Laverda 500 Alpino S
Laverda 500 Alpino S
.Italian 500s are delectable, exciting and pricey. Laverda's Alpino S is noexception. Test Graham Sanderson. Photography Duncan Cubitt.
IF YOU'VE succumbed to the conditioning by which you accept Japan'smotorcycling values of comparatively high performance for a reasonably low pricethen you'll have difficulty in accepting a machine like the Laverda Alpino. It'sunimpressive capacity of 500cc and unexciting performance (on paper) coupledwith a price of £1675 ensures that the Alpino will come in for intense scrutinyfrom disbelieving bikers just off to buy their similarly performing CB400 Hondatwins for little over half the Laverda's price. Or rather it won't becauseanyone who wants one of the counter-balanced three-valves per cylinder Japanesetwins isn't likely to consider a Laverda at all.
In fact, the almost inevitable comparisons which are bound to be made betweenthe Laverda and other 500s such as Honda's £1207 CX500 vee-twin, Yamaha's £1050eight-valve XS500 are not only confusing but almost irrelevant. So, too, isviewing the market in search of other machines you could buy with the Laverda's£1675. Yamaha's 750cc shaft-driven triple is cheaper; highly desirable ironwaresuch as the Kawasaki Z1000 and Suzuki CS1000 are only slightly more expensivethan the little Alpino. But you have to realise that any biker in the market forthe distinctive brand of motorcycling offered by the Laverda isn't likely toendure sleepless nights working out the price versus performance versus capacityequation. The Laverda is a single minded machine for similarly minded bikerswhose choice of the Alpino won't be side tracked by anything other than similarhigh priced Italian 500s available in Britain such as the Ducati 500 Desmo(Bike, April '78) and the Morini 500 vee-twin (Bike, June '78).
But you don't have to read the Financial Times every day to realise whyItalian machines are more expensive than their Oriental counterparts. TheJapanese are geared to produce millions of bikes which keeps down the price ofeach individual machine; the Italian figure is in the thousands so productioncosts are inevitably higher and this is reflected in their showroom prices. Butthe artistic Latin temperament has always produced real motorcycles. Withfaults, yes, but they've generally provided our most memorable biking thrillsunlike the often faceless units of production churned out by the Japanese. Folkswho stare disbelievingly at the Laverda, shaking their heads in shockeddisapproval at its price, will never know what a superb little motorcycle theAlpino really is.
Partly it's because the Italians offer such a welcome alternative to theall-conquering Japanese approach to building motorcycles and partly it's becauseItalian motorcycles of all capacities have a touch of built-in exclu-siveness.The Alpino is no exception and what it lacks in the sheer brute power of the1000cc Jota is compensated for by its charm. I mean, the girls with the biggestknockers aren't always more fun to know than I'il chicks.
What the Alpino offers more than many other 500s is a tremendous sense ofpride in ownership. Far from giving the rider an inferiority complex because ofits medium capacity, the Laverda gives you the feeling that it will run withbigger, faster machinery. It may not be up to 100mph motorway cruising but inthe twists and curves of real biking country where a biker's senses get attunedto the demanding roads he's navigating that's what the Alpino loves.You'll soon forget that it's a fairly conventional parallel twin and begin toenjoy motorcycling in its most pure, exciting and individual sense.
Laverda have avoided the trap which the mass-production exponents have falleninto. The Alpino feels as if it's been designed as a single entity and not likea concoction of ill-matched committee-designed proprietary parts. The package isso convincing at the outset that a ride to prove this initial impression ishardly necessary.
It's one of those rare machines which feels correct the first time you sit onits slim, thin but surprisingly comfortable seat. The handlebars have a slightrise but are flat enough to ensure that the rider leans slightly forward intowind therefore minimising the energy draining effects caused by higher, widerbars. Footrests, too, are ideally placed so I could sit naturally with bootheels pushed against the rubbers. It's such a coordinated riding position thatno single part of the rider's anatomy, the arms, shoulders, neck or legs, takesa physical hammering. Only your backside takes the strain and then only after a100-mile ride.
With a machine that felt so right initially it didn't take long to get intothe positive and exciting brand of motorcycling it offered. With legs wrappedclose in to the tank, shaped with a touch of the macabre like the lid off a richman's coffin, you begin to ride the Alpino like you've owned nothing else allyour life. This impression must go down to its weight or rather lack of it. TheItalians have never gone on obese motorcycles, the 750cc Benelli six apart, andthe Laverda weighs no more than a 500 should at 4151b on the road. Thesuspension is on the firm side of superb and provided by Marzocchi front andrear. It gives you a fairly lively time over the poorly metalled surfaces you'relikely to encounter while country lane scratching but nothing ever gets out ofhand.
. It'll occasionally shudder momentarily, and small sharp bumps arrive anddepart too quick for the suspension, especially at the rear, to react, but thenit'll settle down onto your intended line without the need for any Charles Atlasheroics with the bars. Elsewhere it ignores the attempts of more pronouncedbumps to knock it around. You have to be prepared to use your own body to absorbthe shock but unlike the soggy, more forgiving but over-compromised suspensionof many a Japanese bike you won't have to contend with strange wobbles.
