Gilera Nordwest

GILERA NORDWEST

FROM ITALY, A EW STYLE OF STREETBIKE

ALLAN CATHCART

IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE IN EUROPE in search of two-wheeled exotica, it won’t take long to figure out that one great place to find it is at a Supermotard race.

Supermotard is the European version of the late, lamented Superbikers TV competition, in which racers hurl oddball mounts around a course composed in more-or-less equal parts of roadrace pavement and motocross dirt. The bikes are, or at least start out as, Open-class motocrossers. But they wear treaded roadrace tires, huge brakes, shortened suspension systems and all manner of other exotic hardware.

Supermotard racing is hugely popular, and one result of that popularity is that the Supermotard look is What’s Hot for fashion-conscious European street riders trying to stay ahead of the style curve.

Europe’s motorcycle industry is only too happy to produce models that attempt to catch the visual spirit, if not the performance, of Supermotard. In fact, a whole new family of Italian streetbikes that blends off-road styling themes with pavement suspension is emerging.

Perhaps the best of them is the Gilera Nordwest 600 Single, one of the horniest two-wheeled hot-rods yet to lay rubber to asphalt. The Nordwest’s aesthetics have been refined to produce just the right blend of perky minimalism and sculpted style, complete with a comfortable riding position and handy anchor points for strapping on a bit of luggage. Thus the Nordwest is stylish and practical, even if a few rough edges do remain to be honed.

One of the prime attractions of a big four-stroke Single is its lazy, unhurried delivery and the meaty torque it delivers low down the rev scale. In the old days, the British-who could reasonably claim to have made the big Single their own before temporarily forgetting how to make motorcycles-would have achieved this unhurried effect with a hefty flywheel. Nowadays, it’s all done more scientifically with ignition curves and valve timing.

So when a test ride revealed that the Nordwest’s engine requires spirited use of the five-speed gearbox to keep it on the boil, I immediately assumed Gilera had opted for more power at high revs, rather than the ability to rip stumps from packed ground. The answer is more complicated than that, and involves the limited choices of electronic-ignition systems available to Gilera for early-production models of the Nordwest. The company is working to acquire an alternative system from its Japanese supplier. When the system comes along, the Nordwest should exhibit the big Single’s traditional low-rpm, high-torque attributes. As it is now, the motor-a short-stroke, 558cc, liquid-cooled, four-valve, dohc design rated at 53 horsepower-won’t pull cleanly away at anything much below 2800 rpm.

Apart low-speed from pickup, its poor the Nordwest’s engine is otherwise very enjoyable, starting instantly, even from cold, with a punch of the starter button, and once over the magic 3000-rpm mark, offering lots of torque and adequate acceleration, accompanied by a glorious exhaust note. Midrange throttle response is excellent, thanks to twin, 30mm Teikei carburetors that smooth out the power delivery once the balky Nippondenso ignition gets up to speed. A black mark, though, goes to the gearchange because of the dreadful location of the shift lever, which is too high and too far away in relation to the left footrest. Easily rectified, but why should it have to be? The shift action itself is good, though, as is the feel of the cable-operated clutch.

The riding position offered by the Nordwesf s seat and flat, lowish handlebar is really comfortable, providing acceptable leverage for in-town use or mountain-road work without giving so upright a riding stance that you risk being blown off the back of the bike once you crank ’er up to speed. Moreover, the overall ride height is low enough that I could place both feet flat on the ground at traffic lights. Unfortunately, the footpegs are too low and even in the wet, it’s possible to ground them under the sort of enthusiastic cornering the bike’s 17-inch Pirelli radiais, developed especially for the Nordwest, permit.

Apart from this handicap, the Nordwest steers and handles really well, with the 40mm upside-down fork and single-shock rear system offering 6.3 and 5.9 inches of travel, respectively, and doing a great job of soaking up bumps and potholes. The 26-degree head angle, combined with the 120/60-17 front tire, the welldamped fork and the bike’s flat handlebar, combine to give a confident, neutral-steering feel. And if anything, the power provided by the twin, 10.6-inch front discs and their four-piston calipers is more than required for this bike, which scales a claimed 309 pounds dry.

With its 4-inch-wide rear rim doing a good job of spreading out the fat 160/60-17 tire, the Nordwest offers

superb rear-wheel traction, even in the wet. The bike’s 55.9-inch wheelbase adds to the ease with which the Nordwest can be flicked round mountain bends and to its maneuverability in town, where the low center of gravity also is a bonus.

All in all, the Gilera Nordwest is a terrific motorcycle, one that has the potential to carve its own special niche in the motorcycle market as a userfriendly, practical streetbike with Italian flair and the special charm of a four-stroke Single. Think of it as a standard motorcycle with style. If this new trend continues in Europe, how long will it be before we see these bikes in the USA? □