Laguna Seca and Montjuich,
hand built beauties
Laguna Seca and Montjuich, on the road
Montjuich, note the side-stand only
My Laguna Seca had ‘for race use only’
stamped on the muffler, and I can tell
you it didn’t do a whole lot of muffling.
Authoritative motorcycle journalist Ian
Falloon featured my bike, together with a
Montjuich, in the Australian performance
motorcycle magazine Streetbike in the late
1980s.
The first F1 with an 18-inch rear wheel and
16-inch front, appeared in 1985. A prototype
of what was to come used 750 F1 engines
in several long distance endurance races in
1983, including the prestigious Le Mans 24-
Hour race. The performance of the bike at
these events proved beyond doubt that the
Pantah-based, belt-driven 750 motor was more
reliable than the bevel-driven predecessor.
Laguna Seca on Adelaide GP circuit
The F1 road-going version which followed
the race bikes, also adopted the same
chassis design. The engine was used as a
stressed member due to its strong gravity
diecast crankcases. The round section
swing-arm pivoted in the rear of the
crankcase, before meeting the cantilever
rear suspension. The result is that the frame
is as striking as the engine. Following the
initial 1985 F1, which had a cumbersome
centre-stand that fortunately disappeared
from the following models, came the
Montjuich which weighed in at 166kg with
a top speed of 221km/h. The model was
named following race track success at
Barcelona’s Montjuich Park.
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