Hi All
Firstly, I would like to thank Brett for his recent assistance and a gang of others both local and O/S for their help.
It was great to finally come to a club event and meet some other Laverda enthusiast on Sunday. I am sure I will be a regular as will my bikes.
I have been rather quiet regarding my two Laverda?s TT1 and have found the posts on the forum about their history somewhat interesting to read.
There is no doubt confusion and plenty of false information and this is not surprising given +37yrs have passed. I am fact based when it comes to bike provenance and there has been considerable research done on both bikes and a great deal of supporting evidence collected so I am comfortable we do know most of the truth. This research is ongoing via a small global group as we try to determine the history on all the TT1?s which were built and there is already some interesting information.
To set the record straight and without writing a book, the below outlines the bike which was on display on Sunday. This is the second Laverda TT1 to come to Australia.
The below can be supported by photography?s, sale and purchase receipts and the fact that all key people involved are alive and have provided written commentary over the last 6 months
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Bike 1 ? Eurotred Laverda TT1 RGS Corsa ? seen by all on Sunday 29Nov20
This bike was imported as a factory-built bike in late 1983 by Eurotred
It was constructed at the same time as the Bonhams sold (Oct17) Laverda TT1 RGS Corsa, numbers are sequential FYI.
This bikes first outing was the last race of the 1983 Victorian Thunderbike series with Martin Hone #77 the rider.
The bike raced the Thunderbike series in 1984 with Martin Hone #77 being the only rider.
This bike also raced Bathurst 1984, Martin Hone rider #27 and placed 4th in Superbike class and 10th overall with the main issue being fuel consumption compared to the bikes ahead.
A number of changes were made to this bike after its arrival ie it was converted to positive discharge to reduce weight with shorten side cover added, starter motor and alternator coil fully removed. There is a documented list of changes.
The Laverda factory later shipped a range of upgrade parts which included the new Velicchi swingarm (which is not the same as the SFC1000 btw) and Brembo PO5 rear caliper setup etc. The aim was to make the bike even more competitive. The bike was modified/upgraded after Bathurst 1984.
In late 1984 the bike did a test day for Bridgestone tyres, Eurotred was importer, at Oran Park and broke a valve spring mid-session and was fortunately shutdown immediately. There was no damage and it was repaired. The bike was not used again and did not race in 1985.
The bike was placed in Eurotred owner, Frank Hodder?s, personal bike collection and he sold the bike in the late 1980?s to another collector who stored it and made no changes. It has never been on display etc. for approx. 35yrs.
This bike has only had 1 race rider and 1 mechanic for its short-lived racing career. The changes made to the bike are well documented and there is a detailed mechanical log of work completed.
Martin Hone also wrote an article on this bike, Big Red, Laverda Formula One which was published in AMCN and most have probably read. I can confirm the technical information noted is correct and matches the bike at the time.
The bike was first started after 35yrs on Sat 28Nov20 with no major work being undertaken accept, new plugs, oil and a carb clean + a couple of fuel taps (thanks Brett) and a exhaust repair. No gaskets so far have been changed. The starter motor and dog clutch etc. were placed back on the bike along with an original cover otherwise it was presented as washed from storage.
In regards to Bike 2 ? Eade Laverda TT1 RGS Corsa ? this is a significantly more complicated and interesting story as it involves 2 separate bikes. As a snippet, this bike has the F1 engine which was used in a different frame and DNF at Bathurst 1983, Alan Mills #67 was the rider. Martin Hone #77 also campaigned this bike after rebuild in the 1983 Thurderbike series until the other TT1 (bike on display) arrived and was used in last race of 1983. The Eade's had Eurotred import all the parts accept F1 motor, which was already in Australia, resulting in a second Laverda TT1 RGS Corsa being assembled in Sydney in 1984. It too has all the latest racing parts including the Verlicchi swingarm and Brembo caliper upgrade.
Hopefully that provides some fun facts.
If you have any information on these bikes, including pictures etc. I would welcome your contact. I am also happy to hear stories or gossip as we will confirm if true by doing the research. Cheers Scott
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