Down memory lane

[rocketonarail]

..... aka the A423 .......

Thought I`d nip up to Banbury today to check out the old Cropredy Laverda premises ....... It`s been quite a few years since I`ve been there , maybe as far back as the early `eighties .....
It was the go - to place for me , until they moved into Banbury itself , and I started to frequent Slaters and Miura as well at around the same time .

Up the Fosse Way to Moreton in Marsh , turn right into Shipston on Stour ( my , haven`t you grown since I last saw you ) , through Swalcliffe and Tadmarton ( great road , nice views , and just as bumpy as it was 40 years ago ) , into Banbury , turn left at the Cross , and turn right down into Cropredy a couple of miles later .....

And this is what I found .... The Laverda sign at the entrance has gone ( obviously ) , and I think there was a prefab hut / office back then as well ....

Now being used by a canoeing club .

 

[rocketonarail]

Quite by chance ... Classic Bike arrived today , with an article on Cropredy Laverda , and a riding impression of a Cropredy Liberator ....... ( There`s one in the background of the second picture ) .....

Have pinched a couple of images of the premises back in the early `eighties ... hope they don`t mind ...... Looks like the gates have survived the 40 year gap ......

 

[rocketonarail]

Same issue included an interview with Mike Trimby of IRTA , and then the sad news he passed away a short while afterwards ......

Also in this issue ..... ( back to Laverda again ) .... thoughts on rotting pick up wires , and a plug ( sorry ) for Redax ..... and Roger Winterburn reckoning the fastest triple he knew of was a 1200 T with " light porting " , which was timed at 154 mph at West Raynham ........

 

[piranha-bro2]

..... and Roger Winterburn reckoning the fastest triple he knew of was a 1200 T with " light porting " , which was timed at 154 mph at West Raynham ........

Seriously? You'd need a very large effing HP boost to get the stock 1200 I ran-in and raced in the 1978 Castrol 4-Hour proddy race in Perth (Western Australia) to bridge that gap in top speed!!

 

[rocketonarail]

Seriously? You'd need a very large effing HP boost to get the stock 1200 I ran-in and raced in the 1978 Castrol 4-Hour proddy race in Perth (Western Australia) to bridge that gap in top speed!!

That`s what it says ........ 95 bhp would be needed , they reckon , plus a slight hop up in the gearing as well , maybe , I would have thought .........

Back in 1990 , in an article in Performance Bikes , the Clark Brothers Cico faired , high compression , bored carbed , polished head 120 degree was electronically timed at 152 mph at Bruntingthorpe , although I think it blew up immediately afterwards .........

PB were there running another bike for testing I think .... the Clark Brothers happened to be there at the same time , so PB made a feature out of it .......... It was sort of ..... " They reckon they`ve got a fast Laverda have they ....... OK then , lets see what it will do and we`ll print an article about it ... " ......