Laverda Concours
Laverda Concours 15 July, 2018 – Cleveland Showgrounds, Qld
2018 saw perfect weather for the 30th running of the Concours after the sun came out and lifted the brisk 5 degree morning chill. Maybe it was the cold start but display bikes were a little down in numbers which was disappointing considering the blue sky day. It was a quality more than quantity scenario and again the attention to detail was breath taking. The Dave Ritter band were back, the Dyno shootout again entertained with the piercing sound of engines at full rpm. This year the One Addiction team brought along one of their toys – a wheelie trainer. While the Suzuki was tethered to prevent it from tilting past vertical, the rider was in control of just how high he wanted to go. Its back wheel on a rolling road, the bike was set up to replicate a real-life scenario. Awesome for learning how to feather the throttle and become a wheelie expert without the danger. Club Laverda has donated to the Make a Wish Foundation over many years and it has been a pleasure to see that their participation has also been growing each year. They now have a stall at the Concours and ran a raffle this year which was won by Grahame Goodman who was to become more famous later in the day. This year the club added an extra class for the best from 1988. This was the year that Club Laverda took on the Concours, started by the Ducati Owners Club, so it was fitting to commemorate the bikes of that year. There were 60 odd trophies up for grabs along with the usual grand finale announcement for the Best in Show along with a cheque for $2000. This year, not only did Grahame Goodman win the Best in Show, his 1973 Laverda 750SF took the Best Continental up to 750cc and Best Laverda trophies. Grahame gave special thanks to Red from Redax who did the restoration work which is always exceptional and the trophy was well deserved. I should also mention that this year saw the Moto Guzzi Owners Club of Queensland take the best Club Display trophy. Last year’s Club Display winners – the Ducati Owners Club of Qld – put on a display commemorating 25 years of the Ducati Monster. Major sponsors were Shannons Insurance, Team Moto, Morgan & Wacker and this year the Redland City Council. Council representatives came along for a look as well. Deputy Mayor Lance Hewlett had some nice words to say about what the Concours does for the shire which was pleasing. Thanks must go to Club Laverda and all their sponsors who tip in a huge effort and substantial cash at high risk each year for the enjoyment of the wider motorcycle community. Needless to say, this year saw Laverdas take 7 trophies which shows that more are being restored and that they keep getting better with age.