Laverda Jota
Moto Borgotaro in collaboration with Union Garage NYC put on a one-day motorcycle event in Brooklyn, NY showcasing some of the best examples of the original Italian sporting bikes of the 1970's.
LAVERDA JOTA
In 1976 Laverda produced a high-performance version of the triple-cylinder 1000cc platform it had introduced a few years prior. To combat increasingly stiff competition from a gang of new Japanese multi-cylinder superbikes, the spiced-up Jota (named after a fast Spanish gypsy dance in triple time) got wider racing cams, bigger carbs, a close ratio gearbox and a modified race exhaust.
The bike was proclaimed the fastest production bike of the year in 1976. To their enduring credit, Cycle News actually confirmed that accolade in a road test, pinning the bike at a flat-out 140mph.
The reviewer called it a “tough, brutal and uncompromising machine.”
“The clutch lever is numbingly stiff while the five-speed gearbox needs a positive change if any progress is to be made. The brakes—twin 11-inch Brembo discs at the front, a single disc at the rear—are fierce and positive. The net result is that the Jota is a taut and frill-free machine, definitely not the kind of bike for a gentle Sunday afternoon ride. The engine begs to be revved and the handling makes it difficult to resist throwing the Jota round every bend.”
PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID GENAT & JAMES TYLER REED