Laverda Jota vs BMW R90S. Ownership?

Steve G.

Steve G.

Hero member
A local fellow has offered a direct trade with my bike on an R90S, ‘75 sunburst orange. Mint. There’s no way I’d do it , but have always admired that Beemer, as arguably the saviour of their Motorad division.
 
I remember riding a R90S demo bike at a Davick Motique, Nottingham open day back in the 70s. Can remember being very impressed after a diet of Triumph. Seemed very smooth and sophisticated! Fortunately I found Laverda before succumbing :D
 
Eurocycleguy said:
Gee guys why didn't you tell me this before I bought my '76 900/6 with a Velorex.
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Hey, no worries. I’ve got 2 Beemers, one an airhead GS. Certainly admirable machines. I guess the thing is, in small part here in far west Western Canada,,,,,,a 180 or 120 Laverda of any kind is a total unicorn, like none available anywhere. R90S’s can be found relatively easily, heck a shop 5 miles from me has 3 of them sitting g there. There never was EVER a true dealer out here, only 4000kms east in Ontario, or 1900 kms south in Los Angeles.
 
I have owned eight BMW's over the years. All were bought as transportation to get the 90 miles a day to work.

1973 R75/5
1978 R100RS
1979 R100RS
1990 K75S
1991 K75RT
1992 K75RT
2003 K1200RS - still have
2008 R1200RT - still have


One day about thirty years ago while riding my 1978 R100RS that was heavily modified with every performance engine and chassis part that was available, a friend of mine who was on a RGS offered me a chance to ride it. I was shocked, It was faster, handled better, smoother, shifted better, better brakes and suspension and more comfortable. My wife still thinks the RGS is the most comfortable bike she has ever ridden pillion on. The RGS I rode that day I eventually bought and still have. The airheads and K75's are all long since sold.

The only good things I can say abut the airhead BMW's is they were reliable and compared to the later bikes very easy to work on. On my 1978 R100RS I put 211,000 miles on it before getting my first K75. To keep the R100RS going required every Saturday morning doing maintenance work and I had spare engine, gearbox and final drive ready to be swapped out if required. The later K bikes were basically maintenance free other than changing the oil. But if something broke it was unlikely you would have it fixed for Monday morning.

Would I trade a Laverda for a BMW............................................. HELL NO!!!!!!!
 
I have ridden both Jota's and 3 BMW R90S's, they are different bikes and both very good at what they were intended for, both of which are very different parameters, there is an R90S writtren into a friends will which he will bequeath me when he dies, I just think that I wil die first!
CLEM
 
I've owned an R90S and current run a '79 R100RT.

IMHO BMW airheads are' quirky' and an acquired taste, therfore not immediately comparable to any 3C (or any normal bike). I heartily recommend you ride the R90S for at least half a day to 'learn' how to ride it. The first few miles are likely to feel horrible.

If I wanted to ride for 9 hours, I'd choose the RT, purely for the comfort. But my 3C out-does it in every dynamic measure.

I don't like the lack of adjustability on the BMW (levers, etc)

Warm feet nice in winter, not so nice in summer.

Summary, they are very different and so it's all a matter of taste.
 
I forgot about the warm feet part of riding an airhead BMW. On days of over 100 degrees the cylinders would feel like they were going to melt and fall on my feet. Not a fun bike in the summer! I have not ridden an airhead in more than 25 years.
 
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