«Alpa»
Icon of two-wheeler culture and flagship of Swiss engineering
The name Alpa is associated with high-quality bicycles throughout Europe. However, the traditional company, whose portfolio also includes the indestructible and famous Swiss military bikes, is known to most moped enthusiasts primarily for its Swiss-made two-stroke gems. If you love mopeds, your heart will beat faster when you spot one of the manufacturer's very rare Alpa chopper mopeds on the road. The sight of the somewhat more frequently built Alpa Tornado moped also causes storms of enthusiasm and joy among moped lovers. We introduce you to the manufacturer and its motorbikes in more detail.
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| Foundation | 1898 |
From the foundation to the start of moped production
From the very beginning, the fortunes of the Alpa company were closely intertwined with the Komenda family. In 1898, a certain Matthias Komenda opened a bicycle shop in St. Gallen, which he soon expanded into a bicycle factory. For many years, the company focussed exclusively on the bicycle business. The success of the young company in the early years is closely linked to the special success story of the Swiss Made bicycle. Shortly after the two-wheeler could be mass-produced on an industrial scale, Switzerland was also gripped by a huge bicycle boom. However, a customs dispute prevented foreign two-wheelers from being imported into Switzerland, which meant that numerous Swiss-made bicycle brands were created in those years and became very successful. One of these major brands was "Helvetia", which Mr Komenda sold in his bike shop in St. Gallen. When his son Max took over the business, he pushed ahead with the production of his own bicycle parts and launched his own two-wheeler brand, MaKo. The bicycles were later renamed Cresta and were now produced exclusively in the Alpa factories. This was so successful that the Swiss-made bicycles were not only sold in Switzerland, but also exported in large numbers to other European countries. The brands always focussed on ensuring that the products were of the highest possible quality. To this day, the historic factory buildings are owned by the Komenda family and the company of the same name. Unfortunately, mopeds are no longer manufactured there, but Cresta brand bicycles are still built in the historic location.
The first mopeds in co-operation with Stähli
From the 1960s onwards, the company co-operated with another well-known Swiss company, Stähli. This manufacturer had already made a name for itself with the production of high-quality bicycle parts. However, they recognised the signs of the times and soon concentrated more on the production of mopeds, which were of course manufactured in the Alpa workshops. This marked the start of moped production at the Sirnach site from 1961, with the mopeds initially being fitted with the high-quality and popular Sachs engines and marketed under the Staco brand name. In the years that followed, mopeds from the Sirnach two-wheeler specialists became real bestsellers at home and abroad alongside bicycles. In the 1970s and into the 1980s, numerous different models were developed, which are now very rare and highly sought-after due to the relatively small numbers produced. The models produced in the Sirnach factories include such successful mopeds as the Rodeo, Turbo and Staco-Alpa-Tornado mopeds and the Bobby model.
The Sirnach legend
But these gems were eclipsed by an absolute legend from Sirnach, and that's where they still stand compared to this iconic moped we're talking about. Because no other moped from Sirnach has such an immense cult factor as the Alpa Chopper moped. Anyone who has never seen one of these spectacular rarities on two wheels in the wild should not be surprised, as only 600 of these unique motorbikes were ever put on the road. The idea of offering a standard motorbike in a chopper version in the 1980s was completely new at the time. In fact, following the success of the classic film "Easy Rider" by and starring Dennis Hopper, two-wheeler enthusiasts all over the world were keen to copy the legendary bikes from the film. During this time, many a moped enthusiast also dreamed of chopping(ping) his pearl, i.e. removing superfluous add-on parts and giving it the characteristic look and unique riding experience with a chopper handlebar.
A chopper moped? Why do you do that?
But a planned conversion failed when it came to sourcing the necessary moped parts. As golden as the moped boom was, those who liked custom mopeds and parts simply didn't have much choice back then. If you wanted to convert your moped into a chopper despite all the adverse circumstances, you not only had to do the assembly yourself, you also almost always had to manufacture the required parts yourself. The manufacturer Alpa filled this gap when it launched a moped in Sirnach in the 1980s that was designed and styled as a chopper from the factory. As was only right, the Alpa moped had the obligatory greatly extended front fork and high, drawn-out handlebars. The riding position on the Perle was and still is authentically chopper-like thanks to the almost 45-degree steering head angle. In addition, the manufacturer dispensed with everything that was not prescribed in the design, resulting in a naked and original look. The plane was available in three standard paint finishes, namely blue, mother-of-pearl and red. In addition, the Alpa moped was equipped with the most modern technology available at the time. This included engines from Franco Morini. These were so powerful that they easily reached a top speed of 45 km/h without any tuning.
No moped for daily drivers
However, the extravagant and striking look also had its disadvantages. The extreme turning circle or the intrusive spray water when riding the moped on wet roads - Switzerland is a different climate to the south of the USA - did not exactly make this Alpa moped a good choice for daily drivers. As a result, demand for this model was significantly lower than for the other models from the Sirnach moped manufacturer. The result was that only a very small number of the legendary Alpa chopper moped was produced and sold. Between 500 and 600 units rolled off the production lines in Sirnach in the 1980s. This makes the chopper one of the rarest motorbikes in the world today. So anyone who owns one of these gems can count themselves among a very small circle of lucky moped enthusiasts. Original spare parts for the Alpa chopper are almost impossible to find, either new or second-hand, due to the low production numbers. However, high-quality replica parts are now available for at least some original parts of the cult motorbike, meaning that the spare parts situation has eased somewhat in recent years.
Collection only possible with online purchase and appointment.
