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Snaefell
Project By: François Knorreck (fknorreck-at-tele2-dot-fr)
Web Site: http://breganzane.com/blog//snfl.php
 The project name is "Snaefell", just like the Icelander volcano and the highest summit of the Isle of Man.
After 10,000 hours of hard work, more than 10 years from time to time in the garage and about 15000 Euros spent, the Snaefell was ready to ride!
As you can see, the result is really impressive for a work done by an amateur...
The vehicle is very neat and the finishing is astounding. The general design is quite beautiful, which is quite rare throughout the sidecar production. While this is a very special vehicle, the Laverda touch is obvious. This is not only the triple engine which does that but probably a smart and hard work on the global design. The rear part recalls the RGS side panels. The glorious triple 1000cc seems magnified in this red dress...
Attention to details reveals thousands of great mods. Note the level of finishing... Note also the 3 exhausts! This is a sidecar, right? So, have a look at this nice, well finished and comfortable interior. All hand made naturarly! Headlight comes from a Kawasaki 1000 RX bike, the tail lights from a Citroën Xantia car.
Invitation to a nice road trip... The work is signed with this special logo, a reversed F in a K, just like François Knorreck.
The construction
First job was to think and build the chassis. François went to the option of two single arm suspensions (front and rear), with the usual balancing system to the front. After some drawings, Autocad and geometry experiences, the job was done by welding some very beautiful and neat structures in aluminium.
Then came the sidecar chassis, also all in aluminium. Hubs and brakes come from a VW Golf GTI, the wheels are from an Audi 80. The tension of the chain is automatically adjusted by an eccentric system installed on the swingarm axle. Shocks absorbers are Fournales air system, especially manufactured for this machine.
Time came to build the bodywork, all in polyester or carbon fiber, depending of the parts. François used not less than 63 moulds for that, all hand made!
The outfit door, Lamborghini style, was mainly in carbon fiber. The aperture system is electrical. The two open roofs are in carbon fiber too. Headlights and blinkers on the outfit came from BMW and Renault cars.
As the man is a true Laverda enthusiast, he wished to show clearly that the engine is a triple!
Before fitting the bodywork, François had to build the new electrical harness, quite complex on such a vehicle...
While doing the first road tests, François was disappointed by the front suspension and steering systems, not too bad but not good enough for him, not better than any usual sidecar. For more safety at high speed in curves and stability on straight roads, he dismantled the vehicle again, threw away the whole front end and draw and built a new system inspired from the sidebike brand concept (1 to 2 arms)! The bike is now perfectly stable at high speed. Another advantage is that the headstock has almost no force on it, so no risk of cracks.
About The Owner
 François Knorreck is his name... Motorcycling is his passion...
Although his real job is technician in an hospital at Saint-Etienne in France, he spends all his free time to build, manufacture, modify and tune motorbikes. All sorts of motorbikes, with a neat preference for bikes of character in general, and Laverda in particular. Some jokes or challenges too, like this amphybian motorcycle (Yamaha base) on which he was the first one to cross the Loire river on a motorbike!
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Snaefell
(Laverda)
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