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/127824
RIDING IMPRESSION By Alan Cathcart Photos by Kyoichi Nakamura acelift frenzy is all the rage in Hollywood right now. Whether you opt for a gentle nip 'n' tuck ~ like Joan Collins, a new head of hair where none might otherwise exist like Frank Sinatra, more radical corrective surgery like Jane Fonda (I mean, removing a pair of ribs just to stay slim and keep tight with Ted is surely radical!), or the full alter ego switch hit like Michael Jackson, positive image prise debut at the Milan Show last November and is now about to go into production, is just as much an example of two-wheeled facelifting frenzy as any New Look made in America. Taking Cher as its role model, Laverda has completely revamped the styling of its 650cc sportbike, as part of an ongo-. ing process of rejuvenating and improving its parallel-twin range that will underpin planned diversification fur- (Left) Despite the short, 54.1-inch wheelbase, the 668 is remarkably stable around fast curves. (Above) Laverda stylist Lino Borgesan was the man charged with putting a new face on Laverda's 650. The 668 is the result. 22 enhancement is all part of being rich, famous and self-aware in the 1990s. Gone are the days when plastic surgery meant only one thing, and Dolly Parton was the role model for it. Now, if you don't like the way you look and want to keep at the cutting edge of youthful chic, go make a date with your friendly local cosmetic surgeon and sacrifice the way you were in favor of how you want others to think you really are. No matter that beneath the facelifted facade it's still the same old you: Hey, appearances are what count, right? The marketplace dictates that motorcycles must look fresh and different, too, and the Laverda 668, which made a'Sur- ther up the capacity scale, with the Italian company's new liquid-cooled 750cc twin just launched at Cologne and the 900cc three-cylinder superb ike scheduled for 1999. The current 650 was born out of the ashes of the old Laverda company during its brief tenure as part of the dlsgraced Zanini Group, before it was acquired three years ago by new owner Francesco Tognon. Since then, Tognon has been at pains to improve the technical specifications of a bike that was never really properly developed before Zanini tried to put it into production. The fact that the hundreds of Laverda twins built since his takeover have found a ready market and satisfied customers in the increasing number of countries where Laverdas are sold underlines the effectiveness of this policy. With former Laverda chief engineer Adriano Valenti having rejoined the company after some years at Aprili a, Tognon's insistence on delivering a quality product has found an eager disciple. After stopping production for six weeks last year while problems with the engine castings were resolv.ed by new patterns and a change of supplier, Tognon was satisfied with the basic reliability of the Laverda product; now it was time to think about the styling - especially with a forthcoming major investment in tooling, permitting the bodywo:rk to be manufactured to a higher standard in plastic with injection molding rather than by hand in fiberglass as before. To achieve a fresh new face for a motorcycle that was first styled back in 1991, and since it took time to get into production has inevitably aged in the meantime just like Joan or Jane, Tognon turned to the man responsible for the Laverda look all through the classic era of the Breganze-built bikes in the '60s and '70s, Lino Borgesan. Designer of all the most famous Laverdas like the 750SFC, Jota, Montjuic and even the legendary V -six prototype, Borgesan left Laverda in 1986, as the family-owned company was grinding to a halt, to work at nearby Aprilia,. where he designed key models like the 125cc Extrema and Arnico scooter. One of the many top employees of the old company that Tognon has recruited for his new Laverda operation, Borgesan's first ·crea.tion back where he belonged was the Ghost naked bike, followed swiftly by the 668. "I wanted to give the sports model a more aggressive appearance with added personality," he explains, "as well as to make it look like the middleweight bike it is, instead of a muscular 125 - that's how the 650 appears, thanks mainly to the Aprilia headlight. I also wanted a more sporting, essentially classical look, given Laverda's customer profile. Hence the two 100-watt round headlamps which also give extra visibility at night at high speed, something that's not ideal with the 650's smaller single headlamp."