SF1 for sale

C

ColinJ

New member
Location
Aberdeen
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I'd like to give the forum members the first chance of my SF1 which I am selling. The reason for sale is that I find it a bit uncomfortable to ride. I bought the bike in 1990 in Italy. I rode it back to the UK and it sat in the garage until 2006, when I sold it to a friend. He started the restoration but sadly passed away with the bike in large pieces. I bought it back from him and reassembled it and UK registered it. It is complete it starts and sounds great. It smokes a bit but this settles down. I have ridden it about 30miles and it seems Ok apart from being a bit uncomfortable for me. It comes with manuals and a spare clutch and gear cluster. There are not many for sale so I find it difficult to know what to ask. I think it is worth £5000.
 
ColinJ said:
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I'd like to give the forum members the first chance of my SF1 which I am selling. The reason for sale is that I find it a bit uncomfortable to ride. I bought the bike in 1990 in Italy. I rode it back to the UK and it sat in the garage until 2006, when I sold it to a friend. He started the restoration but sadly passed away with the bike in large pieces. I bought it back from him and reassembled it and UK registered it. It is complete it starts and sounds great. It smokes a bit but this settles down. I have ridden it about 30miles and it seems Ok apart from being a bit uncomfortable for me. It comes with manuals and a spare clutch and gear cluster. There are not many for sale so I find it difficult to know what to ask. I think it is worth £5000.
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It does smoke a bit. Hopefully gummed rings.
If somebody told you a Laverda was confortable, you were had.
Paul
 
Sounds like a very fair price, Colin. I'm in Oz and already have two SFs but yours would make a nice buy for someone in the UK. Are you sitting on it like that when you ride? Might explain why you find it uncomfortable :ROFLMAO:

And what's the wire or cable hanging off the starter switch? Might help to have a few more pics so rivet counting punters can judge what's deviated from standard.
 
looks alright to me and fair money, I cannot be tempted as I did 3 years (1973 until 1979 with that front brake and (say what you like) it is pathetic (oh yes it is, rose tinted spec wearers get real, compare with 320mm discs, four pot calipers and 916 master cylinder).
CLEM
 
CLEMTOG said:
looks alright to me and fair money, I cannot be tempted as I did 3 years (1973 until 1979 with that front brake and (say what you like) it is pathetic (oh yes it is, rose tinted spec wearers get real, compare with 320mm discs, four pot calipers and 916 master cylinder).
CLEM
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An unclosed debate Clem.
If you want a bike that goes, holds the road and stops like a modern bike, get a modern bike.
Triples stick to the road like soggy porridge for a start.
Paul
 
The Sock said:
Maybe the way you ride yours, Paul.
Me, I get most, on modern bikes, fading away when corners appear.
Some bikes may be more capable than their riders.
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Most of it is down to the rider, but a Laverda triple is still a wallowing elephantesque porridge. Which doesn't mean it can't be ridden fast around corners. Look at what good riders did with 70s Japanese two wheeled chewing gums.
Paul
 
Paul Marx said:
Most of it is down to the rider, but a Laverda triple is still a wallowing elephantesque porridge. Which doesn't mean it can't be ridden fast around corners. Look at what good riders did with 70s Japanese two wheeled chewing gums.
Paul
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Paul has a good point. Before bike suspension had multiple adjustments for sag, preload, compression and ABS, anti spin and blah blah blah. Didn’t we just ride them as they were and ride around their foibles? Yet enjoyed them for what they were. Wild beasts waiting to be tamed.

I remember how blown out I was when S&W came out with twin rate springs on shockers! Still got a pair somewhere

When we went to Cape York on 40 year old trail bikes, the bells and whistle adventure bike riders couldn’t believe how we could keep up/pass, them.
 
I'm sorry, but IMHO there is simply no debate - poor braking performance is intolerable on ANY vehicle that has the capacity to be ridden/driven at speed where better options are available.

That's complete bullshit Paul, that the drumbrake Laverdas are old and so should be ridden as if they were some sort of antique. An SF1 straight out of the factory in 1973 would easily hit 190kph and weighed 210kg dry. Are you going to try and tell me that in this day and age it should be ridden sedately because it has crap brakes? I rode my SF1 like i stole it and I HATED the drum front brake - and yes, it could have and nearly killed me for the gross imbalance between its considerable speed potential (in its day) and its ability to slow down. Sure, I rode 'around' the problem, but it didn't mean that's the way it had to be. As soon as I found a better alternative on my young man's limited budget, I leapt at it - a 4LS TZ Yamaha front drum. When I could afford it, i went to twin Brembos. Now it goes much faster and it has 4-spot R1 calipers, 320mm discs and a Brembo radial master cylinder, and it stops as quickly as its modern tyres will allow. And I feel a fuk of a lot safer for it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - the factory didn't fit twin Brembo disc front ends to the SF2 because the Super Freni were just too damn good. FFS get a grip (the way a good 4-spot does!). Feel free to ride your SF as slowly and as leisurely as you like - and live with your drum brakes, but DON'T dictate to people who don't that their bikes are old and they should just accept the fact they came with a crap front brake.

Rant over.
 
I agree that many old bikes are crap in comparison to modern bikes when it comes to brakes, suspension, handling etc, and require a change of riding style and mindset when riding them. But sometimes riding slowly, and enjoying the scenery, isn’t such a bad thing.
 
And sometimes you get slower as you wear your body system out or at least you sensibly adjust or suffer the consequences. BTW I went exactly the same way with the horrible Conic Hub drum brake on my 64 Bonnie, it got a 500 Parallel Twin Ducati disc brake setup as soon as I could before that shit drum brake killed me.
 
