page_title: Laverda
section_title: Takeovers and rebirth
hierarchical_section_title: Laverda / History / Takeovers and rebirth
caption_attribution_description: Español: Laverda 750 strike 07
context_page_description: Laverda was an Italian manufacturer of high performance motorcycles. The motorcycles in their day gained a reputation for being robust and innovative.
  The Laverda brand was absorbed by Piaggio when, in 2004, Piaggio absorbed Aprilia. Piaggio has elected to quietly close all activities related to the Laverda brand and has publicly stated that they would be willing to sell the rights to the brand if an investor should appear. As of 2015, Laverda.com no longer redirects to Aprilia's website. Currently, laverda.com shows the history of company between 1873 and 2004.
context_section_description: Initiatives to save Laverda, included a Japanese investment company who wanted to sell apparel and other merchandise under the name; to a local government initiative which tried to run the factory as a co-operative; but each of these failed.
  In 1993, millionaire Francesco Tognon bought everything, thus saving the company and setting up what looked like the first serious attempt in a decade to relaunch the brand.  Over the next five years, they launched a small selection of new sports models based on a thorough redo of the  DOHC 650 cc parallel-twin derived from the old Alpino, upped to 668 cc and clothed in contemporary superbike livery.  These bikes were outfitted with Weber-Marelli electronic fuel injection, Brembo Gold Line brakes, fully adjustable Paioli suspension (White Power on some models), hollow spoke Marchesini wheels and a modern beam or trellis frame. Within a year and a half, a larger, water cooled 750 appeared with a new engine in an aluminum beam chassis developed by frame specialist Nico Bakker.
  At successive international motorcycle shows, Laverda displayed mockups of new models they were planning to build, including an all new, 900 cc liquid-cooled three-cylinder engine; The 750 roadster variants Ghost and Strike; the Lynx, a small, naked roadster with a Suzuki 650 cc V-twin engine; and finally the 800TTS trail/enduro, which aimed to take on the likes of the Cagiva Gran Canyon and Honda Transalp.  The venture failed after five years.
caption: 1997 Laverda 750 Strike
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