Difference between revisions of "MV Agusta"
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Revision as of 21:28, 27 November 2005
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"Motorcycles make us dream. They have different colours, they have different sounds. They have shapes that sometimes show what inspired their designers. Sometimes these creations are real works of art that turn the designer into an artist. This is the case with Massimo Tamburini, a design engineer who has revolutionised the concepts of sports motorcycles by raising them to new limits of performance and granting them unparalleled beauty."
Claudio Castiglion
The name Agusta first rose to prominence in the early twentieth century, identifying a pioneer in the fledgling Italian aeronautics industry: count Giovanni Agusta. Originally from Sicily but living in Lombardy, Giovanni Agusta founded his company in 1907 at “Cascine Costa” in Samarate (VA). Production of Agusta aircraft soared during the First World War, when the Count signed up as a volunteer in the Malpensa Air Battalion.
When he died in 1927, the company passed into the hands of his widow Giuseppina and son Domenico, who quickly found themselves having to deal with a crisis in the aeronautics sector and were forced to diversify to avoid shutting down. They decided to convert from aircraft to motorcycles, in response to the Italians' growing demand for motorised individual mobility. The first thing they did was come up with an engine which was inexpensive to produce and run: a two-stroke engine with a capacity of 98 cc and a three port timing system, primary gear transmission, an oil-bathed clutch and two gears. Unfortunately the development of the engine was interrupted by the second world war, and in 1943 Cascina Costa was occupied by German troops. The occupation lasted until the end of the war, when Domenico Agusta established Meccanica Verghera in order to complete his new motorcycle project: a new company fully prepared to meet the challenges of the motorcycle market.
In the autumn of 1945 the first MV Agusta was presented to the public. It was initially to be called “Vespa 98”, but it was found that the name had already been registered. And so it was referred to simply by the number “98”, available in “Touring” and “Economical” versions. Deliveries began in 1946, the year MV Agusta officially began competing in the regular races. It didn’t have to wait long for its first victory: in the first season Vincenzo Nencioni won a regular race in La Spezia, then again in Monza on November 3, when all the steps on the podium were occupied by MV Agusta drivers (Vincenzo Nencioni, Mario Cornalea and Mario Paleari).
It was in the wake of these early successes that the model 98 “Sport” was built. It differed from the earlier models with its telescopic fork, a new frame 5cm shorter and a more sporting drive. Changes to the engine increased its power almost to 5 HP: a record at that time for an engine of this capacity.
In 1947 MV Agusta went to the Salon in Milan with a number of new features. In addition to a “Luxury” version of the 98, the two-cylinder, two-stroke 125cc bikes and the 250cc single-cylinder 4T bikes appeared.
The year after this the 125cc category was introduced in the Italian speed championships, allowing MV Agusta to enter its “125 three gear” model. In 1949 the “98” and the “125” were replaced by the new “125 TEL”, flanked by the 125 type “B” scooter in the same year.
In the autumn of 1945 the first MV Agusta was presented to the public. It was initially to be called “Vespa 98”, but it was found that the name had already been registered. And so it was referred to simply by the number “98”, available in “Touring” and “Economical” versions. Deliveries began in 1946, the year MV Agusta officially began competing in the regular races. It didn’t have to wait long for its first victory: in the first season Vincenzo Nencioni won a regular race in La Spezia, then again in Monza on November 3, when all the steps on the podium were occupied by MV Agusta drivers (Vincenzo Nencioni, Mario Cornalea and Mario Paleari).
It was in the wake of these early successes that the model 98 “Sport” was built. It differed from the earlier models with its telescopic fork, a new frame 5cm shorter and a more sporting drive. Changes to the engine increased its power almost to 5 HP: a record at that time for an engine of this capacity.
In 1947 MV Agusta went to the Salon in Milan with a number of new features. In addition to a “Luxury” version of the 98, the two-cylinder, two-stroke 125cc bikes and the 250cc single-cylinder 4T bikes appeared.
The year after this the 125cc category was introduced in the Italian speed championships, allowing MV Agusta to enter its “125 three gear” model. In 1949 the “98” and the “125” were replaced by the new “125 TEL”, flanked by the 125 type “B” scooter in the same year.
