Luigi Taveri

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By Don Cox

Luigi Taveri was the antithesis of today’s teenaged tear-away 125 GP racers – technically savvy, immaculately presented and cool headed.


An Italian-Swiss, born near Zurich in 1929, Taveri won the first of his three world 125 championships on a four-cylinder Honda in 1962 at age 32. He won again in 1964, also on a 125-4, and in 1966 on the fantastic five-cylinder Honda RC149 which revved to 20,000rpm.


Luigi’s racing career began in the late 1940s, as sidecar passenger for his elder brother Hans. He recorded his first world championship points in the 1954 French GP, on a 500 Norton. He signed with MV-Agusta in 1955 and won the opening 125 GP of the season at Montjuic Parc, Barcelona.


From 1955 to 1960, Taveri rode for MV, Ducati, MZ and again with MV. And there his career might have ended. Frustrated with MV team politics, where Carlo Ubbiali was the favoured 125/250 rider, he retired.

Wife Tilde saved the day by approaching Honda on Luigi’s behalf. He was given second string bikes in 1961, but in 1962 he soon became the firm’s number one 125 racer.

By the end of 1966, Taveri had won three championships and 30 GPs — 22 in 125, six in 50s and two in 250s.


In retirement, he ran a spotless automotive panel shop. Underneath, he had a private museum with his collection, including a Honda 125-5.

In 1988, Taveri told the author that when he was at MV, he was never sure who received what equipment; there was a pecking order. At Honda, the equipment was the same for all the riders, but he could never figure out how Jim Redman had so much power in the team! ... Read more




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New Honda motorbike to be launched

Honda have recently released a full design sketch of anew V4 motorcycle to be launched at the EICMA show in Milan.

Its set to be a crossover machine, it will apparently have the flexibility and  attitude of a naked performance machine, with the more comfortable upright riding position and design of an adventure bike.

Ride safe.

Jon Booth
Email: webmaster@inter-bike.co.uk
Blog: http://inter-bike.blogspot.com/
Swicki: http://motorcycling-swicki.eurekster.com/  

The story of the 500cc Titanium BSA

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by Eric Johnson

In 1966 the most ambitious factory-backed development effort in the history of modern motocross materialized on the esteemed Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme 500cc World Championship circuit.


In the beginning… The year was 1965, and BSA – commonly known as Birmingham Small Arms – was bent on ruling the motocross world. Keen on winning its third consecutive 500cc World Motocross Championship, the factory executives of the Birmingham, England-based motorcycle company held a big meeting in a smoky, dimly lit room – a meeting to which the company accountants were not invited. And it was in this room that that their master scheme of producing the fastest and lightest motocross bike mankind had ever seen was sketched out on a clean sheet of paper.


Their corporate mission statement now etched in stone, the BSA overlords – perhaps intoxicated by the success of the two previous world titles they had pulled down – declared that all of the factory’s resources were to be immediately tooled up and put into motion in a finely concerted quest to snag a third FIM Gold Medal. In doing so, the BSA accounting ledgers were slammed into a dark cabinet and the engineers, fabricators and machinists filled up their coffee cups and set about the task at hand. For them, the entire project was something of a dream come true: Free reign – and no budget restraints!


Enter Jeff Smith, the talented English rider who had delivered BSA its two previous titles. Smith, who was tapped to ride the exotic new “shadow works” project bike, was brought on board during the development process, and soon joined the army of machinists and engineers in transforming the bike from violet colored lines on a powder blue blueprint into a real lie, gas burning piece of machinery. It was at this point that the intriguing true story of BSA’s at “totalitarian rule” on the motocross world began. And like many great, timeless stories, when all was said and done, both BSA and Smith would end up riding an emotional roller coaster that would serve up hope, joy disappointment and an unforgettable conclusion.


BSA, having captured the previous two 50cc World Championships through it s creative and resourceful competition department, now wanted a third title at all costs. However, as with most motor corporations that race to win, there was more behind the project than just the desire to put a third gold medal in the company trophy case... Read more

Images: MotorcycleUSA.com






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