Laverda Love Fest
Original shop owner Franz Nachod has since moved on to other adventures, but the shop continues today with current owner Roland Sotello. My father was just beginning to make the move from his beloved BMW to the Italian marque Moto Guzzi and the Spare Parts Co. sold both brands. It was there I saw the then current models SF750 and the Jota. The big twins and triple cylinder bikes dwarfed the Moto Guzzi LeMans parked nearby. A few years later, I found myself buying a Guzzi 850 T-5 from the shop and made my entry into Italian bike ownership.
I never did get buy my own Laverda, but in 2008 something even better came along, the offer to race someone else's Laverda! Local Mercedes Benz dealer Gerd Opderbeck was kind enough to offer me a chance to race his stunning Laverda SF750 at the AMA Vintage Days Celebration at Mid Ohio Sportscar Complex and Raceway in Lexington, Ohio that July.
The bike had been converted by Altenier to SFC- style bodywork but was largely stock other than that. We took the bike to a local race shop, RBO in Kinzers, PA which got the bike running, added new tires and safety wired it in preparation for the event. Once completed, we loaded up the equipment and headed west.
Imagine my surprise when we rolled up to the garage at Mid Ohio, where we were confirmed as the only Laverda race entry for the weekend only to hear, " Hey, there's a guy in the next garage with an orange Laverda too." I poked my head around the corner to have a look. What I saw was none other than Mr. Piero Laverda and his son, Giovanni with two stunning factory Laverda race bikes. One was the "Barcelona bike", a twin cylinder 500cc endurance racer and the other was one of the most fantastic race bikes ever, the Laverda V-6. While I'd seen the bike in books and online, I never thought I'd get to see it in person. Wow!
Apparently the Laverda owners group put together the funding to bring over the father and son with the race machines as Laverda was the featured marque for the AMA Vintage Days weekend. Laverda was established in 1873 in Breganze, Italy and manufactured , among other things Combine Harvesters for Agriculture. Big Orange Tractors.
In what seems now like a just matter of minutes, I'd unloaded my bike, checked in and fueled up. I was heading out on track following the Laverda V6. What followed was one of those moments for which we classic bike enthusiasts dream of. I passed Mr. Laverda and he passed back, we ran up through the gearbox, then downshifted and dropped into the next turn. All the while, the big six making an exquisite sound via its six-into one exhaust system. lap after lap I stayed behind now, absorbing the moment, knowing it would likely be only chance to ever see it this close in action.
click on the link below to see the Laverda V-6 in action
In the next practice session, the Laverda twin, the 500cc Barcelona was taken out and exercised as well. I followed along as well. Like father, like son, the Laverda family knows how to have fun. I found out quickly, though, that my SF750 was very much in need of an update to dual disc instead of the drum brakes that didn't offer power equivalent to the engines power. Lots of Go, but no Whoa!
When we returned to the pits, I saw a familiar face in their garage. It was former AMA Superbike and two-time World Superbike Champion, Doug Polen who was sharing garage space and running a race school. Doug would hang around for the weekend critiquing and assisting racers who needed insight. What a class act. This is why classic bike racing never fails to keep my interest. It's the people and the bikes; the sights, the sounds, the smells, that provide the sensory overload that results in memories that last a lifetime.
In the Formula 750 race, it was quickly red-flagged because of an accident. Lots of drama and then a clean restart. I finished mid-pack, but most importantly, I brought the bike back home intact, which is all I could hope for given the high level of competition in the class and the other excuses I'm still working on.
As we loaded the bikes in the trailer for the long drive home, I said "Ciao" to my new friends and thought back to those days when I first laid eyes on a Laverda at the shop in Philadelphia. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined someday I'd not only get to race one, but get see the mighty Laverda Six up close. Simply amazing.
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