Laverda

Laverda (Moto Laverda S.A.S. – Dottore Francesco Laverda e fratelli) was an Italian manufacturer of high performance motorcycles. The motorcycles in their day gained a reputation for being robust and innovative.

The Laverda brand was absorbed by Piaggio when, in 2004, Piaggio absorbed Aprilia. Piaggio has elected to quietly close all activities related to the Laverda brand and has publicly stated that they would be willing to sell the rights to the brand if an investor should appear. As of 2015, Laverda.com no longer redirects to Aprilia's website. As of 2021, laverda.com shows the history of the company between 1873 and 2004.

History

Early history

The roots of the Laverda Motorcycle company go back to 1873, when Pietro Laverda (1845–1930) decided to start an agricultural engines enterprise – Laverda S.p.A. – in the small rural village of Breganze in Vicenza province (North-East of Italy).

Almost exactly three quarters of a century later, with a spirit of enterprise and feeling the need to improve the situation of an economically underdeveloped region which had suffered badly from two world wars, in October 1949, Pietro's grandson Francesco founded Moto Laverda S.A.S. – Dottore Francesco Laverda e fratelli.

The big twins

By the late 1960s, Francesco and brothers began sketching out a new breed of large motorcycles that would be built around an all new 650 cc parallel twin engine. The brand was now sufficiently strong and well known, and Francesco's son Massimo had just returned from the USA where it was clear that sales were dominated by large capacity British and American hardware suited for long-distance traveling.[1] Above all this, was a desire to produce a prestigious and powerful machine that could conceivably take on the best and finest from Moto-Guzzi, BMW and the rapidly emerging Japanese.

In November 1966 Laverda exhibited the result of its thinking with the 650 prototype at Earls Court in London. While not an extreme sport bike in any sense, it exhibited all the virtues that Laverda had become synonymous with. At the same time its appearance disrupted the concept of a big bore parallel twin being British built. After this first appearance, Luciano Zen and Massimo Laverda retreated until April 1968, working hard in order to prepare the bike for production. By now they had developed a 750 cc version too. They were confident enough to enter four examples in the prestigious Giro d'Italia. Two 650 and two 750 machines provided Laverda with victory for the 650 in her class, with three bikes finishing in the first 6 and all in the top 10! Two weeks after this victory the first 650 cc production models left the factory. The bikes carried the finest components available at the time, from British Smiths instruments, Pankl con-rods, Ceriani suspension, Mondial pistons, to Bosch electrical parts and (revolutionary at the time!) Japanese Nippon-Denso starter, thus eliminating the one problem plaguing nearly all contemporary British and Italian motorcycles at the time: their electrical unreliability. The 650 cc offered superior comfort and stability with its handling at least equivalent to the competition. Of course, it also carried a high price. It is difficult to quantify production quantities since frame numbering was shared with the 750 launched in May 1968 - as few as 52 or up to 200 Laverda 650 cc were produced.

750

The true birth of Laverda as a serious big bike brand occurred with the introduction of 750 cc; its appearance halted sales of the recently introduced 650. Many of the first bikes were produced for the American market under the brand "American Eagle", which were imported to the US from 1968 until 1969 by Jack McCormack, and were used by stunt rider Evel Knievel until 1970. The 750 was identical to the 650 except for the lower compression and carburettor rejetting. In 1969 the "750 S" and the "750 GT" were born, both equipped with an engine which would truly start the Laverda fame. Both engine and frame were reworked: power was increased to 60 bhp for the S. 3 bikes were entered by the factory at the 1969 Dutch 24-hour endurance race in Oss, the 750S was clearly the fastest bike until piston failure left just one machine to finish fourth.

Just like the agricultural machinery made by Laverda S.p.A., the other family business, Laverdas were built to be indestructible. The parallel twin cylinder engine featured no less than five main bearings (four crankcase bearings and a needle-roller outrigger bearing in the primary chaincase cover), a duplex cam chain, and a starter motor easily twice as powerful as needed. Of course, this made the engine and subsequently the entire bike heavier than other bikes of the same vintage, such as the Ducati 750. The SF evolved to include disc brakes and cast alloy wheels. Developed from the 750S road bike was the 750 SFC (super freni competizione), a half-faired racer that was developed to win endurance events like the Oss 24 hours, Barcelona 24 hours and the Bol D'Or at Le Mans. This it did, often placed first, second and third in the same race, and dominating the international endurance race circuit in 1971.[2] Distinguished by its characteristic orange paint which would become the company's race department colour, its smooth aerodynamic fairing and upswept exhaust, the SFC was Laverda's flagship product and best advertisement, flaunting pedigree and the message of durability, quality, and exclusivity. The SFC "Series 15,000" was featured in the Guggenheim Museum in New York's 1999 exhibit The Art of the Motorcycle as one of the most iconic bikes of the 1970s.

type	Subsidiary
founder	Francesco Laverda
defunct	2006
foundation	1949 in Breganze
location city	Breganze
location country	Italy
products	motorcycles
parent	Piaggio & Co. SpA
homepage	www.laverda.com

History

Early history

The big twins

750

Triples

V6

Middleweight twins

Beginning of the end

Takeovers and rebirth

Aprilia takeover

See also

Further reading

External links

References