This exquisite little machine, the color of a delicate Italian caffelatte, caught my attention on the website of Australian motorcycle photographer Phil Aynsley. The picture was taken in a small village near Bassano del Grappa in northern Italy, and the bike appears to be a 1953 Laverda 75 Sport. That means it was built just five years after Francesco Laverda decided to create a lightweight motorcycle for his own use. By 1952, Laverda had created a factory team of four racing bikes to enter into the Milano-Taranta road race—and when all four bikes finished the race, the Laverda name was established in the motorcycling world. The 75 Sport, with a new tubular steel frame, then dominated the 1953 Motogiro d’Italia. And the rest, of course, is history. [There's more on the history of this bike in Mick Walker's Italian Racing Motorcycles and Ian Falloon's Laverda Twins and Triples Bible PDF.]
Canon EOS 5D | 1/100 sec | f/8.0 | ISO 200 | Lens TS-E90mm f/2.8
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7 Comments
I really enjoyed the contrast between this post and the 6 cyldr monster in the post before.
Thank you, I was hoping someone would notice that!
Yes, I was going to say — that was quite striking indeed.
Such a delicate looking bike. Chris you just keep them coming don’t you? Great job.
It’s amazing how minimal this bike is – so incredibly clean and purpose-built in appearance!
Lovely. Bassano del Grappa is just a few minutes from the former Laverda factory in Breganze. There are many, many beautiful Laverdas in the surrounding area along with dedicated workshops.
Milano-TarantO road race.
The former Laverda factory will soon be the company I work for new global headquarters in Breganze, Italy. Think expensive Italy jeans….