Laverda 70th Anniversary Year

Laverda's 70th Anniversary Year

2019, being the 70th Anniversary of Laverda Motorcycles, was a grand occasion for Angus Parish to set a Land Speed Record on March 5th (his 30th birthday) for Production Classic 500cc Class Motorcycles piloting a 1977 Laverda 500 (*1652) Alpina on the Salt at Lake Gairdner. This was the first time in the world that a Laverda had attempted a Land Speed Record on a Dry Salt Lake. Former Laverda Club Victoria member David Doyle supplied the covered trailer and and some support equipment for the trip. A commentary of this record is published in the book MOTOS LAVERDA LES MOTOS MYTHIQUES DE BREGANZE (The Mythical Motorcycles of Breganze 1949-2019) by Jean-Louis Olive. It was the fastest speed attained by a production Laverda 500 in history.

A few months later in July 2019 a number of former Laverda Club Victoria members and some riders from Laverda Owners Victoria social group travelled to Italy for the official rally and International 70th Anniversary Celebrations of Laverda held in its hometown of Breganze Italy. This was a major event for the marque and Australia was well represented. Some had shipped their bikes to Europe, some via England, to tour the European continent to Italy and take their bikes to visit their machines' place of birth. During the rally Piero Laverda announced to great acclaim the release of a new  Laverda book La Diva, Laverda 750. The rally was said to be the largest gathering of Laverda enthusiasts in the history of the small Italian village.

During November 2019 a rift occurred in the Laverda community in Australia after untruthful claims posted on the Laverda Forum by a senior Laverda Forum Administrator were challenged. The whistleblower who had been a Laverda Club Victoria member and Laverda Owners Victoria social group subscriber for more than 40 years was bullied, aggressively harassed and maligned online. A sustained campaign of defamation by a few Laverda owners ensued. The offensive posts and foul language were eventually removed from the Laverda Forum. Further ongoing acts attempting to negatively affect that member’s business interests were committed by the founder of Laverda Owners Victoria social group and some members of that group's committee.
A media cartoonist colleague of the whistleblower drew a satirical cartoon lampooning those involved.

At home in Australia local weekday country rides became more frequent and racing continued with riders again entering their Laverda into the Geelong Speed Trials, the BEARS races at Phillip Island and in conjunction with the Australian Road Race Championships at Broadford Raceway of which DAM Classic Racing was the regular Race-Name Sponsor. Groups of Laverda club members from every State in Eastern Australia travelled to Broadford to watch the final round of the combined BEARS Championship race series and interclub event on November 9th and 10th 2019. It was a major event and an opportunity for members to see Laverdas from QLD, NSW and Victoria racing on the track at the same time and to celebrate a Laverda winning another Championship for the history books. Reserved accommodation was made available at the circuit and the contingent of Laverda motorcycles rolling into the carpark created quite a spectacle and old friendships were rekindled under the banner of shared experiences of Laverda ownership.