Out and About on your Laverda.No bull,Just photos

Dunno if it's associated with the Laverda boys or not. It could just be a random ute parked next to their spot. Mark took the photo. Maybe it's his.

Anyway, it's a Holden Ute. Dunno what year. Maybe around 2014? They came with V6 and V8 engines.
It has what I'm guessing is a Manta exhaust sticker on the side (just forward of the rear wheel). I think Manta does exhausts for both the V8 and V6 versions, so it doesn't help much with ID. However, I'd imagine that anyone looking for the extra performance of a Manta exhaust would not settle for a V6, so I'd put my money on it being a V8.
 
Alzero said:
The bikes look great, but what’s the blue car in the background?
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Holden utes available as Pontiacs in the USA

Left Hand Utes USA

For the last two years, Left Hand Utes have been importing Utes into the U.S. and converting them to LEFTHAND DRIVE! Our Left Hand Utes are converted by stripping the Ute to bare body. We replace the firewall and rebuild the car from components using all AMERICAN standard parts from the Pontiac...
lefthandutes.com lefthandutes.com
 
I was out for a ride with some mates today. One of them was a fellow Laverda owner, but today he was on a newly acquired Harley Road King (long story, don't ask) that he offered me a ride on.

In 55 years of riding bikes, I'd never ridden a Harley until today. My opinion of Harleys was based on design, appearance, the 1% patch club sort of guys who rode them. So it was more prejudice than opinion. But after about 5 minutes of riding it, I pulled over and gave it back to him. It didn't suit me at all. It had a very plush and comfortable seat, and the engine was surprisingly smooth, but I found the feet-forward position not at all comfortable. The ergonomics were all wrong for me. The suspension was crap too. It's pretty much impossible to lift your arse off the seat when your feet are stuck out in front like you're sitting on a couch, so every bump jarred straight through my back. It started to make my back hurt after only a few minutes. I told him it also felt like navigating a bloody ship down the road. It's an experience I won't be in a hurry to repeat.

Anyway, I'm thankful for the ride because now I can bag the shit out of Harleys (and his Harley in particular) while speaking from actual experience rather than just a prejudiced notion. :)
 
When the Evo engine first came out a bunch of blokes I knew bought them. I had ridden 70s Triumphs so was keen to try their rubber-mounted non-vibrating bikes. I found them very vanilla, a bit like K series BMWs. At the same time, one of them bought a Shovel Head and it was far from Vanilla. It produced a huge reaction, it vibrated but not in a pins-and-needles way. It also handled really well and pulled like a train out of corners. But even then it didn't grip me like my 3c does. The same bloke had a WLA as well, that also brought a huge reaction being so tricky to ride. That was a new skill to learn. I borrowed a Mark 2 Norton once and enjoyed its torque, shame it was so worn out, it was so neglected. Still keen to try a Vincent, but I doubt that's on the cards.
 
Dellortoman said:
I was out for a ride with some mates today. One of them was a fellow Laverda owner, but today he was on a newly acquired Harley Road King (long story, don't ask) that he offered me a ride on.

In 55 years of riding bikes, I'd never ridden a Harley until today. My opinion of Harleys was based on design, appearance, the 1% patch club sort of guys who rode them. So it was more prejudice than opinion. But after about 5 minutes of riding it, I pulled over and gave it back to him. It didn't suit me at all. It had a very plush and comfortable seat, and the engine was surprisingly smooth, but I found the feet-forward position not at all comfortable. The ergonomics were all wrong for me. The suspension was crap too. It's pretty much impossible to lift your arse off the seat when your feet are stuck out in front like you're sitting on a couch, so every bump jarred straight through my back. It started to make my back hurt after only a few minutes. I told him it also felt like navigating a bloody ship down the road. It's an experience I won't be in a hurry to repeat.

Anyway, I'm thankful for the ride because now I can bag the shit out of Harleys (and his Harley in particular) while speaking from actual experience rather than just a prejudiced notion. :)
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I quite enjoyed a couple of iron Sportsers back in the 70s.

Paul
 
Vince said:
When the Evo engine first came out a bunch of blokes I knew bought them. I had ridden 70s Triumphs so was keen to try their rubber-mounted non-vibrating bikes. I found them very vanilla, a bit like K series BMWs. At the same time, one of them bought a Shovel Head and it was far from Vanilla. It produced a huge reaction, it vibrated but not in a pins-and-needles way. It also handled really well and pulled like a train out of corners. But even then it didn't grip me like my 3c does. The same bloke had a WLA as well, that also brought a huge reaction being so tricky to ride. That was a new skill to learn. I borrowed a Mark 2 Norton once and enjoyed its torque, shame it was so worn out, it was so neglected. Still keen to try a Vincent, but I doubt that's on the cards.
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I was lent a K75 ( unfaired) to commute to work- I’m not a BMW person. It was incredible, the perfect riding position, handled superbly, balanced, slick gearbox, turbine engine and was fast. Of all the bikes I’ve ridden that was the biggest surprise- Why BMW dropped it I shall never know. Sometimes you need to ride a bike for more than five minutes to get a real idea. I ended up being service manager for BMW and I agree with your vanilla comment- they are for the most part sole less, a motorcycle built by a car factory.
 
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