Goodbye NSR!

[Draven]

Well, it would appear that the time has come for an upgrade... Very shortly it will be "Goodbye NSR", and "Hello Laverda 650 Sport" as i complete the jump to a biiger bike... and so, i guess, i thought i'd brag about it, so here goes... (deep breath)....

650cc Parallel Twin Engine, Twin Exhausts (Proper Cans, Not Peashooters!), Carbon Fibe Body, HUGE airbox under a dummy tank (the real one's under the seat??), Upside Down Shocks, Adjustable Rear Damper, Hydraulic Clutch, 1996 'N' Reg, 15000kms, and a top end of around 160mph.

But, however, there are down points...

As i'm sure Milo and Minesweeper will point out, the insurance is £1,200 3rd party, and no, i still haven't passed my test... But i've got a month before i have to give them my NSR, so i think i'd better go book it...

Any info from anyone who's ever ridden one of these would be most appreciated... i've absolutely NO idea what they go like....

Will.

[McJamweasel]

Laverda?? Brave move!
Apparantly they fall apart as soon as you look at them. They have a bit of of a reliability problem.
And theyre supposed to be shite under 30 mph, they fart and judder and stall unless ure slippin the clutch.

But they do look nice!
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BCF: Be yourself, just don't be an arse.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Nice looking bike, handlies well. However, not that reliable, and not easy to get spares for. Laverda went out of business (again) and the name is now owned by Aprilia. The 650 (actually a 668) is not too bad, but the early ones were fine. Shortly after production started they changed suppliers of cast engine components (older ones used old stock from before they went bust), and the newer casting were awful. The early ones had kevlar fairings, so look out for that.

Apparently there were quite a few that found there way to the UK from the far east as parallel imports. Check with Three Cross (who were the importers) to find out anything they know about a particular bike you are looking at.

Performance wise, if you are expecting 160mph you will be very disappointed. Try 135~140, basically about the same as a 900SS Ducati, but without the torque. You really have to rev the engine

Try these messageboards

https://www.guzzi.com.au/forum/laverda/

https://groups.yahoo.com/group/zanelist/

All the best

Keith

[Kickstart]

Hi

Another link that may help

https://668tech.laverda-nz.org/

All the best

Keith

[minesweeper]

Glad to have that 160mph top end he has been boasting about shown to be less accurate

just because the speedometer goes up to that doesnt mean it will hit that speed, my zzr250 has 130 on the clock if it hits 115 i will be happy as hell

i pointed out the fact that spares arent easy to come across but we shall see did you tell dobles your bikes fully derestricted?

Luckily i think will's got one of the earlier models so he may have got the first production run before the parts went down hill as you stated.

matt

[Draven]

as it happens, i've had that top end confirmed by paul... and u know it's gonna smack seven shades of shit out of your ZZR 8)

no, dobles don't know that the nsr's fully DE-ed, but hey, the papers are signed - although that doesn't mean that u can tell them...

anyway... i'll have a go at u later in the pub, matt...!

mcjamweasel --> i know that a 400/4 may be able to pull a fair wack, but i was distinctly looking for the twin cylinders/exhausts... to be quite honest, i'm more bothered about how it looks and sounds that i am about how it goes... i sincerely doubt i'll ever find out the top end for myself, because i've never had the nsr above 85.. anything above 75 and i start to feel a little uneasy with the speed! and twin cylinders sound sooooo nice......

The bottom line for me (i've signed the buying agreement already) is that it looks great, sounds better, is comfortable as fuck, was a lot less money than a CBR6, has a fairly low mileage and will do me nicely for at least a couple of years... but cheers for the info, and anything else you discover about them, let me know..!

Cheers,
Will.

[Kickstart]

[Phil.]

Congrats, hope all the rumors dont come true for ya draven..

Anyone ever bought a lemon? I know that quite a few are new to biking on the forum but theres a few that have had loads of bikes.

[Stevo]

8) Nice one mate, Yeah i hope that you dont have any reliability probs with it either. I agree that a twin even if a parallel one and not a V should sound nicer than a 400/4, especially with a set of termignonis! I like the looks of the Lav, and as you say straight line speed aint everything, but 135-140 should be plenty after an NSR anyways. My ZX6R is supposed to get close to 170 on a good day, but i aint never gonna see that kind of speed on it, unless i stop taking my medication! I liked the Laverda 750 formula, in blk/orange, and in my opinion its a far nicer looking bike than a Ducati 748. Being different is somthing to be proud of, and so hopefully you should have alot of fun with the Laverda.

p.s. remember, cbr600's are like arseholes, in that everyones got one!

[Milo]

So paul said it can do 160? and i suppose he knows more than people that have seen/had one? also has he ridden it? i don't think so and even if he has it would only be across the road, nowhere near 160! maybe, with a lot of tuning and parts, like the NSR it can hit it's speedo stop. My GPZ550 on goes upto 150 i think. but i've worked out it's only geared to 130. but i'm well happy with it!

ps, ever taken a 550/4 around a multi-storey car park, man does it sound mahoosive!
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Shaft drives rule.