Laverda 1000 V6

Laverda 1000 V6

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Moto Laverda might not be making motorcycles anymore, butthere is still a lot to admire about the Breganze, Italy, company. Their 750ccdouble-overhead cam twins produced relatively modest power, but with a fattorque curve that just kept on delivering. And in the early 1970s, Laverda twinswere virtually unbeatable on the long distance production racing circuits ofEurope thanks to their amazing endurance.

The arrival of the 1,000cc triple in 1973 opened a new chapterin the Laverda story, and the 3C (tre cilindri) would become the mainstay ofLaverda production for the next 20 years. And when the legendary Jota, with itsrace cams and pistons pinched from the factory endurance racers, hit the roadthree years later, the 140mph projectile became an instant classic. Big, loudand orange, the Italian heavyweight scaled over 550lb (250kg) with a tank ofgas, but the brute handled well — if you showed it who was boss. The Jota soonracked up a string of production race victories. But it wasn’t enough forMassimo Laverda. He wanted more.

Massimo’s father, Francesco, established Moto Laverda in 1947,and introduced the company’s first bike, a 75cc single, in 1950. In the early1960s Massimo visited the Land of the Free to find out where the market wasgoing, and he came away with a lesson he never forgot: In America, Bigger isBetter. And he knew that in America — one of Laverda’s most important markets —riders would go wild over a 1,000cc V6 motorcycle.

Beginnings of the V6

The plan was simple: build a prototype, prove it in enduranceracing, and use the lessons learned to produce a new range of bikes. But firsthe needed an engine. That’s where Giulio Alfieri comes in. Alfieri had worked atLamborghini and Maserati as technical director, and had years of experience withV6 power plants. In 1975, Alfieri was signed up, joining Laverda’s chiefdesigner, Luciano Zen, and brothers Massimo and Piero Laverda one day a week towork on the project.Just like the V6 Alfieri designed for Maserati, the water-cooled, short-stroke,six-cylinder he cooked up for Laverda featured a 90-degree vee with chainsdriving double overhead camshafts. The bore and stroke of 65mm x 50mm gave996cc, and there were four valves per cylinder, each with a single 10mm sparkplug. Sparks came courtesy of a Marelli electronic ignition unit plucked from aV12 Ferrari. Lucas fuel injection was tried at first, but was soon replaced withsix specially made Del ‘Orto downdraft carburetors. Oil was carried under theseat, with two separate pumps for feed and scavenge mounted at the front of thecrank.

The engine formed the main part of the frame, but the rest of the cycle partslooked as if they came from the Breganze parts bin with Campagnolo wheels,Brembo discs and 38mm Marzocchi forks. Lav’s V6 featured an electric starter,twin headlamps from the Porsche 911 parts list and two huge radiators mounted oneither side of the engine to take the heat out of the six Litresof water usedin the cooling system.

Produced in 1977-78, the Laverda V6 is powered by a DOHC,water-cooled, 1000cc, six-cylinder engine that makes 140 horsepower at11,800rpm. Top speed is said to be 285km/h! Piero Laverda himself owns the bikeand it's the only running example left. The bike is said to be insured by theVintage Motorcycle Club for about US$500,000. There is one more Laverda V6,which lives in a Laverda museum in the Netherlands, but that bike is not inrunning condition.



Dane techniczne:


Make Model
Laverda 1000 V6
Year
1977 - 78
Engine
Four stroke 90-degree V6 cylinder 4 valves per cylinder.
Capacity
995.5 cc / 60.7 cu-in
Bore x Stroke
65 x 50 mm
Cooling System
Liquid cooled
Induction
6X 30mm Dell'Orto FRD carbs
Ignition
Electronic F1
Starting
Electric
Max Power
140 hp / 104.3 kW @ 11800 rpm
Transmission
5 Speed
Final Drive
Chain
Front Suspension
Telescopic forks
Rear Suspension
Single shock
Front Brakes
2x discs
Rear Brakes
Single disc
Wet Weight
200 kg