Other aspects of the Alpino also demonstrate Laverda's realistic approach tobuilding motorcycles. The Italians have always built some of the most attractiveand best handling machines but they have often displayed a shocking inability toproduce decent chrome, electrics, instruments and switchgear. Laverda realisedthis several years ago, swallowed their pride and went shopping in thosecountries where such vital ingredients are given proper attention. As a resultthe superb H4 halogen headlamp is just one of the good points of the Alpino'selectrical system provided by the German Bosch concern; the instruments andswitchgear are Nippon Oenso more usually found on Suzukis.
The Italians have solved the chroming problem themselves since our Alpinoshowed a dramatic improvement in this previously shoddy area of workmanship. TheLanfran-coni silencers have thankfully attained a deep, lustrous coating ofchrome mimicking the high standards often seen on concours d'elegance jobs. It'soutrageously good by previous Italian standards. Even the actual exhaust pipes,although lacking the deep lustre of the silencers, cleaned up easily to a brightpock-free finish. Their only weak point was where the balance pipe, mounted a la CB500T Honda, couples the system. The clamps did show signs thatit would be a breeding ground for rust.
Several changes have been made over last year's Alpino hence the addition ofthe 'S' for the 1978 machine.
A rotating counterweight has been added at the left side of the crank tosmooth out the inevitable vibration of a twin and higher compression pistonshave been added in an almost obsessive search for more speed. The headlamp isnow rubber mounted and the almost obligatory annual colour change has takenplace, in this case from blue, to striking Lotus-style black with gold stripes.
With previous machines producing a claimed 44bhp at 9,500rpm, it's notsurprising that the Laverda 500 forms the basis of the competitive andsuccessful Formula 500 class in which several up-coming Italian Grand Prixcontenders experienced their first races. Therefore, you'd quite naturallyassume that the six-speed gearbox and double overhead cams operating four valvesper cylinder would help make the Alpino one of the hottest 500s around. Well, itdoesn't exactly climb every performance mountain although it's no sluggard andwe weren't disappointed at all. But that gorgeously sculpted motor holds severalsurprises. Maximum power may be thrown out high up the rev scale but maximumtorque is delivered much lower down. Roger Slater, the British Laverda importerwouldn't quote figures but last year's bike thumped out 33 ft/lb at 5,200rpm andsince our Alpino felt much nicer in the low and mid rev ranges than it did whensearching for the last ounce of performance, we suspect a similar output forthis year's Alpino.
Despite its bobweight being geardriven, the Alpino rattled like class threeplaying marbles and at various intervals the petrol tank and mirror launchedinto vibratory conversation. The all alloy engine would have accentuated theengine noise but much of this problem must have been down to a fault discoveredby a disappointed Roger Slater who stripped the motor after we reported our100.67mph top speed from the machine. Apparently the machine had been over-rewed,and all eight valves had touched the pistons, distorting the heads of six.
After the 109.9mph obtained from last year's model, a higher top speed wasexpected from our bike considering' the improvements. But even if the 'S' wasn'tthe fireball the importers expected the bike still has so much in its favour.Eight valves really improve breathing and acceleration is rapid, smooth, andconstant which makes the Alpino easy to ride. Eighty to 90mph is no problem forthe Laverda but more important than actual top speed is the way the bike feels.Some machines are so downright smooth and efficient that they're almost likeautomatons. The Alpino sends its rumbles throughout the bike giving the riderthat tiger-in-the-tank feeling.
With such a slim, light motorcycle as the Alpino, Laverda needed to use asimple single top tube frame with a downtube which branches into two to cradlethe engine. It works well, so well in fact that Laverda have chamfered the baseof the crankcase alternator cover to prevent grounding. This could be a littleself-gratification on Laverda's part but at no time did I ground anything. Whenyou're stuffing the Laverda into corners, particularly S-bends, you realise justhow well it handles. It can be hauled up from one extreme and dumped intoanother so easily. And if you do cock-up the line you can either lean it more orrely on the superb Brembo cast iron discs which actually work in the wet, too.They'll stop you only fractionally less efficiently than shoving your leg in thefront wheel, but a damned sight more safely.
Look at the bike closely and you'll see details which may go some way toappeasing the blokes who question the Alpino's price. The five-spoke highpressure die-cast wheels are made in Laverda's own foundry; foot rests arechrome-plated; frame welds — which are largely concealed — are smooth and freefrom the blotchy taint of mass production; engine side casings and rocker boxcovers are beautifully finished; silencers are rubber mounted and a magnificent14-piece toolkit even includes a small oil bottle.
Mainly because of its largely prohibitive price, only converted Laverdafreaks are likely to give the Alpino a second glance which means that,tragically, you're not going to see many around over here. And until bikers stopequating high price with large capacity instead of motorcycling quality thenRoger Slater isn't going to get rich on Alpino sales.
Source Bike 1978