Thanks guys, this wasn't a recent purchase, I bought this bike back in 2009, at the same time I bought my brother's Triumph Rocket III (which I still own) and the CB750 that I built and named "Goldie", then sold on awhile later.
I'd loved the looks of the early Laverda SF750 from back in the 1970's when my mate Dobbo and his flat mate both owned them. If you look closely, you'll see a similarity between the Laverda's engine and early Honda twins. That's right, as opposed to Japanese bike manufacturers regularly "borrowing" design cues from the Europeans, Massimo Laverda drew inspiration from Honda's 305cc "Dream".
The owner of this bike had rebuilt it from several boxes of parts over a couple of years. Like some Italo-philes, he became so entranced with all things Italian, that he went to Italy and brought back an Italian wife, which was his downfall. She obviously didn't share his passion for bikes, or for him for that matter, because he was selling this bike and his BMW R75 (which I missed out on by a bee's dick) to pay his divorce settlement.
What was it like to ride? Well, "back in the day", they were a fantastic bike, with excellent handling, plenty of torque, and a 100 MPH (+) top speed. Mine was in beautiful condition, was reliable (once I replaced the massive battery, which was a nightmare to find in the exact physical case size required, the first one I bought didn't fit, so still powers my ride on mower) and went well, but I found it very harsh in operation, the suspension was hard, the seat was like a plank, the brakes were wooden, and it just wasn't me. It went to a collector in Western Australia who was quite happy to pay another $1000 to have it trucked across to Perth. I don't miss it, but it was a pretty bike, for sure.

