Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125970
Italy'svertical twin: Odd, you don't look British st r e tc hed By Lane Campbe ll "Hey, wh ere 'd you gct t he pregnant Sup er Hawk?" While rid ing a 75 0 Lavcrd u, yo u Icarn to live wi th infinite var iatio ns of th e same o ld catcall. It doesn't d o any good to a rgue . b u t that's all right - because yo u know yo u' rc riding th e closes t thing to a Brit ish twin 20 since yo u so ld yo ur last Triumph do w n th e river . Sure - it 's Italian . It looks It alia n , even wit h th e J ap an ese inst rumen ts. Bu t it feels Bri ti sh - with a co up le of no tab le excep tio ns. First. the elec tric start. Th e sta rter motor gru n ts o u t 0 .95 lIP (nea rly half aga in as m uch as th e BMW R90S), and is m o re than adequa te to th e jo b - whi ch is luc ky , sin ce there 's no kick sta rter. It 's go o r push . OU TS always wen t, Co ld starting is a dr eam. Just th row the choke lever ove r, don 't even touch the th rott le, a nd push the bu tt on. Th e thro aty twin snaps in to life o n a fas t id le, wh ich yo u th e n adj ust to su it yo u for a short warmup whi le yo u zip u p yo ur jacket , ti,,'h ten a few bol ts, w ipe a bit o f oi l - the whole British bike bit. Migh t as well sq uelch a no th e r British -ism . It d o esn ' t leak . Ho weve r, it d oc s droo l a b it . Th e la rge diame ter br ea th er tub e co ming fr om the ca m co ver passes co nsiderab le oi l mis t. and where th e lower end o f th e tube is situa ted, it fun ct io ns well in lie u of a chain oiler. {In fact, in 80 0 mil es, th e chain never req uired oil ing an d never Happ iness is a really explicit 31 owners' manual with detailed parts lists, -" {~ / Z6 oj}' 0" ~B Ill-- 16 ยท 32 "- - ..:.- - -- IL ~-: : - -- Z6 <1 0 a: w > <1 .J 0 I- 0 ::; ~ til w Ia: :J 0 U en ough to w arr ant adjustmen t), It o verdoes Ib is fun ctio n when you 're reall y th rash ing th e engine, co vering th e righ t re ar o f th e bike prett y Ibo ro ugh ly in a d ay's riding , then dr o o ling consp icuo usly o n th e gara ge flo o r ov ernigh t. This heavy breather co uld be a sign o f excess bl owb y a nd not typical o f all floor m odels, O v e rn i ght n e st -f o u l in g notwith stand ing, the 750 SF2 is a handso me th ing to co n tem p late - a large mo to rc ycle styled wi th th at Italian flair for ma king h ikes/cars lo o k co mp ac t a nd fa st. Th e tape red b rea d loaf tank lo o ks like it h o lds far mor e th an its ac- t ual 4 .8 ga llon ca paci ty. It 's d eceptive bec aus e of the huge cen te r tu nnel to cl ear the massi ve mu lt i-tu be frame st ruc ture th at angles hac k fro m the steering h ead. Massive also descr ibes th e e ngine 's lowe r cases , the appearan ce of the do u ble di sc fro n t bra ke uni t, and th e du a l leading-shoe rea r bra ke. Th e bike itsel f is a h efty 485 pounds , a fact tha t forces itself, not al ways unpleas antl y , o n the Laverd a's riding cha racteristics. IL rides lik e an o vcnveigh t Norton in man y respec ts, an d th at 's no t unpleasa nt a t all. T he road fee l o f the machin e is excel len t. th e fram e is rigid . the track ing is spo t on, an d th e suspe nsio n do cs a th o ro ugh no -no nsen se job o f cop ing with wavy p avem en t. Touri ng s traigh t up it h earkens bac k to th e 0 1' Triu mph riding, m ile-gobbli ng da ys of yore : effortl ess part -throttle cr uisi ng in th e 6 0-70 ~ IPII range, undisturbed by wind, rain grooves. co b hy or we t p avement : co nsta n tly accom pa nie d b y a mild h igh -freq ue ncy