Archive stuff

[Alan]

Includes Slater Bros advertising , Jota 120 at a Pirelli tyre test day at Vizzola Italy , the 1200 Mirage being presented to journalists , and a pre - balance shaft 500 .

View attachment 63976View attachment 63977View attachment 63978View attachment 63979

Would that be Dave Minton on the 120 ?

 

[rocketonarail]

Would that be Dave Minton on the 120 ?

No , it looks like , but is actually Keith Wigmore of the British Motorcyclists Federation , sadly no longer with us I believe .

 

[rocketonarail]

Roger Slater decided this was a no - no , but Dennis Kelly thought it was worth a go , not sure how many he brought in (through Slaters , who then passed them quickly onto Dennis before he saw sense and changed his mind. ) .., but I doubt if it was more than about half a dozen .

 

[rocketonarail]

The other offering from Laverda importer Dennis...

 

[rocketonarail]

Nothing to do with that Australian outlaw , but this was the name some people gave to full face helmets , or helmets as we call them now ...Phil Read decides to ignore warnings about vomiting , neck and spine injuries , and rotating heads...

 

[rocketonarail]

Here we go , it`s that product of a cynical marketing campaign and inflated sales hype...the Laverda Jota...
...Hope no ones offended by it`s inclusion... ...

 

[The Sock]

Dennis also stocked these. I spent some happy time whizzing this demonstrator up and down the Bristol bypass.

 

[rocketonarail]

Prices from 1967 ; Percy Tait trying out a Rickman CR750 ; 1000 at London Show ; and an Elephant Rallyist forgets for a moment he left the missus at home...
Apparently during his time road testing for Triumph , Percy carried three driving licences , all in his own name , obviously...although he usually made it back to the factory , having time to hide the bike somewhere and disappear into the works before the police arrived...

 

[rocketonarail]

Dennis also stocked these. I spent some happy time whizzing this demonstrator up and down the Bristol bypass.View attachment 65821

That`s nice... I believe Dennis was on that 1980 Factory trip , but decided to seperate himself from the fast group and continue at his own pace ? ...At least that`s what I remember reading...
One of the first things he said to me " I`m a rider / dealer son ".....

 

[The Sock]

That`s nice... I believe Dennis was on that 1980 Factory trip , but decided to seperate himself from the fast group and continue at his own pace ? ...At least that`s what I remember reading...
One of the first things he said to me " I`m a rider / dealer son ".....

That was a different Dennis (Dell), Clive's Dad.

 

[rocketonarail]

Jota entered by Sports Motorcycles , not Slater Bros...Sports won the Avon Championship with the Le Mans after Slaters withdrew over tyre concerns ... it says Sports raced with standard gear ratios , whereas Slaters bikes used the close ratio cluster...sub twelves for the quarter is quick for the LeMans...rule changes allowed the increase to 950 cc and I seem to remember Roy Armstrong saying fitting Fiat valve springs gave an extra 1000 rpm...

 

[rocketonarail]

If you think Laverda prices are getting a little silly ( Ithink there`s a 1200T on Uk eBay with a ask of £18,000 ) , then an FS1-E like this would now be in the region of £6-7 k .
Yet more Slater advertising ; and Kenny Roberts leading Kork Ballington and Borge Neilson in 1981 at Imatra....seeing how close the crowd is to the action is a reminder of how sanitised Moto GP is nowadays...

 

[rocketonarail]

Really interesting regarding road/race tyres. What was the final outcome ? Did Avon eventually back down ?

This may partly answer the question...but Slater Jotas won in `78 and `79 so I guess participated in all rounds , not just selected ones .

Mentions a 1200 ( ! ) V6...this is obviously a Slater feed to the paper , I expect the bloke scribbling it down at the other end of the `phone got the V6 mixed up with the newly introduced 1200 triple...

 

[rocketonarail]

What to expect for `78...Slaters brought the 350 in but only on behalf of Dennis Kelly of Avon Bikes .

 

[rocketonarail]

And finally ( for now )......Chap on his way to Accident and Emergency to have Yamaha PW50 removed " I just kind of sat on it , honestly "...

 

[rocketonarail]

Hi , it`s Julian Assange here again , treading that careful line between copyright infringement and putting stuff in the public domain.....

This is John Ebbrell`s impression of the 750 that appears on page 9 of the original Green Book...the comment made by one of the Norton Owners Club rallyists about it being the Lamborghini of Motorcycles was picked up by Slater Bros and used as an advertising by-line...a Jota was a limited edition version of the Lamborghini Miura sports car , and of course we also had Laverda specialists Miura Engineering here in the UK ...

 

[rocketonarail]

Slater Bros limbering up for their assault on the UK market ... ( I think Chaddesley Corbett is a place , not a person by the way )....

And BSA advertisment for the Ariel 3 ( and yes , it is supposed to do that...)......

 

[rocketonarail]

Giacomo Agostini ditches his 3 -cylinder MV for a 3 -cylinder Triumph..." Giacomo ! Giacomo ! ...this one`s got a kickstart...oh never mind..."...

And finally gets a few moments to himself...

 

[rocketonarail]

Cool dudes...Renzo Pasolini being escorted to the podium...

Ted Brefitt making winning an ISDT Gold Medal look as easy as being out for a Sunday afternoon spin...
( Just look at him .... smiling , debonair...that`s the way we British go about things you know...)...

And finally Italian Olympic athlete and European 200 metre record holder Sergio Ottolina tries out a Bevel GT...

 

[Chuck3CL]

Original brochure from Stanco P/L Motorcycles in Melbourne Australia....