SFC1000

SkinnyPinny

SkinnyPinny

Full member
Location
Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Morning all,
Noticed a good looking SFC, amongst other nice bikes, for sale on Bonhams -Stafford sale in April,2026
Any one from here? Looks like a few sensible mods or upgrades,
I know prices have dropped dramatically over the last few years, so I assume it’s a low start to generate interest,
To me, it looks like a good usable bike.
Stuart
 
The following is not meant to make this bike look bad, it is just to list the things I can see so that people are aware what was changed. Upgrades/Mods I could sense include (but might not be listed completely):
-Mikuni Carbs with pod filters, no airbox installed
-RH-side compression damping deactivated, adjusters on top = different internals
-Stainless headers, "Jota" exhausts
-Rear suspension upgraded (YSS or Wilbers?)
-different handlebar switches
-different handlebars
-different clutch and front brake master
-stainless clutch and brake hoses
-Frame and triple clamps look repainted (slightly different color, partly to glossy for original), Footrest plates and rims most probably, too. Not bad, just saying.
-original mirrors missing, RH side bare end mirror looks useless to me (way to small), but up to personal taste
-Brake disc carrier looks wrong, brake discs look worn but might be OK, hard to say from the picture.
-Front mudguard screws and distance pieces have been replaced with stainless as it seems.
-Speedo looks wrong to mee, should have both miles and km on it...
-alloy parts (side covers, tank filler caps) look as if this bike has seen some winters...

Description says it comes with a key - what about papers, MOT etc.? Service History? number of previous owners? Changes to the internals? Original parts available / part of the auction? No mention at all...

Suspension is a real plus and at the price listed, it would still be a steal. Like my 1000 SFC though, it is far from original in the current state, still a lovely bike!!!

Maybe the owner can chime in and give more insight. Would for sure increase interest in the bike and maybe the sales price to know a bit more.

Cheers
 
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Laverdalothar said:
The following is not meant to make this bike look bad, it is just to list the things I can see so that people are aware what was changed. Upgrades/Mods I could sense include (but might not be listed completely):
-Mikuni Carbs with pod filters, no airbox installed
-RH-side compression damping deactivated, adjusters on top = different internals
-Stainless headers, "Jota" exhausts
-Rear suspension upgraded (YSS oder Wilbers?)
-different handlebar switches
-different handlebars
-different clutch and front brake master
-stainless clutch and brake hoses
-Frame and triple clamps look repainted (slightly different color, partly to glossy for original), Footrest plates and rims most probably, too. Not bad, just saying.
-original mirrors missing, RH side bare end mirror looks useless to me (way to small), but up to personal taste
-Brake disc carrier looks wrong, brake discs look worn but might be OK, hard to say from the picture.
-Front mudguard screws and distance pieces have been replaced with stainless as it seems.
-Speedo looks wrong to mee, should have both miles and km on it...
-alloy parts (side covers, tank filler caps) look as if this bike has seen some winters...

Description says it comes with a key - what about papers, MOT etc.? Service History? number of previous owners? Changes to the internals? Original parts available / part of the auction? No mention at all...

Suspension is a real plus and at the price listed, it would still be a steal. Like my 1000 SFC though, it is far from original in the current state, still a lovely bike!!!

Maybe the owner can chime in and give more insight. Would for sure increase interest in the bike and maybe the sales price to know a bit more.

Cheers
Click to expand...
extra information additional parts gets added when available, by auction house, I agree though, some good mods/additions.
 
That does look a very good estimated price...

@1200ts, in 1989 I was at Newcomb's Ranch on Angeles Crest and there were two SFC 1000s parked next to each other in the parking lot. One was green like yours, and IIRC had Marvic Streamlines... I was in love. At the time the rumor mill was circulating stories of CARB confiscating illegally registered SFCs and that made it all the more alluring. What's the betting that was your bike? I'd say fairly high 😊
 
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Silvaire said:
That does look a very good estimated price...

@1200ts, in 1989 I was at Newcomb's Ranch on Angeles Crest and there were two SFC 1000s parked next to each other in the parking lot. One was green like yours, and IIRC had Marvic Streamlines... I was in love. At the time the rumor mill was circulating stories of CARB confiscating illegally registered SFCs and that made it all the more alluring. What's the betting that was your bike? I'd say fairly high 😊
Click to expand...
Odds are slim I would say. Best looking SFC I have seen. Your Le mans gen II (CX) great. I have one as well.
 
