ou
raly xend ri ve th
yoruseyourlefthand.PlanBis
besasitallows ou
rottleasitfiresupfromcold,butoncetheengine
iswarmthere’snoneedforatwo-handedapproach.
SShhoullddyou ever hhhave the good fortune to ride oneof
thesemachines,Ichallenge you nottoinstantly blip
the throttle!Te enage orschoolboy memoriescome
flooding backofthe likesofAgostini,Read, Bonera,
et alridingtheirrace bikes at GPs and inaninstant
you feelmomentarilypart of thatvery specialprivilegedinnercircle.Thosefourunsilencedpipes
letlooseabattlecrylikelittleelseandit’sohso
easytograsptheracingheritagebeneathyou;those
37 starsonthetankdecaleachgenuinelyrepresent
aworldchampionship...we’llbetakingnoprisoners
todaythen!
Withtheenginewarmandtickingovernicelythe
overridingsoundistherustleoffthecamtrainand
it’slikenothingelseoutthere...V 4 sincluded!The
fourcarburettorsraspwhenprovokedasthere’sno
air-boxonthisexample,yetit’dbechallengingto
emphaticallystatesuchasetupisnon-standard- butwhy?TheMonzasweremadeenmassefor
Americanordersthatnevermaterialisedandmany
weremodifiedbyimportersforspecificmarketand
customerrequirements.Therefore,someexamples
dddiiidddiiinnndddeeeeeedddhhhaaavvveeeppprrroooperfififilltttrat ttiion and anair-box.
Clutchinandtapthe boxinto first on the
left-handlever,which is another change from the old
750Sandmilitated by Americanautomotive
legislation.Letting the clutch out and opening the
throttleliberates an exhaust notelike little else and
asIwork my way through thefive-speed boxthere’s
MAIN TEST
“With the enginewarm and
ticking over,therustleof
the cam train sounds like
nothing elseout there. As I
workmy waythrough the
five-speedboxthere's
crescendoaftercrescendo
ofnoise assailing the
environment! And yet
no one is complaining...”ABOVE:40 /classic motorcyclemechanics