Laverda 750SF
(Page 2 of 3)
January/February 2009
By Richard Backus
Parallel-twin alternatives to Laverda’s 750SF
1973 Triumph T140V
- 50hp @ 7,000rpm/ 110mph
- Air-cooled, OHV parallel twin
- 5-speed
- Single disc front, drum rear
- 414lb (w/half-tank fuel)
- 40-50mpg
- $2,500-$5,000
Based on Triumph’s classic 650cc T120 Bonneville, the new for 1973 T140V boasted an uprated 744cc engine, a 5-speed transmission and — finally — a disc front brake. Although Triumph had been working to expand its market with the more contemporary 3-cylinder Trident, the classic appeal of the old twin still defined the brand for many enthusiasts. With the T140V, Triumph belatedly made a bid to bring the Bonneville into the modern world.
Although purists looked down on the T140’s oil-in-frame design (first introduced on the T120 in 1971), it actually created a better handling machine thanks to enhanced structural integrity and stiffness. The Triumph was a fine road machine, and compared to its competition it was almost a lightweight, weighing in some 100 pounds lighter than Laverda’s 750 and Yamaha’s quirky TX750. Unfortunately for sales, some of that weight advantage was due to the omission of an electric starter, a decided disadvantage for Triumph in an evolving market that increasingly demanded electric start on any bike over 500cc. The Laverda and the Yamaha both had electric starters, and still cost less than the Triumph.
The T140’s lightness and agility make it a solid performer, and excellent parts availability makes it easy to own today.
1973 Yamaha TX750
- 63hp @ 7,500rpm/
105mph
- Air-cooled, OHC parallel twin
- 5-speed
- Single disc front, drum rear
- 518lb (wet)
- 40-50mpg
- $1,200-$2,800
Poor Yamaha. When the TX750 was introduced for 1973, the company thought they finally had a winner in the rapidly growing big-bore class. Although Honda had opened the door to big bikes from Japan with its trend-setting CB750 Four back in 1969, it took a few years for the competition to catch up. But catch up they did. Suzuki introduced the 3-cylinder GT750 in 1972, followed by Kawasaki’s immortal 4-cylinder Z1 and Yamaha’s TX750 parallel twin. But where the Honda was first (4-cylinder), the Suzuki was whacky (2-stroke, water-cooled triple) and the Kawi was wild (903cc twin-cam four), the Yamaha was, well, different.
Thoroughly modern, the TX featured electric starting, a front disc brake and, in an industry first, a “diagnostic panel”— a trio of lights to monitor oil pressure, rear brake lining thickness and a brake light warning lamp. And while everyone else seemed to be looking for more cylinders, Yamaha endowed its big bike with an all-new, counter-balanced, 743cc overhead-cam parallel twin.
Lauded for incredible smoothness, TX750s displayed a bad habit of grenading engines thanks to the counter-balancer frothing the oil. This and other problems were fixed, but the damage was so complete the model was dropped after 1974. Even so, survivors are surprisingly common, making this an interesting alternative to the standard twin. MC
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