Maybe @1200ts will find this local So Cal history of some interest… Angeles Crest in 1989, a pretty unusual sighting then or now given that the SFC 1000 wasn’t imported into the US and they didn’t make green ones to the best of my knowledge, nor did they come with Marvic streamline wheels 😄

The black one looks pretty good too!

IMG_0436.jpeg
IMG_0434.jpeg
 
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Silvaire said:
Maybe @1200ts will find this So Cal history of some interest… Angeles Crest in 1989, a pretty unusual sighting then or now given that the SFC 1000 wasn’t imported into the US and they didn’t make green ones to the best of my knowledge, nor did they come with Marvic streamline wheels 😄

The black one looks pretty good too!

View attachment 103710
View attachment 103711
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I think that green SFC1000 maybe my bike? Mine also had the front Laverda emblem removed from the fairing. The Marvic wheels and brakes look like my bike also.

My 1988 SFC1000 was sold new in Germany. The original owner bought a 1200TS to get the vin plate off the frame and took it to Germany and made the SFC1000 a 1200TS to get it in to the USA. The SFC1000 was never sold in the USA.

I also have a full set of all body parts to make the bike orange which was how it was when I bought it from European Cycle Specialties in Southern California in 2002. The wheels and brakes as best I can tell are off a YB6R Bimota. Still have the wire wheels it came with when new.

The black SFC1000 looks like Bob Andren's bike which I think now lives in Australia.

Do you have any more pictures of the green sfc1000?
 
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I’m guessing it’s your bike, 37 years ago 😊 I’m BTW about 70 miles south of you.

I’d love to have an SFC 1000 but they are rare as hens teeth in California. One sold on BaT a while ago (maybe you know the one) but I missed it. You could get one into the US now that they’re over 25 years old, but you couldn’t register it in California with a non-US VIN format.
 
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Silvaire said:
I’m guessing it’s your bike, 37 years ago 😊 I’m BTW about 70 miles south of you.

I’d love to have an SFC 1000 but they are rare as hens teeth in California. One sold on BaT a while ago (maybe you know the one) but I missed it. You could get one into the US now that they’re over 25 years old, but you couldn’t register it in California with a non-US VIN format.
Click to expand...
Yes, I think that is my bike. There are too many things the same to not be my bike. The only thing I see different is it does not have the Ohlins rear shocks which were on the bike when I bought it and were for a Kawasaki KZ1300.

Now having ridden every model triple Laverda ever made. The SFC1000 may look cool, but the RGS Corsa is a better bike. That would be the bike I would be looking for if I did not already own a RGS and a a SFC.
 
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Thanks for that advice @1200ts. There’s actually an RGS Corsa for sale in Belgium right now and I have a storage option in Germany.

I hoped you’d enjoy the photos, what I posted are actually photos of photos in an old album. I was in my mid-20s at the time and had ridden up there on my LeMans with a girlfriend on the back. She didn’t last long but was pretty sporty! I took a bunch of photos in the parking lot and now it looks like heaven. Bevel Ducatis and Laverdas (also a Jota) and Guzzis, nice stuff en mass. I never forgot that green RGS, that I agree is likely yours now! So cool.
 
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Silvaire said:
I’d love to have an SFC 1000 but they are rare as hens teeth in California. One sold on BaT a while ago (maybe you know the one) but I missed it. You could get one into the US now that they’re over 25 years old, but you couldn’t register it in California with a non-US VIN format.
Click to expand...

I have one for sale and with a storage option in Germany, you could take your time to import it. Scott Schuler did that with another one from me (the 1000 SFC with VIN 0001...) some years ago, not sure how he did it actually, but he got it registered.
 
You can import motorcycles over 25 years ago into the US, but the issue is that once imported registration is done at the state level and one state (only) does not allow any vehicle that was not individually certified for the US market to be registered… and unfortunately for me that state is California, where I live.

If I lived in any other state it would be relatively easy.
 
Hello.I have a Laverda RGS for sale, it has a SFC 1000 engine, mounted CR cylinder head, and 36 mm dellorto, and Forcelle Italian front fork plus 300 mm travel.Dymag wheels and örling shock absorberPrice: 8600 Euro.
Br
Peder Heise
 

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Silvaire said:
You can import motorcycles over 25 years ago into the US, but the issue is that once imported registration is done at the state level and one state (only) does not allow any vehicle that was not individually certified for the US market to be registered… and unfortunately for me that state is California, where I live.

If I lived in any other state it would be relatively easy.
Click to expand...
Can you register it first to another state and then re-register it to California maybe?

You could argue it is an RGS (which is true, it is actually an RGS 1000 SFC...). The RGS were sold in US...
 
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