Icon: Laverda Jota
LIVING LEGENDS OF MOTORCYCLING
#19 Laverda Jota
Where did it come from? Building on the success of their 750 twins, Laverda cobbled together some three-cylinder prototypes. The first version with the Jota look was the 3C, launched in 1973.
British importers Slater Brothers created the sportier 3CE, and in turn the factory made 1976’s 3CL, complete with cast wheels, triple disc brakes and tail fairing. The Slaters then upped the ante with the Jota – the name was theirs, not the factory’s – which had a different cam profile, pistons and exhaust.
What changed? There was a rolling programme of upgrades, including a silver frame and orange tank, new forks, a different seat, a half fairing and more. By the early ’80s, the Jota was no longer part of the line-up.
Why do people like it? Road testers reckoned it was the fastest production bike (it topped 140mph), and noted that it required a real man to ride it: it was tall and heavy, and the clutch was literally a handful. But its big break came in the Avon-backed British production race series, ridden by Pete Davies. The sight and sound of the Jota being wrestled to victory ahead of the likes of the Ducati 900SS and Moto Guzzi Le Mans remains a vivid memory for those of us lucky enough to witness it.
Cult rating 4/5 Rare and short-lived, the Jota’s high standing in motorcycling legend is helped no end by the fact that it was a great-looking bike, and boosted further by its role as part of the holy trinity of Jota, 900SS and Le Mans.
The problem is… It’s long, tall, heavy, loud and expensive. But it was more reliable than most high-performance Italian bikes of the ’70s, helped by the use of Japanese clocks and switchgear.
Without the Jota… Laverda evolved their big triple into a 1200 that gradually became more sport-touring than sporting, but they eventually ground to a halt, probably forever (though Piaggio own the name).
Big, high-performance brutes started to look like a blind alley during the Jota’s brief life; everything else was getting smaller, lighter, liquid-cooled and fully faired. Some of the early Hinckley Triumphs had a hint of big brute about them, as did Japanese fours like the Kawasaki ZRX1200 and Honda CB1300.
But there’s fresh hope with the KTM 1290 Super Duke R, and talk of the World Supersport series being replaced by a naked championship, using bikes like the Aprilia Tuono and BMW S1000R.