Lusting after a Laverda

[Normsthename]

Thinking about going back in time and buying a classic Laverda 750
Not cheap, but I have always wanted one since I was a sprog
Price is £5000 upwards
Would have to trade the Beemer in but that does not bother me.
I used to have an original 1981 Triumph Bonneville 750 that I loved, but I was for ever messing with the crap amal carbs etc.
The Laverda 750 are supposed to be a really useable classic.
They have German and Japanese electrics so don't suffer from the usual dodgy Italian electrics.
The bikes I have looked at go back to 1969 and even those have an electric starter that actually works!
I have got a choice of 4 bikes dating from 1969 to 1976, the earlier models have wire wheels and drum brakes, the later model (SF3 750) has cast wheels and brake discs front and rear.
No doubt some will think I have lost my marbles but I don't care!

Andy

[wozza]

Ah the 750 twin...lovely looking machines, and no you're definitely not mad, I think it's a great idea.

[ridinhigh]

i did ride a laverda jota ,that belonged to a old mate of mine, sadly i dont know happened to him or bike ,different parts of world now

[wozza]

Didn't the Jotas have a really heavy clutch?

[Normsthename]

Didn't the Jotas have a really heavy clutch?

All Laverdas had heavy clutches
They can be fixed either by a different operating arm, or a hydraulic conversion.
I might need to have this mod fitted because I am a bit of a wimp!
Yesterday I went to the shop and the guy fired up the 1969 bike actually in the shop!
The sound was glorious!!!

Andy

[gn2]

Mmm Laverda, lovely.
For me it would have to be a 180 crank Jota or Mirage or a maybe just a little Montjuic.

[Normsthename]

For me it would have to be a 180 crank Jota or Mirage or a maybe just a little Montjuic

Me too! but I can't afford one
Jotas are fetching silly money, there is a nice one on EBay for £12500

Andy

[gn2]

Yep really silly money considering all they are is a 3C with a makeover.
Still, if I won the lottery I would have one in an instant.
Years ago as a youth of 20 I could not get finance on a used Jota.
It was a couple of years old and in absolutely mint condition.
Looked just like this.
I could easily have afforded the payments, but I just couldn't get anyone to lend me the money.
Swines.
If I had been able to buy that bike I would probably still own it now some thirty years later.

[Terry1100]

My memory of riding a Jota some years ago is of a bike that was incredibly tall - and the gearchange was on the "wrong" side.

But the noise - what a sound.

My sister-in-law had a 500 Laverda in the 80s. We toured Europe and it had to stop for fuel twice as often as the rest of us - and it's alternator packed up in Aachen.

[JohnR93]

How old are you Andy? I've just turned 57 and am lusting after either a Bonneville SE (or T100) or a Moto Guzzi V7 or a Kawasaki W800.
I think you maybe right about the going back in time thing. These were the type of bikes I wanted but could not afford when I was in my late teens / early twenties.

Is it your (& my) Mid Life Crisis? If it's mine I'm going to live to be 114!