with its racingpedigree. Brake-wise withtheBrembo
calipers front and rear,the Monza is running the
best brakes of theera.Better still, parts are still
readily available now,which is more thancan be
said forthe likes of some oftheanchor sfitted to
MVs for certain markets. Scarabbrakes,in
particular,are well knownfor being hardtooverha ul
and contemporaryGrimecas aren’t the easiest to
fettle either.Slowing thebike down fromany speed
is adoddle and there’snoneedtos trai nmuscles or
tendons even when descending fromserious speeds.
With loads of feel at either leverIswift ly forgot
aboutthem andgot on withthe serious business of
hustling thebikearound the lanes atindece nt
speeds. Which is not somethingyou’d automatically
do ona1970sbike withaprice tagof£56,0 00, but
the MV justsimplyinspires confidence. Forabike
made insuch small numbers andeffecti vely
hand-built, it’sfrankly so damngood andasks for so
few compromises of its rider.
The gearbox is delicious in itsaction and the
ratios are well spread. Doubtlesssome wouldfind
fault with thetransmissionsimply because it isn’t
OOriienttalinffeel,bbuttitt’’swayahheaddoffmosttotthher
LatinbikesI’veridden.Onlyneutralfeltjustalittle
elusiveonoccasion.
ThemoreIridethebikethemoreimpressedI
become.Acceptingthatthisisessentiallyarace
bikeonthepublichighwayyou’dexpectitto
demonstratearaftofcompromises–wrong!The
seatissoridiculouslycomfortable,thelowbars
aren’twristkillersandboththestandsare
masterclassesinergonomics,beingsoeasytouse
andoperate.IfIwasbeingfussyI’dhaveawhingeabout therestricted steering lock and thatgorgeous
tank,which is toowide where it meetstheseat,
splaying your thighs wider than you might like, but
other thanthatit’sstillmassi vely impressive. And
yet that reallyisn it-picking at what is essentially a
subtly sanitised race machine.
So if money wasn’t an issue, wouldIhave one?
Yes, butonly if Ihad theskills to fettleone or the
dosh to paysomeone else to do so. TheMV fours
don’t take kindly to stale, ethanol-based petrol and
willneed their carburettors drained when parkedup.
If fitted with thestandardshaft-drive you’d needto
keep an eye on the bearings and bevel-box.
Then there’sthe dual function dynamo/starterto
get yourheadaround andthe ratherobvious issue of
afairly scant spares supply situation. Oh,and
heaven forbid if itneedsanengineortransmission
rebuild because you’ll beneeding expert advice at
the veryleast, simply because thesemotors are not
your averageUJM.
And yet, putting all that to one sideand ignoring
the money side of the equation, I’d have one in the
blink of an eye. Themachinesimply inspires
confifiddencefforwhhattisessenttialllya 11995500 sracettrackk
escapeeontheroad.Withoutdoubtalmostany
modernsub- 750 Japanesesportsbikeofthe
previoustwodecadeswouldrunringsaroundthe
Monza.Theirhandling,braking,performance,etal
wouldabsolutelyslaytheGallaratefireengine.Oh,
andyouhavealotofchangeleftoveraswell!And
yetthatutterlymissesthepoint.NothingIhaveever
riddencomeswithsomuchpedigree,handlesso
wellormakessuchaglorioussound...therereallyis
nosubstituteforclass!MAIN TEST
750S
ENGINE TYPE
837cc,DOHC,four-stroke
four
BORE AND STROKE
69.0x56.0mm
CLAIMED HORSEPOWER
85bhp@8750rpm
MAXIMUM TORQUE
N/A
TRANSMISSION TYPE
5-speed
COMPRESSION RATIO
9.5:1
CARBURETION
4xDell’Orto VHB27D
TYRES
3.50 x18(F) 4.00x18(R)
FUEL CAPACITY
3. 5 allons( 15. 9 lir
BRAKESDRYWEIGHT
N/A
OurthankstoMadeinItaly
Motorcyclesfortheloanof
theMonza
http://www.madeinitaly
motorcycles.com
01449612900SPECIFICATION42 / classicmotorcyclemechanics