1998 Laverda 750S - bad idea?

[Baldy881]

Morning all,

A bike for sale as per the title caught my eye the other day. It made me remember of a picture I saw of one many years ago and I thought it looked great.

Now as I am getting older, my priorities are changing. I don't need anything specific from a bike, and I don't use one all that much but do still enjoy the odd sunny weekend blast to the coast and perhaps the possibility of a weekend up around Scotland for example (although I haven't done this for a few years now, but am keen to do it again!).

Current bike is a trusty K4 SV650S that does everything I want but is a little uninspiring to say the least. I don't have any real attachement to it, so it's currently stuffed in the back of the garage under wraps in a dirtier state than what it should be (note - it's not minging by any stretch but my limited love for it means it will probably stay there until I want to use it again).

Anyway, got me thinking, maybe it's time to change to a bike I would love to look at and enjoy an odd ride on. I don't need performance in buckets and neither do I really need to worry about reliability as mileage will be very limited and I have the services of an excellent (and cheap) bike mechanic. But it would be nice to feel the love for a bike again, even if it's just wheeling it out of the garage in the winter months for a look at now and then and giving it a wipe over. I don't feel that at the moment with the SV.

The final pull is that this particular bike is red and Italian, and so to have a bike like that in the garage with my red Lancia Delta would be nice. And no, I don't fancy a Ducati

Any views on these bikes that anyone cares to share?

[Krikkit]

Totally superficial, but if you're prepared to deal with possible unreliability and not overly fussed by it (a lot of which might be based on bullst of course) then why the hell not?

It looks great, it's rare and interesting. Do it! Life's too short to be bored of boring bikes.

[dibblecorse]

It will in comparison to your current bike be slow, lardy, have crap brakes, handle like a fish and generally be a bit pants .....

But thats whats called 'character' and life is too short not to have some character in your life .....

Who says rational is best ... go for it

[Cylon2007]

If you fancy it and it's in good nick just buy it, If you don't get on with it you can always sell it on again.
I have a hankering for a MK1 Motoguzzi Le Mans (red obviously) but I am sure I'll be underwhelmed but even so if I can get the money together it will happen.

[Tasmin200]

dibblecorse said:

It will in comparison to your current bike be slow, lardy, have crap brakes, handle like a fish and generally be a bit pants .....

I was thinking the complete opposite. I ran a SV650 for 16 years and my mate had a 750S about 10 years ago. Fantastic suspension and brakes, revs like a 748 and handles far better than an SV.

Very uncomfortable handlebar position though, and he went through about 3 regulators before getting it upgraded.

[Baldy881]

Hi,

I don't think it will feel lacking in performance compared to the SV (although these days anything that gets me to a ton fairly respectably will do too many scamera vans in North Yorks these days to NOT worry about speed!). I believe they are 85'ish bhp compared to SV's 70'ish, similar weight and the frame/suspension components look miles better on the Laverda! Don't get me wrong, the SV is a superb acomplished and fun little bike that I can ride 10/10th's when the mood takes me, but as a bike it is just that, no more no less. Reviews suggest Laverda engines are a bit rough as based on an old design, but improved towards the end of their production?

I've had a couple of sports 1000's and they're just too much for me, even a sports 600 is more than I require. Saying that the last bike I LOVED was my '97 RRV Fireblade that I should never have let go! But i've not seen one of those that excites me and I have looked often in the years following sale of mine.

As for issues, well I had an NC30 for 6 years as a first bike (regulator problems!! ) but as long as these kind of issues can be easily fixed that's no biggy. As mentioned, I have a 29 year old Lancia that scares me to death - but I love it to bits so things like that are (nearly) always worth the hassle

I think the Laverda still looks uber cool for an older bike

[Tasmin200]

Sounds like you've convinced yourself! If you can afford it just buy it. I know I'd rather have that sitting in the garage than a SV650.

Maybe do a bit of digging with the owners club re values and spares as there wont be much dealer back up...

[dern]

I'm not sure I'd spend that much on one but if I was to buy one it would be the same orange colour and silver that I saw in our local dealers in 98. Stunning.

[Baldy881]

Tasmin200 said:

Sounds like you've convinced yourself! If you can afford it just buy it. I know I'd rather have that sitting in the garage than a SV650.

Maybe do a bit of digging with the owners club re values and spares as there wont be much dealer back up...

Well yes and no. Not even thought about it until I saw that one for sale last night (whilst at a friends talking about bikes - he has two older Guzzi's and it reminded me of the Laverda so I made the mistake of looking). So impulsive certainly, but has made me realise that's how i'm feeling about bikes at the moment. The wife said "you've never mentioned one of them before" but then she'd say the same about an Erion Racing Fireblade, old Duke 900SS and SP1 which I know I have certainly mentioned in the past!!

I'll sound my mechanic mate out, but i'd imagine his reaction will be the same as when I asked him if he'd fancy doing resto work on a 900SS I saw last year. He wasn't keen (but more than capable)

[Baldy881]

dern said:

I'm not sure I'd spend that much on one but if I was to buy one it would be the same orange colour and silver that I saw in our local dealers in 98. Stunning.

