revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Yorick wrote: Tue Jan 20, 2026 1:28 pm Just seen this. Never seen them before.
A Honda 650 likely to be more bullet-proof than a KTM.
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20260120_132233.jpg20260120_132245.jpg

I think it was one of them I had a bit of a burn up against in the summer. My KTM was definitely quicker but the traffic made it difficult to exploit on that occasion. It did leave me thinking about reliability of a Honda Vrs a Ktm and would I miss those few horses?

KungFooBob wrote: Tue Jan 20, 2026 1:38 pm You don't see them very often because no one bought them.

Too heavy and under powered to be competitive in that market segment, people bought DRZs and XT660s motards instead.

Aye. 30 gee gees and 165 Kgs.

Honda MVX250 V3

Didn't Cheb have one of them or something?

I has an NSR250F, an unfaired NSR250R. Two cylinder inline 250, I keep looking at MVXs as I've not yet owned a triple but even I'm put off by the horror stories about the crank, the funny brakes at al.

Yeah didn't help Honda calling them a 'Funmoto'. Seem to recall only around 30bhp and similar weight to a 625SMC putting out 55-60bhp. So, not a sales success, despite no doubt being more reliable. Wouldn't mind one as a knock about bike as they look alright, but compared to actually buying one vs all it's competitors...Nah

Mk4 Saxon Motodd Laverda.

Skub wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 2:36 pm Mk4 Saxon Motodd Laverda.

Laverda3.jpg

Pardon my hignorance but...what's that suspension unit doing under the engine?

Some of the Buells had a similar setup.



The shock extends rather than compresses, iirc.

KungFooBob wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 7:15 pm Some of the Buells had a similar setup.



The shock extends rather than compresses, iirc.

Ah.

It seemed a long way forward to be linked to the rear end.

Count Steer wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 7:11 pm

Skub wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 2:36 pm Mk4 Saxon Motodd Laverda.

Laverda3.jpg

Pardon my hignorance but...what's that suspension unit doing under the engine?

It's the system the BMW Telelever copied, but the front shock is under the engine, you can see the system relatively clearly in the 2nd pic.

You can see the rear shock in the usual place.

KungFooBob wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 7:15 pm Some of the Buells had a similar setup.



The shock extends rather than compresses, iirc.

Wrong, you can see the rear shock in the usual place on the 3rd pic.

Co-Pilot says...

This motorcycle is a highly rare and custom-built Motodd Mk4 prototype based on a Laverda Jota 1000 engine, created by Phil Todd of Motodd and Nigel Hill of Saxon Racing in the early 1980s. Only a few of these unique bikes were ever produced, with this specific red and white prototype model featuring in many magazines at the time.

Key Features
Manufacturer: The motorcycle is a collaboration, using a Laverda 1000cc triple engine housed within a special frame manufactured by Saxon Racing for Motodd.

Engine: It features the robust Series 2, 180-degree Laverda Jota engine known for its distinctive sound and power.
Suspension: A key innovation of the Mk4 model is its unique rising-rate mono-shock front (Saxtrac) and rear suspension system, a design later mirrored by BMW's "paralever" system.

Weight: The custom Saxon frame significantly reduced the weight compared to the standard Laverda Jota, improving handling and performance.

So similar to paralever then, I'd like to see more detail! (I used a different pic to get the AI quote, hence the mention or red/white).

KungFooBob wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 7:32 pm Co-Pilot says...

This motorcycle is a highly rare and custom-built Motodd Mk4 prototype based on a Laverda Jota 1000 engine, created by Phil Todd of Motodd and Nigel Hill of Saxon Racing in the early 1980s. Only a few of these unique bikes were ever produced, with this specific red and white prototype model featuring in many magazines at the time.

Key Features
Manufacturer: The motorcycle is a collaboration, using a Laverda 1000cc triple engine housed within a special frame manufactured by Saxon Racing for Motodd.

Engine: It features the robust Series 2, 180-degree Laverda Jota engine known for its distinctive sound and power.
Suspension: A key innovation of the Mk4 model is its unique rising-rate mono-shock front (Saxtrac) and rear suspension system, a design later mirrored by BMW's "paralever" system.

Weight: The custom Saxon frame significantly reduced the weight compared to the standard Laverda Jota, improving handling and performance.

So similar to paralever then, I'd like to see more detail! (I used a different pic to get the AI quote, hence the mention or red/white).

Shows you just how crap AI bollox is.

Paralever is the rear system developed by Arturo Magni for Guzzis, it reduces the shaft reaction effect that bothers some people. It was called Parallagrammo (sp). Difficult to describe without a diagram.

Telelever is the front suspension system that copies Saxtrac: it's a swinging arm pointing forwards that takes all the suspension and braking forces and separates them from the steering forces. Notice that the rear pivot on the swingarm is mounted in an eccentric, this give you the ability to adjust the amount of dive (iirc), or the steering geometry.

If you look closely at the photos, that Laverda has a standard (well, standard now) rising rate rear shock linkage. The front shock might be rising rate too, but I don't know for sure if that was the case.

What's the black tube coming out of the fuel tank, it looks to be part of the filler cap.

cheb wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 8:24 pm What's the black tube coming out of the fuel tank, it looks to be part of the filler cap.

The Hoover pipes?

ram-air innit.

cheb wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 8:24 pm What's the black tube coming out of the fuel tank, it looks to be part of the filler cap.

You mean the hoover tubes on the Laverda? Ersatz forced induction!
Like Kawasaki did with the ZXR400 and ZXR750.

KungFooBob wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 7:15 pm Some of the Buells had a similar setup.



The shock extends rather than compresses, iirc.

I had one of those. The handling was lovely until they swapped the original WP shock for a Showa as one of the many recalls. All the shock did then was overheat and make the bike a bit wallowy.

cheb wrote: Wed Jan 21, 2026 8:24 pm What's the black tube coming out of the fuel tank, it looks to be part of the filler cap.

Laverda circa '84 ? had a filler cap flap on the side of the fairing, so your question is relevant.