1984 Laverda

[pete roper]

Looks original to me too but when I worked on them was a long, long time ago and my memory of such things is probably sorely lacking.

I never got the idea of the fuel door and spout on the RGS? That always struck me as gimmicky and weird as @#!#$#!

[activpop]

@audiomickLooks like the fairing in your second link has an additional piece attached...maybe for additional deflection. Look at the pic where the bike is next to the van. It is pretty evident there. Those Italians have some different ideas on staging in their ads. I look at those pics and want to scream for someone to get this damn bike out of the way. Also the  description "if looks could kill the Laverda would be a mass murderer" could have been rethought a bit. On that same vein though, it looks killer in red. 

Edited December 11 by activpop

[guzzler]

Yeah, it looks pretty standard to me too!

I saw a couple of these when I was at the Boggy Creek* shindig a few years ago. 

Cheers 

* Laverda and Moto Guzzi clubs get together at the Curdievale ( Boggy Creek pub ) here in Victoria Oz.

[wavey_davey1]

Wow, only just found this thread, and as an owner of a 180 Jota and ex-owner of an RGS (and the similar but tuned SFC1000) I feel the need to comment.

It's often said by Laverda buffs that more myths and plain untruths are perpetuated by people who've never ridden them than almost any other make, and this thread sorta fits that view.  I thinks it's a product of their rarity, especially in some markets, and their position as one of the most expensive bikes you could buy back then, the two being linked I guess?

180 Jotas WERE the fastest production bike in the world for a time and had the proddy racing success to prove it, mostly in UK and Sweden. Compared to the other powerful bikes at the time (mainly Z900s, everything else was at least 10bhp less) they handled a fair bit better. They were never "terrifying anywhere near their top speed" on the road, and tended to weave predictably on the track at 10/10ths, which was, in fairness,  a fair bit faster than most other's 10/10ths. A recent track day on mine (admittedly lighter than stock but otherwise standard frame) never gave me any moments and was a model of stability.  I was lapping with Rob North Tridents and hitting 125mph (GPS speedo) on the short straights up to the braking points. On the road compared to my mate's 1000 Multistrada who I ride with, the suspension is woeful (30 years difference so it should be), but the stability in fast (smooth) sweepers is at least comparable.

The RGS was a step up from the 180s with the smoother rubber mounted 120 engines as has been said and a lower CofG, but a 1000cc 180 (2 pistons up, one down) vibrates like a 333cc single not "one and a half bonnevilles", and my own experience of my two bonnevilles bears that out.

Spares are no worse than any other small production 50 year old bike and actually much better than most. Wolfgang, OCT, Redax, Laverda Scozia, Laverda Paradies etc etc are all great sources of spares and expertise. I would put the spares prices and availability at about the same as, well, Guzzi V11 Sports.

Finally the RGS was the original company's swansong and was (and still is amazingly) a superb sports tourer with advanced aerodynamics (only the R100RS could really compare at the time) and like most Laverdas, fabulous build quality (again, for the period) and reliability. A lot of RGSs are still being used for exactly what they were built for.

incidentally, the two colours (red and silver) were due to use of specialist (BMW car bumper derived) flexible paint applied to Bayflex flexible plastic mudguards and sidepanels, which could literally be bent in half without leaving a mark. Possibly a solution looking for a problem but a mark of how seriously the Laverda brothers, who ran the company and were both passionate bikers) viewed their products and strove for quality. Fully adjustable eccentric footrests was another example that is yet to be replicated to this day (god knows why?)

The filler cap at the front was allegedly a response to threatened crash testing being introduced by DoT in the US, which never happened and cost Laverda money it could ill afford. Advantages are easy filling with a tankbag and elimination of the godawful leaking filler cap that all the Italian manufacturers used back then!

If I was asked to ride from here (UK) to say, Sicily on my choice of any 70s or 80s bike I'd choose in order (having owned and toured on all of them):-

Laverda RGS

BMW R100RS

Guzzi Lemans Mk3 (not two up!)

The RGS featured in this thread btw, was an "executive" with purpose made panniers and hand extensions on the fairing, very very rare.

Sorry, I'll get off my high horse now! 

 

 

 

 

[Sempervee1]

Lance Weil,  Real MC racer -  (RIP) of Rickey Racer Laverda in Costs Mesa CA threw me the keys to a RGS to test ride many years ago -  and off I went.  Powerful engine and tough clutch pull on very stump pulling  motor as I recall.  Not a popular MC back them amongst the KZ and GS 1000's we were riding back in the day.  Good times.   He could out ride all of us on a Morini 3 1/2. 

Edited Saturday at 12:48 AM by Sempervee1

[pete roper]

Compared to the Guzzis I was used to riding at the time they were terrifying at speed. Mind you they were also nearly twice as powerful! So it’s hardly surprising I found them a handful! I’ve never been a speed demon or super-skilled rider so I was probably out of my league.

If memory serves me it was the same sort of terror I’d feel nowadays getting off my 8V Griso and spooling up an RSV-4! 

[billgreenman1]

Beautiful machines and I'm reminiscing about the glorious sounds i heard them making at the vintage events at Mid-Ohio some decades back. Always and forever out of my range...

[guzzler]

Yeah, the 120 degree triples do sound good....

So does my mates MV triple with an aftermarket pipe..... music! 

Cheers