Laverda Jota Fast Bikes

Laverda Jota v Kawasaki Z900

It's 1976 (don't argue!). You want to buy a motorcycle. A Very Fast motorcycle. It must come with a warranty and be reliable, so thinly-disguised racetrack refugees are out. What to buy?

Honda is still churning out basically the same CB750 as they did in 1969. The GoldWing isn't really terribly fast and handles like a hippopotamus in a supermarket trolley. Suzuki's best effort is the GT750 Kettle. Until the new XS750 triple reaches the shops Yamaha can only offer a 650cc vertical twin - and if you wanted one of those you'd get a Triumph or a Norton, even if you suspect that the whole British industry is about to go belly-up.

The Moto Guzzi Le Mans 850 looks great and can clock over 130mph, but it's just another twin. And it has shaft drive, which everyone knows makes the gearbox awful and ruins the handling. Same goes for the BMW R90S, which you might consider buying when you're old and grey, perhaps. A motorcycle with a clock? Whatever next?

No; perusing the bike mags reveals that if speed is your need it really has to be a Kawasaki 900 or a Laverda 1000. The Kaw' has been around since 1973, running through Z1, Z1A and Z1B variants before turning into the Z900 for '76. When launched, the big 903cc four engine was the absolute King, its 82bhp being enough for a 12.3 second standing quarter mile and a top speed of 132mph. At the other extreme, it could dawdle along at just over tickover in top and still accelerate strongly, just by twisting the throttle. As usual for a Japanese bike, only the handling was slightly suspect. The frame seemed basically OK, but the forks looked weak, and those instant-slip nylon tyres were best replaced by a set of decent Dunlops or Avons as soon as possible. Mind you, with so much power on tap, after a couple of thousand miles the rear boot will be vaporised, anyway. That's another twenty-five quid down the drain, on top of £1369 for the bike - which is enough to buy a nice car, as boring people keep pointing out. Still, unlike a Cortina, at least a Z1 does 45mpg, which is a real bonus now that a gallon of 2-star is an extortionate 70p. That's fourteen bob in real money, remember!