Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

2003 Milan Motorcycle Show Par t I LAVEROA 1000SFC tank ), tita ni um exhaust, Er gal fast en ers, an d m agn es ium fo rge d w heel s (no t c ast , as o n th e Factory R) and engine covers . T he resu lt weig hs 38 5 lbs ., has a sl ig htl y m ore pow er ful (2 bh p up) eng ine p ro du cin g 141 bh p tha nks to revised intake porting and coated pis tons to redu ce fr iction , and co sts a hefty $35 ,000 , d oub l e th e pric e of the stock bike, but incl ud ing a n Akra p o v ic track p ip e and race stan d . H o w e v e r , i n clud e d in th at monster tic ket is o ne week end spe nt as a guest of the A pri lia Mot oGP team at th e Gr and Prix race of your choice, plus a selection of tea m cl othi ng and souve nirs . Tha t's ca lled add ing va lue, I suppose. Ivano Begg io 's trophy m arques in the A prilia Group shone br ightly at M il a n , with the d efinit iv e ve rs io n un veiled th ere of th e bri gh t ora ng e RSV -R -engined V -tw in Laverda 1000 SFC , which de but ed i n pro t o t yp e form a t l a st D e c e m b er' s B o l o g n a Motor Show. Th e fi nished vers ion d if fers m ain ly from tha t bi k e in hav in g full bodywork , with side flank s added t o th e previ ou s abb reviated fa iring, fro nted by a pai r of separa te proj ector hea dlamps. This wi ll be bu ilt only in singl e- seat " rn on o po st o " fo rm, al so usin g the power-up 14 1- bhp Ne ra ve rs ion of the Aprili a m ot or, and will appea r init ially from next May o nwa rd in a h igh- spec se ri es of ju st 579 examples - th e actual nu m ber of leg endary 750S FC Laverda tw ins bu ilt 30 yea rs ago . But this lim ited ed itio n versi on , als o ex pec ted to co s t $3 5 ,000 , will b e s uccee ded b y a 28 O CTO BER 22 ,2003' c u e I e m uch less co st ly vo lume productio n m odel thi s time next ye ar. Moto Guzzi's re la unc h un der Aprilia owne rsh ip is ga the ri ng pace , with the 750 Breva la u nched a y ea r ago o uts t rip pi ng it s target sal es by ove r 100 percent, says Guzzi CEO Rob erto Br ovazzo. The success of this entrylevel bik e has dir ectly led to the introdu ction of th e VI IOO Br ev a la unc hed at M ilan , an all -new m od el ta rgeted at th e to uring market w ith a 6.25-gallon fue l ta nk , l o w seat, t all fl y screen , M OT O GUZZI V1100 BREVA n e vv s op tiona l har d lu ggage and A BS, and a sm oo th er, q uie te r, m or e pot ent ve rsion of the fue l- inj ec te d 1064cc tw ova lve 90- degree V- tw i n pushrod en g in e , fi tte d w ith a n all - new six sp eed gea rbox and now deli vering 83 bhp at 7800 rpm . Th is is now fitted w it h dua l i g ni ti o n, t o m eet E u ro 3 em is sio ns th ree years early , and an all -n ew final drive system tha t adopts BMW 's system of enc asing th e drive sha ft withi n th e " mo no bracc ia" sin gle -sided swinga rm , for ext ra rigidity , matched to a progr essive-rate m ono sho ck rear sus pens ion and featuring a doub le un ivers a l joint and bu il t -in t ors ion a l d am p er s, a ll t o de live r a promised sm ooth er d rive with out the j erkiness chara cte rizing shaft -d ri ve sy ste ms. Bu ild qu ali ty of th e display b ik es appeared ve ry hi gh , an d t h e VI IOO Brev a's snazzy new "Cornmu ni c at or " ins tru ment das h is in m any w ay s sy m b o li c o f th e new t hinkin g and g reater self -confiden ce surro und ing Moto Guzzi t oday . Also on display w as th e prototype MGS /O l ProT wins cu stomer racer , wh ich o wn er Ivano Begg io confirm ed will go on sale ov er th e w inter in at least 50 -o ff rac e gu ise befo re reach in g th e stree t toward th e end of next year, ~I o n g s i de th e Griso musci erod , also on show in near -fin al produc t i on guise, sh ari ng t he sa me eig ht-valv e D ayto na m otor now re eng ine ered w ith Apr ili a ' s h elp . W e say t his eve ry couple of year s at Mila n, but thi s ti me the w ings on the eag le o n th e Gu zzi tank badge reall y are fl appin g h ard er - an d liftoff for It al y 's m o st hi st o ri c b ike m arqu e is surely alrea d y happenin g . H owev er , it was a mu c h sm a ll er and almost as historic marq ue tha t ultimately ri valed MV's F4 Massimo fo r top ho no rs i n the look-a t - me stakes at Milan, and that was Mondi a l , wi t h three v e r y d is t inctiv e n ew bikes powe red by the Ho nda SP-2 Vtwin Superbi ke engine, which th e Ita lian com pany ha s unique access to , t wo of whi ch will sho rt ly enter produ ction , th e th ird ma yb e lat er. Head in g the lineup w as the ex t re m e l y st rik ing - lo o k ing blu e-and -silver Evo vers ion of th e Piega Supe rbi ke, 220 of wh ich have alr eady been built and delivered aro und t he world , fitted with the o ld e r SP- I mot or in un m odified form. N ow Mond ial has adopted the

• Cover