And that's a problem with a bike of this age/type. They are either a bit worn out and probably priced at what they're worth, or mint and priced way over the odds. I suspect this one is the latter. But as something to buy to love, condition is more important than price in the scheme of things. The danger as always, if I did pay top dollar and don't like it, you're left selling on to a very limited market and will undoubtedly lose a chunk of what you originally paid!

[Moulder]

I see this one occasionally when out, what's not to like?



If concerned about reliability you could always keep the SV as well in case of issues, it will allow you to retain an element of nonchalance with the Laverda which is good as older bikes can often smell and feed off of desperation...

[Baldy881]

Yes that's lovely, 750S Formula I think. Have been doing some reading today, big worry looks like issues with faulty cranks on these bikes, and not a case of if, but when Hmmm. Not a cheap or local fix either. I mean I can live with a bike off the road for a few weeks, but if it comes with a bloody huge bill then that IS a worry!

Unfortunately no room (or funds for that matter) for two bikes in the garage

[CousinDupree]

If you ever find a spare frame / swingarm pls let me know. That Nico Bakker chassis is just fantastic.

[xstian]

I have a 750s formula. It's a lovely bike with some beautiful details. It let me down once in the 4 years I've owned it, but I don't do a lot of miles on it and the failure was down to lack of use, gummed up fuel pump.

The motor is viby at low revs, but a change of sprocket/gearing is meant to improve things. There is a know crank problem. Get onto yahoo Zane list.

This is the only photo of mine on my phone.

[Tasmin200]

Alternatively buy another rare Italian twin. I've got one and it's good, a bit like a faster better built SV650. It feels special but not as hard to put up with as the Laverda. You'll get a good one for under £2k

[Baldy881]

xstian said:

I have a 750s formula. It's a lovely bike with some beautiful details. It let me down once in the 4 years I've owned it, but I don't do a lot of miles on it and the failure was down to lack of use, gummed up fuel pump.

The motor is viby at low revs, but a change of sprocket/gearing is meant to improve things. There is a know crank problem. Get onto yahoo Zane list.

This is the only photo of mine on my phone.

Very nice. Do you know if yours has had the crank issue sorted? (I'm sure you will know!)

I did drop my mechanic a message to see what he thinks, as expected he said fine if you only want to look at it as if something does break parts can be very hard to find (can't imagine it can be any harder than finding bits for a 29 year old Lancia!), oh and he also said something about if it ever runs right

The crank thing is the scary bit if I'm being honest, especially when that red one at £4.5k is probably priced well over the odds. Wouldn't bother me so much for a fairly reliable bike that I'd intend keeping, but lot of money if something costly happens.

Since been looking at 748/749 Ducatis, despite me saying in an earlier thread I didn't want one...

[FredClogs]

A mate of mine had a 650 ghost back in the day, lovely looking thing, gold brembos, ohlins, lovely wheels and other touches of Italian detailing. It did blow and engine though and shortly after getting it fixed he crashed it into a steam roller on a narrow lane (very lucky to walk away). Vibrated like a washing machine on a spin cycled to but I don't think that was to blame for the crash.

I wouldn't touch a 20 year old one now unless you're extremely patient or dedicated.

[Baldy881]

Tasmin200 said:

Alternatively buy another rare Italian twin. I've got one and it's good, a bit like a faster better built SV650. It feels special but not as hard to put up with as the Laverda. You'll get a good one for under £2k

Good shout, that's a great looking bike!

[xstian]

Baldy881 said:

xstian said:

I have a 750s formula. It's a lovely bike with some beautiful details. It let me down once in the 4 years I've owned it, but I don't do a lot of miles on it and the failure was down to lack of use, gummed up fuel pump.

The motor is viby at low revs, but a change of sprocket/gearing is meant to improve things. There is a know crank problem. Get onto yahoo Zane list.

This is the only photo of mine on my phone.

Very nice. Do you know if yours has had the crank issue sorted? (I'm sure you will know!)

I did drop my mechanic a message to see what he thinks, as expected he said fine if you only want to look at it as if something does break parts can be very hard to find (can't imagine it can be any harder than finding bits for a 29 year old Lancia!), oh and he also said something about if it ever runs right

The crank thing is the scary bit if I'm being honest, especially when that red one at £4.5k is probably priced well over the odds. Wouldn't bother me so much for a fairly reliable bike that I'd intend keeping, but lot of money if something costly happens.

Since been looking at 748/749 Ducatis, despite me saying in an earlier thread I didn't want one...

It's not had the crank done. It does have the type 3 crank that does solve some of the issues though. These where only fitted to latter bikes. Mines only covered 4k km and I believe it was the last bike to be imported to the UK. It's certainly one of the last 10-15 bikes made.

Parts for your integrale will be much easier to find than for a laverda, but there are people out there with parts. Consumables, filters, pads, discs etc are easy to get.

What integrale do you have? I still have a few spares from when I had mine.

[Baldy881]

xstian said:

What integrale do you have? I still have a few spares from when I had mine.

Thanks for the info on the Laverda. My Integrale is a 16V non Evo model (89). Depending what parts you're sat on, you could be sat on a gold mine! But as an ex owner you'll know that. Still a great camaraderie amongst the Delta owners, who will go above and beyond to dig you out of a hole (I needed a new cylinder head on mine last year )

Edited by Baldy881 on Monday 7th January 22:33