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

[Vince]

It has an under-engine exhaust, the latest Panagali I think. That later Hailwood had a behind seat exhaust, its biggest use was a micro small fuel tank and lots of reliability issues. The best mod was an after-market tank from a California supplier.

 

[Alzero]

It has an under-engine exhaust, the latest Panagali I think. That later Hailwood had a behind seat exhaust, its biggest use was a micro small fuel tank and lots of reliability issues. The best mod was an after-market tank from a California supplier.

I thought it was just made to be looked at!

 

[MarnixSFC]

I thought it was just made to be looked at!

I thought it was rather ugly..

 

[Vince]

Motorcycle design, the same bloke from South Africa did that bike, the first gen Motostada and that tandem single race bike that actually was stunningly beautiful. It's a hit-and-miss game.

Ducati Supermono: A single purpose - Old Bike Australasia

From our Old Bike Archives – Issue 75 – first published in 2018. Story: Jim Scaysbrook • Photos: Phil Ainsley and Jim Scaysbrook Established classic big twins like Brough Superiors and Vincent HRDs repeatedly bring big [...]

www.oldbikemag.com.au

 

[sfcpiet]

I thought it was rather ugly..

I actually found the entire Ducati range rather unimpressive at the time of that strange MHR thing. Trying too hard to impress, with proportions all over the place on the MHR and Paul Smart models. Pierre Terblanche must have swung a very big ugly stick.

P.T. was also responsible for the 749/999 Ducatis, used 916 and 998 prices rocketed during the 4-year 749/999 production period, the guy didn't have very many fans. Prices for the earlier bikes fell dramatically when the 1098 was introduced...

piet

 

[Dellortoman]

Pierre Terblanche must have swung a very big ugly stick.

I don't reckon Terblanche's designs are particularly ugly. Most of them are nice enough. If you're looking for shit motorcycle designers, go no further than Giorgetto Giugiaro. He wielded a worse ugly stick than Terblanche when he was messing about with motorcycles in the late 70's.

His "square case" Ducati 860GT was a hideous thing compared to the earlier Ducati round case models. Put his Ducati 860 next to a 750SS green frame and see which one is prettier. Other ugly ducklings of his were the MV Agusta 350 Ipotesi, Suzuki RE5 and a version of Suzuki's GS850 that thankfully never made it into production.

Suzuki wisely rejected Giugiaro's GS850 design and opted for the Katana styling instead. The Katana might not be to everyone's taste, but it was way better than the Giugiaro monstrosity. French motorcycling journalist Francois-Marie Dumas summed up Giugiaro's Suzuki GS850 succinctly: "Neither fun nor intelligent, practical or inspired, the Giugiaro Suzuki fails to acquit itself in any way."

Giugiaro wasn't a bad designer but in my opinion he just didn't have an eye for motorcycles. He should have stuck to cars. He did some classics like the Delorian and a whole bunch of models for Maserati, Ferrari, Lamborghini and a heap of others.

 

[Alzero]

Helmet Muth designed the original Katana IIRC?

 

[Alzero]

Look at the strange handlebar grips!

 

[Vince]

It's a blind in more ways than one alley going down the hybrid scoot bike path. But some love that style.

 

[Alzero]

It’s not bad to my eye, but what’s with the two tabs hanging off the tank? The fairing is definitely ugly though, but the tank, seat and tail is not bad. The turn signals in the seat are different!

 

[OTR002]

Sadly the SF is still getting little issues fixed, I'm getting desperate for a drum brake ride up the mountains! So i went for a ride on the other Italian to the local shop and came home with an empty pocket. This was bought by someone that didn't get approval from the minister of home affairs. I took it for a short dash and it's now mine. Waiting for some assessors to arrive and be fitted but should be home in a few weeks.
It'll join the Italians, Austrian, Japanese and German in the cave.

 

[Alzero]

It’s a triple isn’t it? Is the headlight in the “air scoop”?

 

[Vince]

Wild looking gadget.

 

[Dellortoman]

What's going on with the weird handlebars on that fugly Suzuki? They look like suitcase handles.

 

[GregT]

Sadly the SF is still getting little issues fixed, I'm getting desperate for a drum brake ride up the mountains! So i went for a ride on the other Italian to the local shop and came home with an empty pocket. This was bought by someone that didn't get approval from the minister of home affairs. I took it for a short dash and it's now mine. Waiting for some assessors to arrive and be fitted but should be home in a few weeks.
It'll join the Italians, Austrian, Japanese and German in the cave.View attachment 91171

I've looked at those. I have no beefs with the function - but if I got one it would be made into what it should have been. A close replica of the mid-series YZ500's. The seat is just simply wrong.

 

[sfcpiet]

I don't reckon Terblanche's designs are particularly ugly. Most of them are nice enough. If you're looking for shit motorcycle designers, go no further than Giorgetto Giugiaro. He wielded a worse ugly stick than Terblanche when he was messing about with motorcycles in the late 70's.

His "square case" Ducati 860GT was a hideous thing compared to the earlier Ducati round case models. Put his Ducati 860 next to a 750SS green frame and see which one is prettier. Other ugly ducklings of his were the MV Agusta 350 Ipotesi, Suzuki RE5 and a version of Suzuki's GS850 that thankfully never made it into production.

