Alpina, Alpino, Alpino S

ALPINA / ALPINO S Laverdas entry into the 500cc market commenced with the production of the alpina in 1977, It was actually shown as a prototype in 1975. The engine was an all new venture for laverda incorporating 4 valve pentroof heads, D.O.H.C,and 180 degree crank,very advanced engineering at that time. First press road test reports however were disappointing,the bike was lacklustre in its Performance,Japanese 250s were on level par,the other main complaint was vibration.

Alpina 500

Another problem not seen by laverda was the fact that a major car manufactuer had The rights to name one of their models alpina and promptly informed laverda it was Illegal! The factory took note and re-named the bike alpino 9 months after.they also addressed The testers gripes by re-designing the crankcases and fitting a rotating balance shaft.

For the UK market only came the alpno S,this model, as well as the balance shaft engine was also fitted with high compression pistons and the fuel tank shape changed,now Sporting knee cutouts,it only came in black and gold livery. Although the alpino S performed and looked better than the alpina, it ldid not set the World on fire and sales were poor,not suprising with the retail price of £1,675. As a comparison a honda CB400/4 sold for £798.00!,in fact Hondas CX 500 retailed at Only£1,207.

Alpino

Today both models are quite rare,especially original ones.lots were converted or robbed Of the engines by the monty racers of that era,sad really because it was actually a nice Bike,reliable,good fuel consumption and a nice commuter. Other names for the bike were ZETA(American market) and alpino TS.