Larry Lawrence | June 16, 2024
Cycle News Archives
COLUMN
Motorcycles in the 21st century are truly global machines. Harley-Davidsons have been made in India, certain Ducati models are manufactured in Thailand, and nearly every major motorcycle company has some connection to China. Parts and pieces come from worldwide, making our motorcycles splendidly blended rolling metal melting pots.
In 1976, Cycle News “tested” five Italian motorcycles: an MV Agusta 750 America, a Ducati 750 Super Sport, a Moto Guzzi 850 LeMans, and a pair of Laverdas, a 1000cc model and the Jota 1000.
It hasn’t always been this way, however. As an example, we spin Mr. Peabody’s way-back machine to 1976, when Cycle News assembled a cast of motorcycles that were as Italian as Sophia Loren swimming in a barrel of Sangiovese and then spent an afternoon riding them on the majestically twisting roads that carved through the mountain range in Southern California. It was not a test, CN said, and there was very little data or scientific comparison between the machines. Rather, it was an opportunity to get some saddle time on motorcycles that you wouldn’t likely encounter at the local hamburger joint.
It was an elite collection of two-wheelers: an MV Agusta 750 America, a Ducati 750 Super Sport, a Moto Guzzi 850 LeMans, and a pair of Laverdas, a 1000cc model and the Jota 1000. The staffers reported it as a factory “breathed on” version of the 1000. A group of accomplished local road racers joined CN staffer Lane Campbell for an experience—a brilliantly clear, beautiful experience in which five men with distinctly different personalities rotated between five motorcycles with equally distinct personalities.
A motorcycle’s dry weight was a key element of any magazine impression back in the ’70s, and the “distinction” of being the portliest machine belonged to the MV, moving the needle well beyond 500 pounds, with the motorcycle’s shaft drive being held accountable for all that extra weight. But on the road, the MV’s porky poundage was nearly unnoticeable, and the racers were impressed with its nimble handling. Power-wise, the staff was somewhat hamstrung by an admonishment from the bike’s owner to “not rev above 6500 rpm” as the 750 America was a low-mileage model still going through the break-in procedure. The available power was strong, with CN gushing about its “silky combination of powerband and free-revving capability that you read about but seldom experience.
The intricacies of the MV’s engine impressed the crew, but when it sent its work product out to the four-into-four exhausts, they were left quivering like school boys at the dance. Removing the standard black pipes and installing the open megaphone system (included with purchase!) produced a “clear, crisp crackling sound,” which prompted one rider to opine that “the next best thing to riding the MV is riding behind one.”
Unlike the MV Agusta, the Laverda Jota riders were given free rein to take the 1000cc triple to redline—and beyond! Winding out the hot rod version prompted the staff to write that “the Jota is an honest 150 mph motorcycle…I mean, this sucker has legs!” The writer refers to 9500 rpm without stating that the riders twisted the throttle that far. But clearly, the Jota was the fastest of the bunch. In 2024, motorcycles that can both hit and eclipse that top speed are plentiful; such was not the case in 1976.
The standard 1000cc Jota was less intimidating, and the crew seemed disappointed with its performance, at least compared to the Jota version. Laverdas carried their weight up in the chest, so the high center of gravity meant that the motorcycles had to be ridden carefully and correctly. The brakes were barely mentioned, and they barely worked when applied—but oh, that powerplant!
Moto Guzzi had recently shed its ambassador image in America, thanks to the efforts of road racer Mike Baldwin. The LeMans model was a sporting machine, one that weighed less, went faster, and handled better than the stodgy machines from the Italian company. Guzzi’s shaft drive worked smoothly, and the staff mentioned that “shaft torque reaction” was only an issue when the Guzzi was putzing along, something that didn’t often happen during this riding impression.
We did name a winner, but that wasn’t necessarily the goal of this comparison.
The placement of the Moto Guzzi’s cylinders seemed to make the motorcycle “fall” a few inches when the pilot would begin his descent into lean mode. It sounds frightening, but the staff adjusted quickly. “It took me about five minutes,” one rider said, and the issue was not significant enough to warrant another mention.
Today, merely mentioning the Ducati 750 SS is enough to bring most Ducatistas to their knees, as if Ing. Fabio Taglioni himself had suddenly entered the room. They are beautiful motorcycles with superb handling attributes and the right kind of power for the racetrack.
But the Super Sport had issues, problems that should’ve been dealt with in R&D long before power was switched on in the factory. The sleek and beautiful fuel tank, for starters, didn’t work. How can a fuel tank not work? Well, hard stopping and quick acceleration are what we like to do on our motorcycles. On the Ducati, however, the tank struggled to get fuel into the petcocks during moments like these, and the writers called for a better system of baffling for the Desmo machine. When the tank was below half full, the tremendous twin would transform into a sputtering single! Not acceptable (though, when the rear brake got so hot that it boiled its own fluid, the fact that the Duc was running on one cylinder likely meant that stopping would be a less arduous task).
It isn’t enough for motorcyclists to simply enjoy life and celebrate the differences between our mounts. There must be a winner, so when the riding was done, and all the pilots had spent quality time on each machine, the inevitable comparison was on—which of these beautiful motorcycles was the best Italian ride? The Moto Guzzi was a steady performer, the MV was deemed too expensive ($6500) to be practical, and the Ducati, beautiful as it was, was also deemed most likely to doom its rider with trouble, with the team suggesting that one hour of riding equals four hours of maintenance.
Horsepower was king in 1976, and the Laverda Jota 1000 won this contest—if you consider a fun ride in the SoCal mountains a game that must produce winners and losers. Ironically, it is also the only brand no longer with us, officially pronounced dead more than 20 years ago. In the hallowed grounds where old motorcycles are laid to rest, a headstone reads Laverda. Its epitaph: the best Italian motorcycle of 1976! CN
