- classic / vintage 1,000
- New York, NY
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- ebay.com
Gorizia, italy (on the northeast corner of italy 1km from slovenia). That is when this laverda came into real life, from the pages of every conceivable magazine and poster since childhood. In fact the first time i laid eyes on a laverda 750sfc was at the guggenheim museum in new york city in 1998, at its renowned exhibition, art of the motorcycle. If i wasn't already hooked, now i was obsessed. In the years since that life changing show, i was always on the "lookout". Sorta like john walsh chasing fugitives! I couldn't believe my eyes in the summer of 2012. In fact, i couldn't understand the italian listing on ebay italy, either. When the sun rose the next morning i was at my neighbor's door, an italian. I had a million questions. My neighbor just wanted to go to work. I learned that the motorcycle was built to race throughout italy by an engineer who also owned a genuine sfc. Too precious to race, he saw no obstacle to making an exact clone, particularly the specification of the motor:10. 8:1 compressioncarillo rodssfc cranksfc camssfc pistons, valves and porting36 mm dell'ortosthe rest is simply bodywork... The last thing i thought about doing when i bought, imported and titled it in the us, was racing it. So it was cosmetically restored as a streetbike. Laverda's are known to have indestructible motors. And this was no exception. When it cleared customs it set off car alarms a quarter mile away... My good friend kenny cummings, the owner of nyc norton had been taking care of another parallel twin of mine, a norton commando. And every few weeks kenny would be "gone racing". So its technically his fault. And became just as obsessed about racing as laverdas. Naturally, one doesn't begin racing on real racetracks with a then-perfect 750sfc clone. I had the good fortune to acquire the fastest, winningest vintage triumph t100r 500cc daytona in the land. Built and obscenely modified by tim joyce, then and now the fastest vintage racer in ahrma, with the possible exception of pat mooney, tim can truthfully claim he got bored with winning. All the races entered, multiple series, multiple race class championships. Makes me sick how fast that bike could be. (with tim on it). I raced two years before i became obsessed with the laverda for a different reason. Though it was exhilarating to ride as a streetbike (outside of new york city where i lived), i soon learned this was a motorcycle that was designed, built and wanted to race. Long story short(er), thats what it became. I had a serious crash on the triumph at the final race of last year, at barber motorsports in alabama in october. 8 days in the hospital and several months incapacitated. (don't feel sorry for me... I've since returned to racing - the triumph - and am doing just fine :)many tough questions get answered when something like that happens. My first crash was a doozy. Still not even the slightest recollection of the lead up, crash, or aftermath. (i was clipped by an idiot who chose the most illogical and dangerous place to attempt to overtake, with zero chance of completing his pass cleanly (obviously); after the first but before the second chicane... Where the width of the race line riding straight through the middle, is barely the length of a motorcycle. Comparable power. So he decided he would "make some room". I went over my bars at 70 and he kept going. Thats racing.)one of the important questions i could no longer ignore, was what was i truly expecting the laverda to achieve against other f750 bikes of comparable horsepower, weighing 1-150 pounds less. I have returned to my triumph because there is literally nothing possible to do to make the bike faster... Again except the obvious: by me going faster. And tomorrow, is my triumph. I recently obtained genuine sfc sidecovers. Once again as an idiot, i made a mistake i will forever regret (at least while i was racing it): replacing the fiberglass tank with a new wolfgang-special steel tank. (remember, this is when it was drinking crap ethanol infused pump gas. Sometimes.) the tank is superb, but heavier. And i no longer have the original :( i sold it to help pay for the expensive new one. The totality of this bike however makes that small beans however. No idea of true mileage. But clear new york state title in my name. I could keep writing for miles and miles about this bike. I've documented and photographed everything, every step of the way. These photos are just a sample. I own new york city motorcycles, a vintage motorcycle sales and racing company. In addition to this laverda, i own one of the six formula 500s that raced at the isle of man and is the actual bike pictured on the laverda 500 twins book. As much as i have deep, deep love for this bike and consider it such an honor and privilege to have been a chapter in its amazing life, its for the new owner to decide what this bike should become. My tuner and one of the most trusted geniuses of 70's italian twins, peter boggia of motoborgotaro in red hook brooklyn has looked after this bike from the moment i decided it would become a racer. I can let peter take a year to do a refresh (one doesn't hurry a genius) investing considerably more money to return it to race or street perfection. As mentioned, it has never crashed. It could benefit from a new top end and porting. A simplified wiring harness - though whats on the bike now is perfectly functional. The motorcycle presently sits in peter's shop (though he is travelling in europe at present, making viewing slightly difficult during this auction. I remain very close friends with the previous owner. We've met at imola twice since, for the annual mostra scambio, the largest vintage bike swap in the world by far, every september. And i hope to have the same opportunity with its new owner. Thanks for reading this far :)sold as is, where is, with no returns nor warranties express nor implied. Bidders must be certain of their commitment before bidding, as once its submitted. No time for nonsense please. Since new york city motorcycles ( nycmc dot com) is reasonably well known throughout the vintage motorcycle community, this is not the only platform for offering the bike. Therefore please consider not waiting until the final seconds of the auction to bid. Although its not cheap, the reserve is very reasonable (don't ask/don't tell). Multiples of the reserve has been invested in this motorcycle. It was a privilege to lose money on this fabulous machine :)motorcycle is located in red hook brooklyn, new york city.
Classic / Vintage✔ 1000 Miles✔ Tail light