1971 750 MV Four - 5-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article

Description

1971 750 MV Four - 5-Page Vintage Motorcycle Road Test Article
Original, Vintage Magazine article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
IT’S HERE!” announced Carlo Perelli, CYCLE WORLD’S
Italian correspondent, referring to the MV Agusta 600
Four in the July ’67 issue of CYCLE WORLD. “The most
fabulous roadster ever produced, the 600 MV Four, is now on
delivery, at SI860 in Italy, and we’ve been lucky enough to
have one for a day. Fantastic!”
Fantastic, it wasn't. The 600 was comfortable, smooth and
handled relatively well, but was hardly sporting enough to
satisfy most of the people who would be inclined to buy such
a machine.
The reasons for the 600’s guise were few, but well taken.
Because of it's rather odd engine displacement, it would be
more than a little difficult for a privateer to sleeve one down
to 500cc for use in road racing. The shaft drive further
complicated matters, as gear ratios couldn’t be easily altered,
and the gearbox’s internal ratios were way too wide for racing.
The Count wanted to build a premiere roadster, not a
production racer, and did just that. Smooth, well finished and
heavy, and not the sort of machine that invited spirited
cornering or stoplight-to-stoplight contests, the 600 nonethe-
less steered well and stopped adequately. The biggest problem
was that not many found their way to these shores, nor for
that matter, were many produced at all.
When Carlo announced the arrival of Count Agusta’s 750
Four last year, and supplied a couple of photographs, we were
more enthusiastic. Here, at last, was a machine that showed its
racing heritage, right down to the clip-ons and rearsets. A
racing roadster, with a typically sexy gas tank that only an
Italian could design, a road-racing-type seat, four gradual-
taper, megaphone-type silencers and four Dellorto carburetors
operated by a single cable and rod assembly. Our mouths
watered anticipating the possibility of getting one to test, but
the prospects didn’t look at all bright. Not many more than a
dozen were going to be produced, and most of them had
already been sold in advance. The price in Italy was about
00.
Our day was saved when long time friend, John Taylor,
super enthusiast and boss of Yankee Motor Corp, rang us and
announced that he was assured of getting an MV 750, and
wondered if we’d like to test it. That was a little like asking
the Pope if he’s really a Catholic!
Several months later the bike arrived, just in time to be...
11911-7108-08
window.NREUM||(NREUM={});NREUM.info={"beacon":"bam-cell.nr-data.net","licenseKey":"32933b6325","applicationID":"1067803047","transactionName":"ZgEAMkVZXEVZUEFdXV9LNxReF1ZTS1BHXUJFDQ0IGUhaRg==","queueTime":0,"applicationTime":229,"atts":"SkYDRA1DT0s=","errorBeacon":"bam-cell.nr-data.net","agent":""}