1967 Laverda 200 Gemini - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article

Description

1967 Laverda 200 Gemini - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
To say that the 200cc Laverda Gem-
ini Twin has no place in American
motorcycling is like saying that the Cros-
ley, the Kaiser/Fraizer, the Henry J.,
the Nash, the Edsel and International
Harvester have no place in American
automotoring. And that’s hardly fair, is
it? It’s true that all of these are sort of
baroquely utilitarian vehicles for which
most people can find no conceivable use,
but at the same time and even for this
very reason, they are all quite campy,
too. And surely camp has a place in
both the automobile and the motorcycle
industries.
To say that the 200cc Laverda Gem-
ini Twin is campy is almost an under-
statement. All it lacks is a Tiffany shade
dangling above the headlamp. Consider,
for example, the frame. It is made al-
most entirely of pressed steel, as the
molded fender halves continue up under
the tank to form the spine itself. The
halves are welded at center seam to form
a massive, scooter-like but very shapely
rear end. Up front, the spine halves meet
at the tubular steering head onto which
is attached one large down-tube ending
in a horizontal joint onto which are
welded two tubular cradle arms extend-
ing beneath the engine. That’s seven ba-
sic parts, not including the also-massive
front fender. Put a hulking 23A-gallon
petrol tank on top of the whole thing
and indeed, you've got a very Italian
looking sort of two-wheeled Henry J.
Laverda builds a raft of mopeds and
scooters, the Gemini (which they dub
“baby BMW”), and a soon-to-be-released
650cc “Super Honda". They also man-
ufacture frames for areobatic light planes
and (aha!) a line of tractors, trailers
and farm equipment.
The Gemini, which has been produced
since 1960, is of the tried and true two-
cylinder, four-stroke variety. Bore/
stroke is an oversquare 2.04" x 1.85".
The engine, with an easy-going 7.7:1
compression ratio, put out 11 bhp at
6500 rpm for a claimed top speed of 65-
70-75-80 mph. depending upon who’s
doing the talking. We took the bike out
on an open straight and turned her on.
After several tries, we finally squeaked
up to approximately 47 mph. Now that
seemed hardly correct, so we returned...
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