Click to expand...
2023-01-23 (13).png


Here`s the Monty you mentioned Andy .......( I`ve included the Personal column for amusement value ) .......
 
2023-01-23 (14).png2023-01-23 (15).png2023-01-23 (11).png2023-01-23 (12).png


MCN 1985 test of the " ultimate Laverda " .........Do all 1000 SFC`s cough and splutter below 3000 rpm , and suffer from flat spots ? ...... or is this down to Three Cross preparation ........ or lack of it ? .......... I know a certain SW said he attended a 3X dealership day and the 120 degree triples they had for demo rides were displaying these characteristics ...... When he mentioned this to the 3X people they replied " Oh , these are good old fashioned motorcycles Sir , they`re all like that , it`s part of their character .... " , or some such drivel ....... he offered to balance the carbs , and did ..... apparently they were amazed by the transformation .......

Also bear in mind that Terry Snelling took on a used Jota as part of a MCN secondhand bike test ...... the bike he chose from the used bike ads. was a dog of a thing ..... probably ex - raced ....... he sent it to Clark Laverda for them to sort out ..... the deeper they delved into it the worse it got .... the head was from an earlier triple and worn out , and so on ........

Trouble was , the article gave the impression that this was typical of what you could expect when purchasing a used Laverda , the rule rather than the exception , and nothing to do with his complete lack of knowledge and common sense when choosing to buy this particular bike of course ......

I remember at the time people coming up to me when they saw the Mirage , and saying " They`re a lot of trouble aren`t they ? ...... How relaible is it ? "......... These were people who believed everything they read in MCN ..... ( It wasn`t known as " The Comic " for nothing ) ......

He even managed to get into an argument with Richard Slater by mis-quoting Richard as regards comments about what was a "real " Jota , and what wasn`t ....... ( and for Christs sake lets not spark all that off again , please ......... ).......

BTW , I`m about 85% way through all this dragging up the past by now , you may or may not be pleased to hear .........
 
Last edited:
rocketonarail said:
View attachment 69466View attachment 69467View attachment 69468View attachment 69471



Trouble was , the article gave the impression that this was typical of what you could expect when purchasing a used Laverda , the rule rather than the exception , and nothing to do with his complete lack of knowledge and common sense when choosing to buy this particular bike of course ......
Click to expand...
The only thing that has changed is the number of figures in front of the decimal point and the $ sign.

Paul
 
rocketonarail said:
View attachment 69466View attachment 69467View attachment 69468View attachment 69471


MCN 1985 test of the " ultimate Laverda " .........Do all 1000 SFC`s cough and splutter below 3000 rpm , and suffer from flat spots ? ...... or is this down to Three Cross preparation ........ or lack of it ? .......... I know a certain SW said he attended a 3X dealership day and the 120 degree triples they had for demo rides were displaying these characteristics ...... When he mentioned this to the 3X people they replied " Oh , these are good old fashioned motorcycles Sir , they`re all like that , it`s part of their character .... " , or some such drivel ....... he offered to balance the carbs , and did ..... apparently they were amazed by the transformation .......

Also bear in mind that Terry Snelling took on a used Jota as part of a MCN secondhand bike test ...... the bike he chose from the used bike ads. was a dog of a thing ..... probably ex - raced ....... he sent it to Clark Laverda for them to sort out ..... the deeper they delved into it the worse it got .... the head was from an earlier triple and worn out , and so on ........

Trouble was , the article gave the impression that this was typical of what you could expect when purchasing a used Laverda , the rule rather than the exception , and nothing to do with his complete lack of knowledge and common sense when choosing to buy this particular bike of course ......

I remember at the time people coming up to me when they saw the Mirage , and saying " They`re a lot of trouble aren`t they ? ...... How relaible is it ? "......... These were people who believed everything they read in MCN ..... ( It wasn`t known as " The Comic " for nothing ) ......

He even managed to get into an argument with Richard Slater by mis-quoting Richard as regards comments about what was a "real " Jota , and what wasn`t ....... ( and for Christs sake lets not spark all that off again , please ......... ).......

BTW , I`m about 85% way through all this dragging up the past by now , you may or may not be pleased to hear .........
Click to expand...
Can’t really recall any issues at lower revs, but I do remember suffering fuel starvation flat out in top.
 
Alzero said:
Is this a CB750F? I had one of those and exchanged it for the 900 version. For a UJM they were pretty good bikes.
Click to expand...

Offhand I`m not quite sure ....... I think under AMA rules in the early `seventies there was a 750 limit , although it was permitted to fit factory approved and widely available parts ...... BSA / Triumph took advantage of this at Daytona by fitting maximum oversize pistons which took their triples out to nearly 760 cc ........
So i think this would be the CB750 rather than 900 , but not absolutely sure ........ ( I`m gonna have to look this up now .... ! ..... ) ....
 
Andy J said:
Yes amusing stuff.
As an aside, TH Colebourn are still going strong in Victoria St. Acquired a telly and a freezer off them before Xmas. 🙂
Click to expand...

Actually , looking at it again , I`ve just noticed the " Laverda Endurance Racer " going for £4k ........ Dennis didn`t get hold of a Space Frame along with all those 350`s and LZ175`s did he ... ? ....:unsure:
 
2023-01-24 (12).png


1966 ....... Suzuki 50cc twin cylinder 12 speed two stroke GP engine with 16.5 bhp at 17,000 rpm ....... the following year it was up to 17.5 bhp at 17,300 rpm , but the narrower power band meant it now needed a 14 speed gearbox ......
 
2023-01-24 (4).png2023-01-24 (5).png2023-01-24 (6).png2023-01-24 (7).png2023-01-24 (9).png2023-01-24 (11).png2023-01-24 (8).png2023-01-24 (10).png


Yes , it`s the one we`ve all been waiting for .... the `78 Bol .......the Laverda V6 ........ ! .......138.9 or whatever it was bhp ......!.......... 186 mph down the Mistral straight ......!....... one photograph and just a few words to mention it .......!...... oh well , never mind ......
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top