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ALPHA
Micra 252 -1990
The days of Jacques Coli
The sad tale of Alpha Motors underlines the pitfalls awaiting any small company that tries to make it big. Despite the excellence of its trials bikes, this little French marque only remained in production for eight years.
An Amazing Career
Alpha's creator, Jacques Coli, had an amazing career. The son of a farmer, he worked as a builder's merchant. By burning the midnight oil, he became a respected naval architect who created fine 22-meter sailing yachts with stainless steel hulls. For his own amusement, he designed and built a motorcycle and began small-scale production of his first Alpha trials bike (inset) in 1983. It was a magnificent - and extremely lightweight -four-stroke, built from stainless steel with a single-damper suspension and a completely reworked Honda engine.
A Real Show-Stopper
Jacques Coli stunned visitors to the 1987 Paris Salon with his show-stopping Micra, a 250 powered by a two-stroke engine of 100 percent Alpha manufacture. It was an excellent machine, which won a French championship during its first season in competition. Sadly, though the quality and performance of this hand-crafted machine were beyond reproach, producing it in sufficient numbers proved a problem and sales remained negligible. Nevertheless, two years later, Alpha unveiled the greatly improved Micra 252. But, before it had a chance to launch its own liquid-cooled engine in 1991, and despite Jacques Coli's efforts, Alpha Motors faded from the scene.
SPECIFICATIONS
Engine: 239cc (72x58.8mm) air-cooled single· cylinder two-stroke
Power Rating: 20 hp @ 5000 rpm
Valves: automatic intake valves
Fuel System: carburettor
Transmission: 6-speed, chain final drive
Suspension: upside-down telescopic forks (front); Technoflex unit with single damper (rear); travel 6.7 inches (front & rear)
Brakes: disc (front & rear)
Wheels: 21 inch (front); 18 inch (rear)
Weight: 183 lb
The Alpha Micra 252 was a trials machine of the highest quality, with well-balanced handling and excellent finish, doomed by inadequate production facilities.