Suzuki wisely rejected Giugiaro's GS850 design and opted for the Katana styling instead. The Katana might not be to everyone's taste, but it was way better than the Giugiaro monstrosity. French motorcycling journalist Francois-Marie Dumas summed up Giugiaro's Suzuki GS850 succinctly: "Neither fun nor intelligent, practical or inspired, the Giugiaro Suzuki fails to acquit itself in any way."

Giugiaro wasn't a bad designer but in my opinion he just didn't have an eye for motorcycles. He should have stuck to cars. He did some classics like the Delorian and a whole bunch of models for Maserati, Ferrari, Lamborghini and a heap of others.

Giugiaro got into motorcycle "design" at a time when designers thought the bike world was ready for revolutionary solutions, see handlebars... Luigi Colani had very similar views, traditional control levers being "old hat" and terrible from a styling POV. But the industry wasn't ready to turn the bike world on its head just yet, they were still earning loads with rather conservative old, long-standing designs that the consumer was still readily lapping up. It took another 4-5 years before truely revolutionary engines and frames appeared and the whole thing took off to a whole new level, see GSXR, FZR, VFR etc.

Terblanche entered the scene as almost every concievable concept had been tried by almost everyone, his MHR is different just for the sake of being different imho. Didn't work out very well, it certainly didn't achieve any sales records and used prices are usually pretty low, despite it being a limited production model. Much the same goes for his 749/999 models. Good bikes, maybe... but I was appalled at the build quality of these when I saw them at their show premiere, at least 2-3 leagues below the previous 916/998 models. On a whole, Terblanches' designs are at the top of my ugly list.

Designers often forget about practicality, far too often function follows form in their view. What looks great on the sketch sheet is often totally useless on the street.

The MV Ipothesi certainly is/was bold, but not ugly imho. While the first squared-off 860 Ducatis didn't appeal to me, I found the later, slightly-rounded models quite handsome. These were aimed at a very different clientele than the SS models, so a comparison is like apples and pears, sort of like 750SFC vs. RGS. Suzuki needed to have the RE stand out from the rest of the crowd to emphasise the rotary concept, I found they did it quite well without going over the top. Very different, but it still looked like a bike that could actually be ridden. This was also a model aimed more at the touring rider rather than the wannabe racer, which was usually the case for japanese manufacturers. Only a lot later would they commit themselves to out-and-out sports bikes that were actually thinly-diguised racers.

I seriously disliked the Katana styling when it appeared, it still does nothing for me. Many Katana styling cues were carried forward to later models, much to my dismay. But then, modern bike design on a whole doesn't appeal to me at all, seems I really am a stubborn, old-fashioned git.

piet

 

[Alzero]

I've looked at those. I have no beefs with the function - but if I got one it would be made into what it should have been. A close replica of the mid-series YZ500's. The seat is just simply wrong.

In the yellow and black paint scheme, not the knockoff fake Marlboro of this one. But it still looks good compared to many other bikes on the market.

 

[OTR002]

It’s a triple isn’t it? Is the headlight in the “air scoop”?

Yep, it's a 890cc triple and the headlight is a very small twin LED.

 

[Alan]

Giugiaro got into motorcycle "design" at a time when designers thought the bike world was ready for revolutionary solutions, see handlebars... Luigi Colani had very similar views, traditional control levers being "old hat" and terrible from a styling POV. But the industry wasn't ready to turn the bike world on its head just yet, they were still earning loads with rather conservative old, long-standing designs that the consumer was still readily lapping up. It took another 4-5 years before truely revolutionary engines and frames appeared and the whole thing took off to a whole new level, see GSXR, FZR, VFR etc.

Terblanche entered the scene as almost every concievable concept had been tried by almost everyone, his MHR is different just for the sake of being different imho. Didn't work out very well, it certainly didn't achieve any sales records and used prices are usually pretty low, despite it being a limited production model. Much the same goes for his 749/999 models. Good bikes, maybe... but I was appalled at the build quality of these when I saw them at their show premiere, at least 2-3 leagues below the previous 916/998 models. On a whole, Terblanches' designs are at the top of my ugly list.

Designers often forget about practicality, far too often function follows form in their view. What looks great on the sketch sheet is often totally useless on the street.

The MV Ipothesi certainly is/was bold, but not ugly imho. While the first squared-off 860 Ducatis didn't appeal to me, I found the later, slightly-rounded models quite handsome. These were aimed at a very different clientele than the SS models, so a comparison is like apples and pears, sort of like 750SFC vs. RGS. Suzuki needed to have the RE stand out from the rest of the crowd to emphasise the rotary concept, I found they did it quite well without going over the top. Very different, but it still looked like a bike that could actually be ridden. This was also a model aimed more at the touring rider rather than the wannabe racer, which was usually the case for japanese manufacturers. Only a lot later would they commit themselves to out-and-out sports bikes that were actually thinly-diguised racers.

I seriously disliked the Katana styling when it appeared, it still does nothing for me. Many Katana styling cues were carried forward to later models, much to my dismay. But then, modern bike design on a whole doesn't appeal to me at all, seems I really am a stubborn, old-fashioned git.

piet

Alot of place names here start with Bally. I often tell folk I'm from Ballygobackwards.

 

[The Sock]

Huntsman, this evening.