Motorcycle racing resumed in the early 'fifties. MV Agusta became a racing legend thanks to decisive progress in performance and technology. The publicity generated by its success in racing brought Cascina Costa increased sales of its variety of versatile, economical models that perfectly responded to the demands of the market. But there were also applications deriving from racing bikes such as the sporty 125 Motore Lungo, named for the lengthened crankcases covering its ignition magnet, the most popular sports bike of its day. '53 was a very important year for industrial production, for MV Agusta reached the threshold of producing 20,000 bikes for the first time, thanks to its complete range and to the introduction of the original model 125 Pullman. In addition, the first plant licensed to produce motorbikes for export was opened in Spain.
In the meanwhile, on the racing front, the Motorcycling Federation decided to reintroduce competitive racing for mass-produced motorcycles. For this new championship MV Agusta industrialised production of the MV Agusta 124 single-shaft, a bike derived from Cascina Costa’s legendary racing bikes. The following year, 1954, saw the debut of the 175 CSS, which was to rise to fame under the nickname the Flying saucer because of the disk-like shape of its fuel tank. This model offered more than just attractive appearance, allowing MV’s drivers to win in the Sport classes too. In the second half of the ’fifties the motorcycle market was still booming, though the first signals were beginning to appear of the crisis that would later force many manufacturers to cut investment in racing and applied research.
But MV went against the trend here, purchasing Bell helicopter manufacturing licences which put new technologies at its disposal for application to motorcycles. Among the many innovations dating from this time are the construction of a number of prototypes of progressive hydraulic gears, 2T fuel injection engines and research bikes such as the six-cylinder 500 4T.
MV stood out from the other motorcycle manufacturers even in its most economical range. For instead of adapting its capacities to the standards set by the competition, it preferred to adopt a philosophy of research aimed at its general clientele. In accordance with this policy, in 1956 the company presented the “83”, capable of carrying two people in perfect comfort at a sufficient speed with limited fuel consumption. In 1959 it industrialised production of a new lubrication system that permitted MV Agusta engines to achieve hitherto unknown standards of reliability, and in fact the warranty on MV engines was extended to 100,000 Km.
The generation of bikes built with this new engine were in fact nicknamed the “Hundred thousand”.
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The ’sixties saw the consecration of the family car, but at the same time the motorcycle market slowed down. MV Agusta reacted to this change in consumer spending in a true enterprising spirit, offering the market new models to attract motorcycle lovers. Of these, the one destined to go down in history was the 600 four cylinder, the first maxi motorbike on the market, with a four-cylinder engine. The engine, derived from Mike Hailwood’s 500 GP, gradually developed into the high performance 750 S America, capable of speeds of 220 Km/h.
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The same year saw the introduction of the 125 Disco, named for the rotating disk distribution of its 2T engine. The late ’sixties marked the start of the Agostini era, with the three and four cylinder 350 and 500 models remaining popular from 1967 to 1973. The two models were produced first with three-cylinder engines and then with four-cylinder engines to combat the advent of the Japanese two-stroke engines.
After Count Domenico’s death in the early ’seventies, the company was faced with a number of economic difficulties. This period was characterised by a battle between two opposing trends in the company’s administration: one aimed at pursuing investment in racing, the other at cutting it in order to balance the books. The middle road prevailed, resulting in limited development of the racing team and impoverishment of the number of models offered, down to only two: the 350 and the 750.
The former was offered in three set-ups: “Scrambler”, “GTEL” and “SEL”, while the 750 was available in Sport and Gran Turismo versions. In competition MV managed yet again to stave off the pressure from the Yamaha 2Ts and the Suzukis of Saarinen and Barry Sheene. The artifices of this resistance to the Japanese invasion were the tough Phil Read, with two wins in the 1975 season, and of course Giacomo Agostini. Agostini returned from a spell with Yamaha to ride Cascina Costa machines and win the last MV Agusta victory on the Nurburgring track on August 29, 1976.
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The company’s precarious economic position forced MV Agusta management to seek out a new financial partner. They found the answer in the public financing giant EFIM (Ente Partecipazioni e Finanziamento Industria Manifatturiera), which demanded that MV Agusta get out of the motorcycle sector as a condition for righting its finances.
The difficult decision to abandon motorcycles resulted in the abortion of a new generation of large two-shafted 16-valve engines (750 and 850 cc) which were to have been launched at the Salone del Motociclo in Milan in 1977. The company had already reserved its stand at the fair, but failed to show up, though it did continue selling bikes until 1980, when the last bike in the Cascina Costa warehouses was sold. The name MV Agusta was back in the news in July 1986 when the trade press published an advertisement for the sale of racing bikes, prototypes, bodies and engines from the company’s legendary racing division.
