Laverda 500 Alpino
Laverda 500 Alpino
.The HE NAME Laverda has always stood for quality—quality engineering, quality finish, and that Italian flag emblazoned throughthe L means that Laverda is one of the finest Italian motor cycles.
The big news from Laverda is that three newsuperblkes have been added to their range this year—Increasing their 1,000ccoffering to five bikes. But taking a backseat position behind the Jotas andCorsas is a machine some call the half Jota, the Alpino.This little beauty comes in two versions, the standard 500T or the sporty 500S.It's the 500T that I have been testing over the past couple of weeks, and I'vefound it most of all an evergreen machine. Unlike a lot of machines it could bea new model—although it's been in production for over half a decade, with littleor no change. Not highly priced, like most of the other Laverdas, the Alpino isonly slightly more expensive than its main rivals. In one case (BMW R45), it'scheaper by £161.00. The Alpino's price tag of £1,999, for both the standard andsport models, puts it In reach of the motor cyclist looking for a new machine ofaround 500cc.
Compared to some others in that class the AlpinoIs rather basic, being only a parallel twin. But it's nice to see the sportversion is the same price.At the Laverda Importers— Three Cross Motorcyles—they told me the Alpino appealsto the older rider, who maybe already owns a larger Laverda but wants anothermachine for everyday riding. I tend to agree. Riding the Alpino reminds me verymuch of our long term Triumph TSS.
This is because both have twin cylinder, eightvalve engines with lots of torque at low revs, and both are mechanicallynoisy—the Laverda not quite so noisy as the Triumph.The heavily finned motor is happy whether plodding or screaming. It has to berevved hard to make it fly, but the four stroke tends to smooth you intoplodding most of the time. The thunderous noise produced from the exhaust waseverything you could expect from a Laverda.
I didnt have the chance to speed test the Alplnomyself, and had to leave It in the capable hands of Road Test Editor Mat Oxley.Speed, though, wont be the main consideration of the Alplno owner. It managed aquite respectable mean top speed of 103.44mph. This was 1mph less than when welast tested the Alplno In 1977. It's interesting to compare the top speed withthe Alplno S, tested in 1978, even though the 'S' has a performance camshaft anda higher compression ratio the top speed was only 105.15mph.The only other twin cylinder machines In that class to beat the Laverda are theYamaha XS400 and the Honda CX500— both of which recorded 104.44mph and 104.61mph respectively.
The quarter mile times are again in keeping withthe other speeds. At 14.17sec/90.47mph, the 500T is slower than the last Alpinotest, slightly quicker than the Alpino S, but this time quicker than the HondaCX500.The top speeds were all achieved In sixth gear, unlike the last model wheresixth was unusable. This model proved not to have the same trouble — althoughthe fifth and sixth overall ratios were very close, with fifth being 6.48:1 andsixth 6.03:1.
The gearbox was very precise and slick. Up ordown changes were good, and it was very easy to slip it into neutral from firstgear at a standstill. Much better than the other Laverda on test at the sametime, the RGA.
The engine is fed by a couple of Dell'Orto 32mmcarbs with the choke fitted on to the left hand one. It was tricky to flick thelever on and off due to it being right behind one of the two fuel taps. Thechoke worked well, bringing the engine on to a fast idle speed of 3,500rpm,useful In winter but not needed during high summer. You'd think that with a pairof 32mm DeH'Ortos that the Alpino would be thirsty—but happily the oppositehappened in practice. All the mpg figures were between 51 and 49, which wouldgive a good average of around 50mpg if it were not for a low 35.8mpg at MIRA.This brought the overall mpg down to a lowish 44.6, the lowest of ourcomparisons except for the Alpino S. Most riders will not get such a low figureas 35.8mpg, even with fast motorway riding, and so should expect a higheraverage.
Motorway riding is comfortable at anything up tothe legal limit, above this vibration took its toll—mostly through the bars.Sustained riding speeds of above 90mph were impossible, but at 70-75mph youcould last all day. The riding position again reminded me of the TriumphTSS—upright with straight bars, and sitting quite high up. The seat height at 32inches is higher than normal. My first impression of the seat was that It wasrock hard. But during the test I concluded that it was merely firm. It didsupport very well on long rides, unlike a super soft seat that will feel OKon short distances but will hurt like hell on any Journey over 50 miles.
To aid the riding position the footrests (whichwere polished alloy) were adjustable forward or backWard.Soaking up the bumps on the front and rear were, as usual, the nearly unbeatableMarzocchi units. The rear shocks were the standard type, without the remotereservoirs but good anyway. The front end was fitted with black telescopic unitsthat did prove just a little soft under heavy braking during our brakingdistance test.
The rear units, if anything, are a little on thehard side—the norm with standard Marzocchis. They were not so hard that theymade riding uncomfortable, but just the right balance so that it handled fine.Moving down to the brakes. Again, all Italian motor cycles now use the Bremboset-up, single disc on the rear and twin disc on the front. I've praised Brembosso much before for their progressive feel and sure stopping ability that again Ihave got to say the same things. The stopping distances speak forthemselves—27ft from a true 30mph and 114ft from a true 60mph. A true 60mphbeing an indicated 62imph on the Japanese speedo.
To quote from a past Laverda road test, written byour fearless editor Graham Sanderson: "The Italians' realising that they are toelectrics what Charlie Chaplin is to the Royal Ballet, have changed over toJapanese electrics". This sums up what the Italians electrics were like. Now afew years later the combination of Japanese and German wizards Bosch makes theelectrics almost perfect.The warning lights included a generator light which would come on if the Boschgenerator packed up—unlikely but a useful light not fitted to most models. Theelectric start is powerful and only needed a fewturns before the engine would start. Best of all was the 60/55 watt halogenBosch headlight that shone its way ahead twice as powerful as most units fittedto middleweight bikes.
About the only thing Laverda have skimped onthroughout the bike is the lack of any wing mirrors fitted as standard. This Ifind unacceptable, and totally out of character with the standard Laverdaapproach on their other machines. Listen Laverda, if you do start to fit wingmirrors on the Alpino please do not make them like the ones fitted on to the newRGA—they fell off at 125mph!The quality of the machine, as I've said before, is excellent. Laverda haveskimped on some of the extras, making it a little basic, mainly to keep theprice down. The essential parts of the bike are all good quality, and I found Itpleasant to ride a bike that's different from the crowd.
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