UK Laverda Auction Results

SRK189W

SRK189W

Junior member
Location
Shropshire
The H&H Auctions Classic Bike event, at the National Bike Museum, Birmingham was held yesterday. Among the various lots were these two Laverdas, a 180 S2 Jota, and an SFC1000. The SFC is one of the very last triples built. Twelfth from last, actually. Lots of history too. Couple of pics here with total prices including fees shown, but if you'd like more detail, go to H&H Auctions website and check results section. I think they both sold to UK buyers, but at least one under bidder on the SFC was from Oz. Be interesting to hear your opinions, on prices achieved, the bikes, or any other aspect that comes to mind. Which, if any, would you have stuck your hand up for?
 

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SRK189W said:
The H&H Auctions Classic Bike event, at the National Bike Museum, Birmingham was held yesterday. Among the various lots were these two Laverdas, a 180 S2 Jota, and an SFC1000. The SFC is one of the very last triples built. Twelfth from last, actually. Lots of history too. Couple of pics here with total prices including fees shown, but if you'd like more detail, go to H&H Auctions website and check results section. I think they both sold to UK buyers, but at least one under bidder on the SFC was from Oz. Be interesting to hear your opinions, on prices achieved, the bikes, or any other aspect that comes to mind. Which, if any, would you have stuck your hand up for?
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I wonder the prices differ so much and the SFC price is so low. People more like the classic Jota style. Interesting….
 
andre g said:
I wonder the prices differ so much and the SFC price is so low. People more like the classic Jota style. Interesting….
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Not preferences, just common-sense.

The Jota is a running, apparently restored/rebuilt example with lots of reciepts to show for it, iIrc, the scruffy SFC was pulled out of long-term hibernation. To get it going and looking as well as the Jota, a potential buyer will need to sink at least the same as the purchase price, not to mention a shit ton of work, into it.

Everybody knows the SFC is basically the superior bike, once it's sorted... ;)

piet
 
Yes agreed, the SFC is a resto job, but nevertheless has a lot going for it. Its originality, long-term ownership, detailed service history & receipts count for something I think. Some bidders may have been influenced by its 'last of the line triple' VIN status too maybe? Costly to do it right, but what a project! While there is no realistic direct comparison between them, one can see how any potential bidder cross-over may have not been that great?
Both triples, but to me at least, they represent different eras. Which one would I choose? The SFC, no question.
 
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Garage space limitations mean duplication cannot work for me. I don’t consider a 180 and a 120 to be similar in any way. As I have a late mk2 180 (#8041), I’d go for the apex alpha male of the 120’s, the SFC in this particular case.

I don’t know the bike in question. What kind of attention do you think it needs????
 
Steve G. said:
Garage space limitations mean duplication cannot work for me. I don’t consider a 180 and a 120 to be similar in any way. As I have a late mk2 180 (#8041), I’d go for the apex alpha male of the 120’s, the SFC in this particular case.

I don’t know the bike in question. What kind of attention do you think it needs????
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Who knows until you got stuck into it? Aside from all the usual stuff, it would probably be a case of 'expect the worst, and hope for the best.' ;)
Final production triple frame/engine number was 3452. This one is 3440.
 
SRK189W said:
Who knows until you got stuck into it? Aside from all the usual stuff, it would probably be a case of 'expect the worst, and hope for the best.' ;)
Final production triple frame/engine number was 3452. This one is 3440.
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That’s significant in its own right. The very last dozen!!
The SFC 1000 certainly was easier to ride than the SFC 750, for me anyways. My knees screamed when I rode the SFC 750.
 
My thoughts exactly Steve, it deserves a second chance! And if the Laverda Mania Register is up to date, it would be the 'newest' one left in the UK. :) Regards, Steve.
 
The SFC did go for a pretty low bid, but as others have commented, a bit of an unknown quantity in terms of its mechanical integrity. I suppose it depends what the buyer had in mind when he/she bid on it.
I would also suggest as it appears to be a ‘classic’ model, AFAIK they were built as a batch so not necessarily one of the last dozen to be built but just happens to have a late frame number. Also, AFAIK components were being picked at random in the later production period, so again, just because it’s got a late number doesn’t prove it was one of the last to be built. However, I stand to be corrected.
 
