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August 1981 - July 1995
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A page dedicated to my long term travelling
partner, but whose days with me came to a
close in July 2005.
Now (hopefully) with an owner who will give
the bike the use it deserves.
I bought the Mirage in mid 1981, with 5,800
miles on the clock, from a friend who had
had it from new. When I heard he was thinking
about changing it I knew it had to be mine
and did not allow anyone else to get a look
in ! It is one of the original Mirage's from
1978 complete with hand-stencilled (by Slater's,
I believe) "MIRAGE" on the green
side panels.
For the first three years I had it it was
my sole transport, living outside my house
in Southend. In 1985 I took a job with a
company car and moved to Yorkshire, to a
house with a garage. Ever since the Laverda
has been garaged and has been used because
I wanted to, not because I had to. From the
late 80s it has shared the garage - and my
biking miles - with a series of other bikes,
however I have always tried to ensure it
is maintained in a healthy condition.
Cosmetically it is very largely original,
with the exception of things like stainless
parts and panniers. Because of this quite
a few years ago I reached a point where I
preferred to try to keep it clean and maintain
it's originality rather than go for a concours
type restoration.
In '99 I had a camshaft lubrication problem
which required a top-end rebuild. Whilst
this was being done I had an unleaded conversion
carried out and it runs really well on regular
unleaded fuel. At the same time the wheels
were powder coated (in original colour) and
a number of stainless parts were fitted,
such as wheel spindles. This year, 2005,
the Mirage has had a comprehensive service
including complete reconditioning of the
carbs and brakes.
Here are a few shots of the bike, taken in
May 2005. These are linked to larger versions
of the images, if you click on them.
 near side |
 off side |
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So why am I thinking about parting with it ? Since I married (see elsewhere on the site) my bike mileage has dropped massively and the work I am doing now is also extremely demanding in my time. I get almost no leisure biking time, although on occasions I can use the bike for work. A couple of years ago I hit 50 and Karen said "if you want another bike...." Having had many BMWs over the years, I shortly found myself the owner of an R1100RS. And what I have found since is that, when I have had an opportunity to use the bike, I have more often than not used the BMW. Realising this, I have come to believe that the Mirage could be better of with someone who can give it the time and the miles which I cannot. But it's not an easy conclusion.
Follow this link for some more detail shots
and bits & pieces
Return to my Laverda page
Return to my home page
