ClassicMotorcycleMechanicsJune2020

(Jacob Rumans) #1

crescendoaftercrescenddoofGallarate history
assailingtheenvironmennnt.
It’snotaquietbikebyyyanyone’sstandards, yet no
oneinsleepySuffolkseeeems to be takingexception;
onthecontrary,theMonzzaseems toget nothingbut
admiringglancesoroutriiight smiles. It’sthatkind of
machine,butquitehowyyyour neighboursmight feel
aboutthosedecibelsevery sunny weekend morning
couldbeanothermatter.
EventhoughArturoMaaagni latterly produced his
ownframesforthefour-pppot motors afterMVceased
production,formostmerrremortals there’slittle
wwwrrrooonnngggwwwiittthhhttthhheeefffaaacccttooorrryyyccchhhassis. Thebike immediately
feels plantedand securein waysperiod Oriental
machines would only achieve many years later.
It’shard to convey just how ‘right’ thebike feels
when riddenthroughaseries ofbends;thephrase
‘confidence inspiring’ really doesn’t do thechassis
justice. Historically, periodItalianironhas generally
co me across as exhibiting stunning handlingthat’s


ThemarvellousMVbackcatalogue


It’seasytoassumethatMVAgustawasa
troubledItalianracebikemanufacturerthat
onlymaderoad-goingversionsofitsracing
bikesandfewrandomtwins,yetthetruthis
ratherdifferent.
Overthethreedecadesthefirmproduced
motorcycles,theGallaratefirmchurnedout
everythingfrom 50 cctwo-strokemini-bikes,
basiccommutermachines,scooters,three-
wheeleddeliverytrucks,araftofclubmanrace
machines,streetscramblersfortheAmerican
market,andawholelotmorebesides.
Utilisingtheirfour-stroke 175 singleand
boltingonaflatbedbehindthesaddle,prop
shaftanddifferential,MVsuppliedthe
agriculturalindustrywiththeMotocarro.
Takingtheconcepttoitslogicalconclusion,
therewereevenfour-wheeledcommercials
witharangeofenginesfrom 300 - 1100 cc
poweredbybothpetrolanddiesel–thefirm
waswillingtomakealmostanythingother
thanconventionalcars.Despitethe
supposedlyautocraticleadershipstyleof
ownerCountDomenicoAgusta,thecompany
werealwaysopentonewideasand

technologies.Inthemid- 1950 sMVinstalledan
infinitelyvariabletransmissionsystemwithin
thestandardunitconstructioncasesoftheir
175 CSSport.Usingapurpose-madesystem
suppliedbyCambiIdraulicBaldini,thebike
achievedsuccessinbothroadracingand
regularitytrialssimilartomodernenduro
racing.Despitebeingextremelywell
engineeredandofprovenreliability,sales
successeludedtheMV/Baldinihybrid.
Regardlessofbeingknownprimarilyforits
four-strokefours,MVAgusta’sinitialsuccess
camefrom 125 cctwo-strokesinglesandeven
a 125 strokertwinnicknamedZefiroorLittle
Frog.Oneofthemostimpressiveearly
stinkwheelswasdevelopedfromthe 125 TEL
Turismo.Tuninganddevelopmentchangedthe
6 hp/ 85 km/hroad-goingsingleintoa 10. 5 hp
racercapableofhitting 130 km/hontherace
tracks.Eighty-onemilesperhourfroma 1950
piston-portedstrokerwasseriousstuff,evenif
themotorhadtoberunon 8 : 1 premix.The
subsequenttwincam 125 four-stroke( 1950 -
1960 )mayhaveofferedthreemorehorses,but
itwasonly 6 mphfaster!

unfortunatelyontheharsh sideoffirm, butnot
ontheMV Monza.
The suspension is taught, but nothard, it
respondstothe vagaries of UKroadsby absorbing
the worst of the imperfections,whilst relaying to t
rider exactlywhat’shappening beneaththose
Metzler tyres.Inmodern terms the bikeisn’tfast,
it’srelativelyheavy and its framegeometrywas
arguably antediluvian by the time it left the
factory,yet thatcombination of springing and
damping justgoestoshowyou don’thaveto
have bigfat tyres andsteep steering head
angles in ordertoscythethroughbends. How
wouldIrate this exampleagainstits peers in
terms of handling?Well,it totally eclipses
anythingfromJapan, as you might rightly expect.
It’smore flickable thanDucatisoftheperiod and
I’d hazardaguess sayingthat it wouldbeaclose
run thing if you putit up against thelikes of a
Rickman or Seeley.But then, of course, it should do

g
the

Yes, they even
made this...

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