There were NO non- hand made Laverda’s. All were hand built, but I certainly understand the significance of every SFC 750. The only reason I brought it up, is that, in 2025-2026, riding an SFC1000 on the street would certainly be more pleasant and easy on my 65 yr old hockey knees.
 
I have run SFCs for most of my life and maybe that helps me still riding them at 68 years old. Often when riding them, I have my toes on the footrests, even on my Egli which is ergonomically even more extreme.

Having said that, I have to admit that I do appreciate my 750S, which is the first Laverda with (low) handlebars that I ride in 44 years!

Marnix
 
I am just not made for the 750 SFC, though I admire it's history, love the look and sound. But everyone is right saying that the 750 SFC and the 1000 SFC are no where comparable. They represent two different aeras of the brand, one the rise of the brand, one the end of it. One is a street legal long distance race bike, the other a sports-tourer. Doesn't make sense to compare the two really.

The 1000 SFC is a great bike if well sorted and with the right rider on it. I had hard times to somewhat keep up with Hanu Gorski on his 1000 SFC Classic in the 90's when we went down to Italy together. Before we learned to know him, he drove the 2.500km down to italy in roughly 24 hours (including the ferry from Helsinki to Germany...). From the time he knew Robert (my brother), he stopped by on the way down and they drove together the next day. Remember well when he came to my brothers house in 1996 or 1997 in the evening (started early in the morning, taking the first ferry to germany and drove all the way down from the east sea coast to southern Bavaria). He arrived at around 6:00 pm and after offloading his stuff rom the bike, he calmly said: "Can we later look at the bike, it started shooting after a tank stop in Würzburg (300km away...).

Robert and him ended up taking the engine out and head off, as one valve had a damage. Next morning at 6:00, Robert brought the head to a local repair shop, asked them to put a Vectra 2,0 Liter engine Valve into the head, advised them for the length of the valve etc. and collected the head 2 hours later. 9:00 the engine was put back into the frame, 10:00 we were on our way down to Breganze. Head was re-torqued in Breganze and later again when Hanu was back in Germany, again I think when he was back in Finnland. He rode that engine for another 80.000km (a total of 180.000km I think to remember)...
 
As previously stated, the SFC1000, assuming it doesn’t need much doing to it to make it rideable, was probably a bit below the expected sale price, so might turn out to be a cany acquisition. On the flip side, it could turn into a can of worms.
The Jota, given the amount spent on the bike by a previous owner, £10k is probably a reasonable amount in the current market.
 
Andy J said:
As previously stated, the SFC1000, assuming it doesn’t need much doing to it to make it rideable, was probably a bit below the expected sale price, so might turn out to be a cany acquisition. On the flip side, it could turn into a can of worms.
The Jota, given the amount spent on the bike by a previous owner, £10k is probably a reasonable amount in the current market.
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You can spend £10 000 on a bike and still have a bag of nails.
The only thing that imports is who does the job.
Paul
 
Some interesting , valid points among the replies for sure. However, I can't help thinking that any sale of just about every Laverda project bike is hamstrung by the eye-watering cost of just about everything you are going to need (Zane machines excepted maybe, I dunno) for its restoration.
The asking prices I see bandied about for engine components, major or otherwise is unsettling to say the least, and it doesn't bode well for the long-term future of the marque. Yes, I know basic supply & demand is a major factor, not to mention the relatively small market for these items.
But with achieved sale prices in the UK heading south, something has to give, somewhere.
Of course, if money is no object to you, or you possess enough N.O.S. spares to make it viable, then knock yerself out. I'm hoping that the SFC was bought by someone in this catagory, and will receive the care and attention it needs. To anyone on a budget however, with other financial considerations, 'Caveat Emptor' has to be the order of the day. I just hope it doesn't end up sitting in another shed for 15 years...
 
The price of some cycle parts for a restoration to mint condition are pretty high, but I don't find the price of what is needed to keep them going and in good nick exorbitant at all. Almost everything in daily life costs way more now after the excuses of gfc´s and pandemics. On motorbikes just look at how little crash damage any modern bike needs in order to be written off. My Laverdas both road and race have never been money pits in use, solid and long wearing or I probably would have got rid of them ages ago. What does cost a lot for me is work done locally outside of contacts in my network.
 
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