rocketonarail
Hero member
- Location
- Gloucestershire,England
Passed by the old Slater Laverda garage/showroom a couple of days ago.Whitewashed and still up for sale after two years,although seemingly rented out for storage judging by the fruit/game machines lined up inside.Sad to see it looking so forlorn remembering how it used to be.
First visited in 1982 to try and obtain the plastic threaded ring which holds the ignition lock in place(original had split),wasn`t sold separately ,got a steel one eventually from Phil Todd,but I remember Richard keeping a beady eye on me as I looked at the bikes in the showroom,I think he thought I might try to nick one off one of the bikes there!
Could have ordered stuff through the post but enjoyed the 160 mile round trip up there and back from Bristol.If I couldn`t make it on the Saturday then Richard would leave the item in an old filing/desk drawer under the lean to at the side of the building and I would go up on the Sunday,pop the cheque through the letter box,then look through the cabinet drawers to find the item then ride home.
Building showroom became a Three Cross outlet briefly around `82 when they took over as importers,and more recently was a Cagiva (MV Agusta) dealership for a short while whilst sharing space with Richards Laverda spares operation.
Back in the `eighties it also became home to Motex,a Harley Davidson dealership,and if the Mirage was indisposed,it was guite amusing to ride up on my second bike on a Saturday ,park the TZR 125 or Honda C90 next to the Harley Davidsons parked outside,then go through the door,striding past the rows of Sportsters and Dyno Rods to see Richard at the Laverda spares counter.
Motex boss Robin Wenham seemed a nice guy,always smiled and said hello when he saw me,although it was pretty obvious the chances of me leaving the C90 parked outside and riding home on a Fat Boy were virtually zero,to say the least....
First visited in 1982 to try and obtain the plastic threaded ring which holds the ignition lock in place(original had split),wasn`t sold separately ,got a steel one eventually from Phil Todd,but I remember Richard keeping a beady eye on me as I looked at the bikes in the showroom,I think he thought I might try to nick one off one of the bikes there!
Could have ordered stuff through the post but enjoyed the 160 mile round trip up there and back from Bristol.If I couldn`t make it on the Saturday then Richard would leave the item in an old filing/desk drawer under the lean to at the side of the building and I would go up on the Sunday,pop the cheque through the letter box,then look through the cabinet drawers to find the item then ride home.
Building showroom became a Three Cross outlet briefly around `82 when they took over as importers,and more recently was a Cagiva (MV Agusta) dealership for a short while whilst sharing space with Richards Laverda spares operation.
Back in the `eighties it also became home to Motex,a Harley Davidson dealership,and if the Mirage was indisposed,it was guite amusing to ride up on my second bike on a Saturday ,park the TZR 125 or Honda C90 next to the Harley Davidsons parked outside,then go through the door,striding past the rows of Sportsters and Dyno Rods to see Richard at the Laverda spares counter.
Motex boss Robin Wenham seemed a nice guy,always smiled and said hello when he saw me,although it was pretty obvious the chances of me leaving the C90 parked outside and riding home on a Fat Boy were virtually zero,to say the least....
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