A couple of weeks ago I
was walking along the road when I heard the roar of an approaching
unsilenced bike. I looked round and saw a
bike that I hadn't seen an example of for at least 30 years..
Laverda Montjuic
In 1977, Laverda
launched the 500cc Alpino twin. (Known as Zeta in the
US). It was a modern, 500cc parallel twin , in a sporty, good
handling chassis. Downside was that it wasn't any faster than a Honda
400 Super Dream, but cost more than a Japanese 1000cc bike. Needless
to say, it didn't sell well and I've only ever seen one.
Laverda built a racing
version of the Alpino called the Formula 500, which was very
successful in its day. In 1979, British importer Slater Brothers,
built a road going 'replica' of the Formula 500, and named it
Montjuic after the racetrack in Barcelona.
Laverda Alpino
The Montjuic was an
Alpino tuned to 50 bhp, (rather than 44), with high compression
pistons and sportier cams, an unsilenced exhaust, a small fairing and
seat unit made in the UK by Screen and Plastics, and rear sets and
low bars from Laverda's Jota model.
The result was a loud,
frantic, uncompromising sports bike, that due to its very high price
tag, was rare and exotic. Back in the 80s I only saw 3 or 4 of them
on the road, plus a couple raced in the 500cc Production class at
Knockhill racetrack (where they were completely outrun by the much
faster Yamaha RD 350s.)
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