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HISTORY

Throughout its history Moto Laverda has been characterised as an eclectic and bold company, carefully following the passion of two-wheel enthusiasts, quick to bring itself back up for discussion and to develop the widest range of products: from 1950s runabout bikes, quick but reliable, to the powerful maxi bikes in the 1960s and 70s that set the duration competition world on fire, down to the powerful and innovative 125 models in the 1980s.

Established on 13 October 1949 by Francesco Laverda, Moto Laverda started at Breganze, in the province of Vicenza, as a motorcycle manufacturing company.

The first model, the Laverda 75, was officially introduced in 1950.

The commitment to sport competitions and the success in various editions of the Giro d'Italia, the Motogiro, the Italian regularity championship - in addition to a numerous series of wins in national and international races with the Laverda 75 and from 1955 with the Laverda 100 - allowed the small company to grow and begin to gain recognition among fans.

Until the mid-sixties production was focused on small engine bikes, mopeds and scooters. It was July 1958 when the Laverdino 48 was introduced- a 4-stroke moped - and a year later the 49 cc scooter made its début, whereas 1961 was the year of the 200 twin cylinder.

Around the late sixties Massimo Laverda, son of founder Francesco, turned an important page for the Breganze brand's range, pushing company production toward higher engine capacity bikes.

As early as 1966 the Laverda 650 cc was introduced and favourably welcomed by the general public, but huge success came in the seventies with the Laverda 750 which, exported all over the world, open the gates to an extremely fortunate series of sport bikes that would build the legend of the Breganze brand.

In 1970 the Laverda 750 SF series was created, which continued through 1976, when the market demand turned toward even higher engine capacities than those that had, until then, classified the Laverda SF as the pinnacle of maxi sport bikes.

With its orange colour scheme, the Laverda SFC, a competition version made from 1968 to 1976, made a great stylistic impact, taking a healthy series of wins in the sport events reserved for factory bikes, from the 1968 Motogiro d'Italia to the regularity and speed races all over Europe.

From the mid-seventies production intensified on 1,000 and 1,200 cc maxi bikes even though, as a project, the idea of a 1,000 cc came about in the late sixties at the same time as the SF 750.

The production of the Laverda 1000 in various versions, from the 3 CL to the Jota, continued through the late nineteen eighties. In particular the Laverda 1000 RGS (Real Gran Sport) was quite popular, introduced at the Milan show in 1981.

From the 750 SF, in all of its various versions, to the characteristic orange RGS, the Laverda won the hearts of fans who appreciate the personality and performance typical of Italian super sport bikes.

Laverda production is rounded out with the smaller 350 and 500 engine capacity ranges, also following the topsy turvy development of the "young" 125 cc and motocross markets.

Also worth a mention - for the great technical level reached in the Breganze plants - is the bold Laverda 1000 experiment with a 90° V 6 cylinder engine, which in any case is an extremely complex project that needed only some tweaking to be perfected.

In the nineties the company went through a rough period in terms of finances and the market, partially caused by a production diversification policy that did not achieve the expected results.

In the year two thousand Laverda joined the Aprilia Group and, empowered by the eclecticism that had always marked its history, it returned to the market with a street legal scooter, the Phoenix, a family of quads - a product designed for the then emerging market of lightweight four wheeled all terrain vehicles – and the SFC maximoto, an extremely popular one-off project.

During the same period the Laverda Club Italia was established, a reference point for thousands of fans and collectors.

From 2004 Laverda has been part of the Piaggio Group.

Source laverda.it