MirageChopper!
New member
- Location
- Greater Manchester
....awaiting messages of disbelief and possibly abuse but hopefully also assistance if and when required
As you will probably gather from my choice of user name my Laverda is not exactly standard. In fact it is very far from it.
In my defence the bike, a 1200 Mirage, had already been radically altered when I swapped the engine and frame of a Harley Sportster for it many years ago. Parts including the complete front end, rear wheel, brakes and fuel tank had been used by the previous owner for a project bike and replaced with various Jap and custom parts, the seat rails of the frame had also been lowered.
As it had already been butchered I decided to go the whole hog, Among other modifictions the frame was hardtailed and Harley 5 gallon fatbob tanks fitted, already not one for the purists but as for that engine! What a revelation, after years of British, US and Jap engined bikes I had found nirvana, the power, the sound, even just the look of it. I absolutely loved it.
This is the only photo I have of it when first built
Sadly, some years later while on a trip to Germany it broke down with what turned out to be a failed ignition coil and came home in the back of a van. Soon after that it was stored "temporarily" in a shed on a friends farm.
Due to circumstances beyond my control there it stayed for the next 20 years until I received a call to say the shed had fallen into disrepair and eventually collapsed around the bike. When I went to collect it this is what I found
My aim now is to return it to running, rideable condition
Sorry for the long introduction, let the abuse begin
As you will probably gather from my choice of user name my Laverda is not exactly standard. In fact it is very far from it.In my defence the bike, a 1200 Mirage, had already been radically altered when I swapped the engine and frame of a Harley Sportster for it many years ago. Parts including the complete front end, rear wheel, brakes and fuel tank had been used by the previous owner for a project bike and replaced with various Jap and custom parts, the seat rails of the frame had also been lowered.
As it had already been butchered I decided to go the whole hog, Among other modifictions the frame was hardtailed and Harley 5 gallon fatbob tanks fitted, already not one for the purists but as for that engine! What a revelation, after years of British, US and Jap engined bikes I had found nirvana, the power, the sound, even just the look of it. I absolutely loved it.
This is the only photo I have of it when first built
Sadly, some years later while on a trip to Germany it broke down with what turned out to be a failed ignition coil and came home in the back of a van. Soon after that it was stored "temporarily" in a shed on a friends farm.
Due to circumstances beyond my control there it stayed for the next 20 years until I received a call to say the shed had fallen into disrepair and eventually collapsed around the bike. When I went to collect it this is what I found
My aim now is to return it to running, rideable condition
Sorry for the long introduction, let the abuse begin
