So far I've not managed to find a definitive list of 650/668 variants.  The naming used is also complicated by the confusion in some quarters over whether any particular model from later years should be referred to as a 650 or a 668.  Perhaps the only official 668 models are the 668 Sport and 668 Diamante.

There were a number of changes made to the motors at various points, as there always are in the production life of anything mechanical, with the experience of real world use and problems feeding back to the factory.  Coupled with this, there were changes in ownership at the factory which contributed to differences in the source for motor components.  A third reason for differences is that the motor has been used in various states of tune, depending on the intended use of the various chassis to which it has been fitted.  Also, the factory appears to have produced the bikes using a single serial number range for all model variants, with small batches of each type (perhaps) sharing a range of serial numbers.  Add to this the departure from earlier Laverda practice which had frame and engine serial numbers assigned the same, and you can see that trying to find answers in this whole area is opening a veritable can of worms.

As Aurelio Lolli, current Sales and Marketing Manager at Moto Laverda said in an e-mail on the Laverda discussion list recently:-

"The technical upgrade and improvement of the 668 engines has been gradual and took place during several months, as soon as the tests on the road and on the dynamometer (which had been, evidently, non properly carried out by the former Management) shown that other improvements were working fine. In reality a 1999 668 engine is almost totally different from a 1997 unit, as well as it has a few differences also from a 1998 motor.

"The 668 received all the following major modifications:

• - new material for the cylinder h[e]ad casting;
• - new design of the cylinder head, adding an air flow passage between the cylinders;
• - new barrels, with an additional oil cooling circuit around the liners;
• - 750 c.c. version crankcases;
• - new pistons and rings (two different types, the first one implemented in 1998 and the second in 1999).

"All the above mentioned major modifications are added to several other ones, which took place on the course of the years, such as the EPROM, the clutch cluster, the voltage regulator, and many other details. The various modifications are not applied to the motorcycles following a precise model year policy, since they have been implemented as a matter of urgency during the standard manufacturing."

Below is an (evolving) list of known variants.  The associated production numbers (is shown) are a best guess.

Known serial numbers for each of the ranges are listed in the individual model pages.  If you have a bike that corresponds to a particular variant, please send me an e-mail and I'll amend the list with your serial numer(s).  This is particularly true if it has a serial number outside the ranges currently known or for which no serial numbers are shown

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© Steve Carr, 2001-2007

Site created February, 2000.  Last modified Friday, May 15, 2009

Last updated
30 May 2005