The International Laverda Owners Club (ILOC) is to mark its 50th birthday in advance by launching a book which celebrates the iconic Italian machines. Founded in 1974, the club has since been a must-join for fans of the well known triples, 650/750 twins and the earlier singles.

The book is a history of the club, its members and their experiences, so includes articles about their life on bikes and their love of Laverdas, plus contributions from key people in the Laverda UK story. ILOC Chairman Keith Prentice commented “We thought long and hard about how best to mark such an historic event and decided the ILOC Anniversary Book is a fitting record and memento of 50 incredible years of the Owners’ Club. It has so many great stories and images and will be a pleasure to own for anyone interested in the history of the Club. Here’s to the next 50 years!”

Illustrating the marque loyalty inspired by the bikes from Breganze, Dominic Langdon-Down has been an ILOC member since the very first meeting in 1974. “I will always be a fan of anything Laverda,” he said, “and the ILOC committee have done an amazing job for many years to promote the Laverda name with the membership levels and longevity speaking for themselves.”
The hardcover Anniversary Book, with 208 pages and over 300 illustrations, will shortly be available to pre-order from the ILOC website with an initial launch price of £20 for ILOC members £20 (£30 non-members). It will be launched at the Stafford Classic Motorcycle Show on 14th October

Jim Freeman, Chair of the BMF, admitted to having a soft spot for the Italian twins and triples. “I remember riding a drum brake 750SF, belonging to a mate, in about 1977, it made a lot of noise, felt like the suspension was designed for very high speeds only, under urban conditions it was unyielding. It was also tall and surprisingly comfortable, apart from the suspension! If you came from a Japanese ‘equivalent’ if was like chalk and cheese, or Edam versus aged Parmesan. A wonderful experience, but I didn’t want to own one. I later rode a triple, a much later model, which had some of the lumps knocked off, but still sounded wonderful and the clutch still felt like a Trident’s, after the steroids! ”

Written by Peter Henshaw

In article image courtesy of ILOC 

Top image courtesy of Michael Kauer/ Pixabay