over-psychedby the never_ending

Iist of innovative technicatitiei

inside.
This irritation festers when it,s
infected by the machine's high first
gearing, and a clutch action -ihat is
both long and heavy clutch
- on
action is never exacily light big
displacement bikes and iishouldn,T
be expected to be. Let,s put our
observations another way.'As I,m
sitting here hammering on the
typewriter the day afteiriding the
bike my ieft wrisl. feels aborlt as
strong as a piece of cooked
lpaghetti and that hasn,t
happened sinee a memorable,
insane weekend on a hotted 4bd
Desmo dke.
- Irrespective of advanced engine
design, the Laverda is not a .molth
bike, but if you ride everywhere at
more than 3000 rpm no one will be
able to te'll you that because you'd
never find out.
But around town you know
all the time. The bike,s sound and-
vibration at idle has you convinced
it's going to die any second.
Combine that with a heavy clutch,
a first geat a ,mite too long, a
gearshift that needs the TROMp of
a number nine shoe to even
consider shifting comfortably and
you've got yourself the making of
disappointment travel.
, Combine this with the stiff,
almost jolting ride at low speed and
you could learn to dislike this Aboue' Qualin' comnonents are what the Lauerda is all about. Rimsare
Italian high roller in syllables Borrani and iear uiits.are Ciriint.-siind"iii ,eo, tyre is a KBl.
The
normally reserved for taxi-drivers productio_n moder reaching austuitii not o-
the . crankase and tu;o " - n6aaei-sisii** uii",
and wet tram lines. fr"fflilp- ; ;;i;i,i;' ;;;;;;;i""i;;;"i;"
"loltorer
Bgt go faster prototype which had o singte muffler -exiitng ii-tie i\T n""ii"rihl "' "
in any
conditions - and you begin to
understand Italian. euite simply,
this big machine was built to go
fast. All its life. As much on t[e
Hume Highway's sock-it-tcme
straights as Melbourne,s famed
Boulevard.
You understand then.that the
machine is probably one of the best
handling big bikes; how Jeff Curley
managed to take the rubber off
footrests the less believing would
have thought impossible tJground;
that the annoyingly tall first for
traffic can be exacfly correct for
fast hairpin turns; and that the
drum brake you hadn't paid much
t attention to before because it was
brand new is one of the finest drum
brakes on a motorcycle.
You don't decide this piece of
smooth sculpture (so smooth in
fact, as to be unspectacular) is real
quality; you have to discover it!
Behind everything that makes
the bike operate as il does there,s
something quite distincfl y Laverda.
Like [he clutch you'li need a
bull-worker course to practise for.
It's a highly unusual and effective
device. (Continued on page 61)

10 TWO WHEELS, November, .1973