Laverda Motorcycles

Laverda's motorcycle history began in October 1949, when Francesco Laverda founded Moto Laverda S.A.S. in Breganze, Italy - a separate venture from his family's much older agricultural-machinery business, founded by his grandfather Pietro in 1873. The motorcycle company built a reputation for robust, well-engineered machines, including large-displacement twins and triples that competed successfully in endurance racing through the 1970s. Financial trouble in the 1980s led to receivership in 1987 and a halt in production by 1988; a 1989 restructuring created Nuova Moto Laverda, which resumed limited manufacturing in Zane. Aprilia acquired Laverda in 2000, and when Piaggio Group acquired Aprilia in 2004, the Laverda brand passed into Piaggio's ownership along with it. The last Laverda-badged motorcycle was built in 2006, and Piaggio has since wound down Laverda-related activity, reportedly leaving the brand dormant and its rights potentially available to an outside investor.