I know this is now a hijack of the original thread, but sometimes 'modern' brakes can be just as potentially hazardous as 'old' brakes. Not so long ago I ran a bit deep into the corner at the Les Graham/Bungalow Bridge left hander on the mountain and applied the front brake on the Tre and it nearly threw me over the handle bars....
 
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I don't like brakes that are too powerful and I considered the ones on my 750 Ducati Monster to be in that category. Didn't help having soggy forks though, made the effect much worse. The brakes on my old Hinkley Triumphs suit my riding style.
 
piranha-bro2 said:
I'm sorry, but IMHO there is simply no debate - poor braking performance is intolerable on ANY vehicle that has the capacity to be ridden/driven at speed where better options are available.

That's complete bullshit Paul, that the drumbrake Laverdas are old and so should be ridden as if they were some sort of antique. An SF1 straight out of the factory in 1973 would easily hit 190kph and weighed 210kg dry. Are you going to try and tell me that in this day and age it should be ridden sedately because it has crap brakes? I rode my SF1 like i stole it and I HATED the drum front brake - and yes, it could have and nearly killed me for the gross imbalance between its considerable speed potential (in its day) and its ability to slow down. Sure, I rode 'around' the problem, but it didn't mean that's the way it had to be. As soon as I found a better alternative on my young man's limited budget, I leapt at it - a 4LS TZ Yamaha front drum. When I could afford it, i went to twin Brembos. Now it goes much faster and it has 4-spot R1 calipers, 320mm discs and a Brembo radial master cylinder, and it stops as quickly as its modern tyres will allow. And I feel a fuk of a lot safer for it.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - the factory didn't fit twin Brembo disc front ends to the SF2 because the Super Freni were just too damn good. FFS get a grip (the way a good 4-spot does!). Feel free to ride your SF as slowly and as leisurely as you like - and live with your drum brakes, but DON'T dictate to people who don't that their bikes are old and they should just accept the fact they came with a crap front brake.

Rant over.
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Cm'on
Nowadays, any cheap car will out accelerate and out brake our old clonkers. No way will I ride one of my old bikes in modern traffic if I can avoid it. Basically what you've written is modify your old bike to make it safer or put it in a museum. No, sorry. I ride my old bikes as they were built mostly, and a lot more than most on this forum in any case. I choose my roads.
This morning, I had a medical appointment which made me leave home at rush hour time, in the rain. 20km of mostly stopped cars, with drivers not looking and the sun rising.
I took my 750 Aprilia. It brakes, has ABS and is nimble. I feel vaguely secure on it amongst all those nutters.

One of my dreams is an old bike with a hand gear change, as for brakes..... If I ever get one, it'll be ridden. Would you have me banned because the machine wouldn't meet current safety standards?

I certainly don't ride fast, I enjoy life and the scenery too much. But when on the road, it's over 300 km a day, every day, for days on end. I'll arrive long before you will, believe me.
Paul
 
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Paul Marx said:
One of my dreams is an old bike with a hand gear change, as for brakes..... If I ever get one, it'll be ridden. Would you have me banned because the machine wouldn't meet current safety standards?
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You should try my CJ750. It doesn't have a handshift yet but I have ordered one and all you need to do is take the sidecar off to improve the braking.

With the sidecar attached I usually consult a calendar to see what day it will come to a full stop. I still enjoy riding it but whenever I see another vehicle I immediately start looking for a way out as it ain't gonna stop in any situation. Mind you ...... where I ride I am more likely to encounter cattle, deer or occasionally a bear. Sometimes it is better to thunderously plow forward to instill terror into the poor beasts than it is to attempt to avoid them.

Jim
 
Paul Marx said:
Cm'on
Nowadays, any cheap car will out accelerate and out brake our old clonkers.
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Not mine, but even if they did, do I want to ride a bike that has crap brakes or ride on plastic tyres simply because it's an old bike and was built that way because that was allthat was available?
Paul Marx said:
Basically what you've written is modify your old bike to make it safer or put it in a museum. No, sorry. I ride my old bikes as they were built mostly, and a lot more than most on this forum in any case. I choose my roads.
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No. What I've written is that good brakes (and good tyres) are a readily available option to anyone who would like to make their 'old clunker' a lot safer. By all means ride your bike wherever you want at whatever speed you feel comfortable riding it, but don't imply that an SF1 is old, therefore improving its braking is pointless.
Paul Marx said:
I took my 750 Aprilia. It brakes, has ABS and is nimble.
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Bit like the way my modified bike feels.
Paul Marx said:
I feel vaguely secure on it amongst all those nutters.
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I don't. I treat them as if they are trying to kill me. Good brakes helps.
Paul Marx said:
I certainly don't ride fast, I enjoy life and the scenery too much. But when on the road, it's over 300 km a day, every day, for days on end.
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Sometimes I ride slow and enjoy the scenery, sometimes I ride fast and enjoy the road. I'll happily ride 1,000km in a day and plan to use my bike as a touring mount.
Paul Marx said:
I'll arrive long before you will, believe me.
Paul
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???

It's an interesting discussion, Paul. We all want different things from our bikes. My argument is based on the fact that I can't enjoy riding a bike that feels unnecessarily 'inadequate' to me. And a modern alternative could never offer me the feeling I get when riding my very personalised Laverda.

Meanwhile Colin will hopefully find a buyer for his SF1. They might even ride it ... and they might even decide to put the drum front end on the shelf and upgrade it to an SF2!
 
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