750 Imola 20200912 0001.Pdf

hstgoeslo w road-going 7E0 s -' t*" its \ : I , 00 ;:" s 'sll0l/licAsttiB fxcEPTt0llAt 0tstEil & sTYtt' t, @ *t I I a..: *, I I I I I MV hastily race-prepped a 750 Sport : I I production bike [o race in the 1972 I Imola 200. It could have been the start of something very special... I I eeing the massive factory team interest in the Daytona 200 under Formula 750 rules in the early t97}s,ltaliar promoter Francesco Costa decided he would own prestigious long- distance The1972 race attracted all the top European factory teams, including Ducati, Moto Guzzi and Laverda, and Costa persuaded MV Agusta to ioin the party - with a race version of their new 750 Sport which had been launched the previous year. Costa knew it would not only help promote his race, but give a further boost to a rejuvenated Italian bike industry. In stock form, though, the four-cylinder 750 Sport was quite heavy and lacked the top speed of other superbikes of the era - plus, unlike most of the top F750 racers, the MV came with a shaft final drive. Despite all this, MV agreed to enter and only a month before the event set about building bikes that were given a final shakedmr test at Modena iust days before the race- O iT { $, \ \ dWrSNgV # -rll.- 'pa/\lr0pseillrrlc!rl^4ru0Uallqpeoraqltl0pasnssa/\lrpUeqssqlqllrl'002el0ulZ16taqlr0lsE/r l!sesuleuar(s/\0qe)allqs,!uB0Ed t)loP{l i,)roqY I I \ I fl; I i 4dqtsnsv @ ! 1r f \ { lud'' t- rmi J '::"-, d,tLEGAt'lCt This is one of the two bikes MV built for that inaugural Imola 200, ridden by Giacomo Agostini and Alberto Pagani. The bikes were built to Formula 750 rules which specified production-based engines while allowing aftermarket frames and suspension. Arturo Magni, the head of the MV Agusta racing il department at Gallarate, modified the engines, increasing the horsepower {rom 69bhp to 85bhp at 9000rpm, and slotted them into special frames. Despite the F750 rules, the bikes were very much race specials, with the cylinders being cast in one block instead of separately, while the heads were different castings with fewer fins and revised valve angles. The g 29mm SS1 Dell'Orto carburettors werc bored out t<r 30mm to help produce that 85bhp power output. The gearbox, however, remained stock. The standard rolling chassis might have becn perfect for a road bike, but to cope with the extra horsepower '':g&.- and in search of optimum handling, Magni used a frame based on MV's three-cylinder Grand Prix racer, Engine was a Iuned pr0ducli0n unil, bul the gearbox rernained slock which had been fabricated with a new 750 machine in mind (some say for the four-valve superbike that never saw the light of day). Many of the cycle parts from the 500cc GP racers were used, including Ceriani forks and drum brakes plus Borrani rims which helped to bring the overall .} weight of the bike down from 235kg to 190kg. Incredibly, despite the bike being virtually brand new .AEll 1TII THE RAOE FRIIIII THT $T[HT 4 NE EEEAT{ I0 BulL0 [ [E[8, BUI BY IHT FITTH l[P TTA$ P[$$EN' and seriously compromised in several areas compared to t'* its rivals, Ago qualified fourth behind the works 750SS Ducatis of Paul Smart and Bruno Spaggiari, and the Kawasaki 500-3 two-stroke of Dave Simmonds. But Ago was three seconds a lap off Smart's pace (Pagani six Race lrim incltldes lt4lin filler caps and a single cl0ck for revs secs). Pagani was withdrawn from the race after a crash. , *t' Ago led the race from the start and began to build a :! I lead, but by the fifth lap was caught and passed by Smart. He finally retired on the 40th lap with technical r.tT problems (initially diagnosed as a valve problem, but t:rt> later discovered to be slipped cam timing), but along with Smart and his Ducati team-mate Bruno Spaggiari, i he was credited with the fastest race lap. Magni then began to develop the bike further, l'.8&, converting the shaft drive to chain, fitting Scarab 1 r 280mm dual front disc brakes and reducing weight by a further 6kg. Note also the different frame configuration at the back of the tank and the waisted tank shapc (left). Pagani lapped Misano four seconds faster with the revised bike that he'd done on the original. There was even talk of a four-valve head, but then Yamaha launched their two-stroke, four-cylind er T2750 and the f writing was on the wall for the four-strokcs in the F750 class. MV abandoned their development programme to 'b" I focus 1007o on their Grand Prix multis. @ SSI 0ell'0rto carburellors b0red out Io 30mm helped lo produce 85bhp o Pagani 1972 bike photographed near Milan, Itdly,2013; Elly collection. Agostini's bike, utith later chain driue, photograpbed near Birmingham, Alabama, 2014; Barber Museum 5l.

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