The news raised such clamour that the leading journalists of the day demanded government intervention to protect this part of the nation’s cultural heritage. But unfortunately the great historical and technical value of these unbeatable racing machines was not enough to attract the interest of the Ministry of Industry and State Holdings, so that the entire lot of motorbikes and parts went to Italo-American Roberto Iannucci for about one and a half billion lire.
And thus the industrial chapter of MV Agusta of Cascina Costa closed, in an atmosphere of controversy and nostalgia for the glorious past.
Once the controversy surrounding the Iannucci affair had cleared, MV Agusta was back in the news in the spring of 1992 thanks to an unexpected announcement from Cagiva Motor’s press office. It was officially announced that ownership of the Cascina Costa trademark was to go to Castiglioni’s group, after lengthy negotiations with a number of interested parties in the worlds of finance and industry. It was exclusively ownership of the trademark that was under negotiation, as the machinery and motorcycles had mostly be sold, with the exception of a lot of road and racing vehicles lovingly preserved by the Agusta Retired Workers’ Association, now on display in the museum in Cascina Costa.
The reaction to the news was lively among all motorcycle fans. The purchase of the legendary trademark by the most dynamic and determined entrepreneurs in the motorcycle industry was sure to guarantee the rebirth of MV Agusta. After all, the Castiglioni family were the only entrepreneurs on the scene capable of resuscitating companies in difficulty and transforming them into successful enterprises. The Castiglioni family had demonstrated their managerial skill by creating Cagiva out of the ashes of the glorious Aermacchi AMF; only a few years later Cagiva saved Ducati, in desperate straits, a victim of public financing strategies. And finally, they moved the production of Husqvarna of Sweden to Schiranna, so that the group offered (and still offers) the widest range of motorcycles in Europe. But while the other trademarks involved a technical or industrial inheritance, when it came to MV Agusta the only certainty was the fame and expressive force of a glorious trademark.
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Cagiva Motor engineers faced with a blank sheet of paper strove to do their best, starting out on the basis of the technical assumption that an MV Agusta bike, to be true to its heritage, had to have a 3 or 4 cylinder in-line engine. This configuration was totally absent in European motorcycles, so Claudio Castiglioni found himself faced with the choice of either buying a Japanese engine or creating a totally new one. He chose the second option, and started out with a project developed by Ferrari, referred to as F4, and then developed up until the present day by MV Agusta technicians and engineers. The engine was created using exclusive solutions such as the radial valve arrangement and removable transmission, the first solution inherited from the broken up Ferrari and the second from the Cagiva GP. Industrial production of the new engine began at the same time as the design of the riding and aesthetic aspects, entrusted to the great master Massimo Tamburini, director of the CRC (Cagiva Research Centre). Tamburini already had many years' experience dressing this type of propulsor unit, accumulated during his years with Bimota (which stands for Bianchi, Morri and Tamburini). The first prototype was completed on the eve of the 1997 salon in Milan and exhibited to the press for the first time on September 16 of that year. The reporters were amazed by the marvel before their eyes, the MV Agusta F4. Red and silver just like its ancestors, with that organ pipe exhaust pipe that brings to mind lost symphonies, the MV Agusta F4 was an immediate success, the ideal object of a motorcycle lover's desire. The subsequent process of industrialisation was divided into two distinct stages: the first with production of a limited run of 300 F4 Gold Series bikes, with carbon bodies, magnesium parts and an engine with crankcases cast in earth anticipating the construction of the S model, destined for a broader range of users thanks to its price, cut by half over that of the previous version. In April 1999 the F4 Gold Series was presented in action on the Monza racetrack for the first time, attracting the attention of over a hundred trade publications. The bike was impressive for its speed of over 280 km/h and its extraordinary cycling component, universally considered to set the new standard. Despite its price of over 68 million lire, the F4 Gold Series was snapped up by the wealthiest and most dedicated motorcycle lovers all over the world. These included King Juan Carlos of Spain, F1 driver Eddie Irvine and countless prominent names in finance and fashion.
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Production of the new MV Agusta required a complete reorganisation of the productive cycle, converting the Schiranna plant for production of engines only, while final assembly was transferred to the new productive plant in Cassinetta di Biandronno. The new productive set-up was also a result of the production of the new F4 S, derived from the Gold Series and destined for a wider range of users and therefore produced in much larger numbers. This was the basis for all of today's variants: the special Senna series, the sporty SPR and the new Brutale. And this is where history ends and the news begins.
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MV Agusta is a motorcycle and helicopter manufacturer with a long history. At present the majority of shares are held by Proton of Malaysia.