Quick Ride

Quick Ride

LAVERDA GHOST SRIKE Modular motorcycle

LAVERDA'S FRANCESCO Tognon freely admits that Triumph is the prototype for his company's renaissance. While Triumph has successfully paired its single-backbone chassis with inline Triples and Fours, building more than a dozen models in the process, Laverda is the opposite, with two frames and one outdated engine to select from.

But there’s hope. Launched at last fall’s Cologne Show, Laverda’s latest effort is the Ghost Strike. This delightful roadster employs the 668 Sport’s Nico Bakker-derived, aluminum-alloy chassis, but with higher and wider handlebars, resulting in a more rational riding position. Too bad the footpegs weren’t relocated, too; they’re still in rearset mode. Nevertheless, the Strike is comfortable cruising around town or blasting down the autostrada, the latter thanks to the wind protection afforded by the bikini fairing.

The engine, meanwhile, is the same air/oil-cooled, fuel-injected, 668cc parallel-Twin that Tognon inherited from the illfated Zanini Group. Previously, riding a Laverda in traffic meant keeping the engine churning above 3500 rpm to avoid horrendous driveline snatch. Even when spinning in its “powerband,” the engine felt flat, more like a small-displacement two-stroke than a middleweight four-stroke.

Not any more. Department head Giovanni Pietrobello, who was recruited from Lamborghini alongside chief engineer Nicola Materazzi, specified no less than 43 internal changes, helppuvYW/ipiam a vciotij uupiuvvu sophistication and versatility.

According to Pietrobello, the main differences are a remapped fuel-injection system, reducedfriction piston rings, revised header pipes and freer-breathing Termignoni silencers. Cooling was improved by repositioning the dual oil coolers and fitting a new oil pump. Moreover, the clutch received different plates, a bigger piston and reduced spring preload.

The Strike is a model of civility and smoothness around town, and accelerates cleanly from 3000 rpm without a hint of driveline snatch. Midrange response is noticeably crisper, leading to an intoxicating top-end rush that lasts all the way to redime.

Some serious testing is still in order, though, as the Italianmade Paioli suspension is too softly sprung. Even maxing-out compression damping at both didn’t help. To its credit, Laverda is still finalizing suspension specifications. Braking, however, is quite good. Up front, 12.6-inch Brembo rotors and four-piston calipers are paired with stainless-steel lines. The combination delivers impressive feel and stopping power.

Laverda’s foray into modular motorcycling is akin to learning a new recipe: Mix and match ingredients often enough, and eventually you’ll get your just as in the case of the Ghost Strike. Alan Cathcart