HE sound starts as the tacho nee- was) 20 years ago. dle hits 6500 rpm for the first time, The machine I rode is more unusual T and it's quite simply the loudest, even than a standard MV. It's an 832 cc most outrageous and most utterly , based on one of the speclal- thrilling racket that I've ever experi- framed, chain-drive machines produced enced on a . - by legendary former MV race-team boss Already, the sensation of riding this in the '70s. MV Magni has been heightened It was a treat just to sit on the bike, by its glorious noise. The moment the leaning forward to the narrow cllp-ons red-and-silver machine fires up, those and taking in the black-faced clocks, the four deliciously sculpted matt-black simple pair of warning lights (just high Magni pipes emit a warbling, deeply beam and oil pressure), the temperature soulful bellow that raises the hairs on gauge set further into the cockpit, and the back of your neck. When you pull the damping adjusters at the top of fork away, the exhaust note rises in pitch legs which poked through the top yoke. and volume, drowning out the busy Each of the outer two 27 mm Dell'Orto whir of the big motor's fast-spinning been built and sold from here already, carbs has a choke lever, so I flicked cam gears. As the revs rise towards each one a new replica faithful in them on and pressed the tinny-looking 7000 and the bike surges forward every detail to an original MV machine. switchgear's button. The starter-motor harder, its exhaust note is suddenly What started out as a hobby intended - tacked on below the motor, linked by transformed. The tuneful howl to help keep the former air-conditioning twin toothless belts and also acting as becomes a hard, aggressive, shatter- engineer's own racing MV in parts, has the generator - hauled the big four- ingly loud and almost metallic developed into a full-time business cylinder lump into raucous life. waaaaaaaaaaa that threatens to split making complete machines for sale all First gear went in smoothly with a flick your eardrums, especially when they're over the world. up of the right boot (a conventional left- shielded only by the leather sides of a Kay can build an MV to basically any foot change is one of the many specifi- period-style pudding-basin helmet. specification the customer wants. cation options), and I let out the fairly This is a remarkable bike, and what "If you want a bike you come here, lighl clutch to pull away, immediately makes it even more so is that this is a and we get the books out and ask impressed by the unexpectedly smooth totally new machine, not a restoration. which petrol tank you want, which and tractable nature of the big, fire- It was built by Eiger MV Ltd, a small engine, which exhaust, which frame, breathing powerplant. workshop near Birmingham in England, which wheels and suspension," says This Magni motor is an 832 cc unit, ils and run by 53-year-old MV enthusiast David Kay. "There are three different capacity derived by increasing the origi- David Kay, who has the knowledge and types of full fairing and three half-fair- nal 789 cc MV 7508 America lump's experience needed to transform raw ings. The customer picks what they bore by 2 mm to 69 mm, and retaining sandcastings into complete MV want, we quote a price and stick to it." the 56 mm slroke. With a relatively high crankcases and cylinder heads, and to The result, three months later, is a 10.3,1 compression ratio and some build whole bikes identical to those of brand new bike with a quality of finish lightened engine parts, David Kay esti- two decades ago. that would rival anything that came out mated maximum power to be consider- Eight complete Agusta fours have of Gallarate (where the MV factory in ably in excess of the 56 kW at 8500 rpm 32 TWO WHEELS _:l~IO1I~I=-'!~I'.I:"'~!:i.,.I!."!:i[.I~- A;'~cool,d I'oow"" 10"' 'I"od" locl~""" with Iwo """P"'I"od" CI"m,d m". pow" 801,aod""" ...... DI'pla"meoL... . Comp""loo lallO R,d,,", Cmbo"h"..

B~ I> ~ 8 ~ ~ 1:II."'t81'J!'!I!: II II Moool","",.. Eig" (MVILtd.SlattOld,"". UK. have been glad of the damper on a inevitably the bike's sky-high price Phooo/la,(001H41543377871 really fast and rough bend. Suspension makes that impossible for all but a fortu- PII" £25,000 ($52,5001 at both ends was very firm, particularly nate few. MVs were always hugely the rear Konis~ On a couple at bumpy expensive, even when being produced which the MV factory claimed for the high-speed straights I ended up taking in relatively large numbers. Recreating America. my weight on the footpegs while the bike just a handful, with all the investment in There was certainly enough power to bucked beneath me like a runaway machinery, parts and time that requires, make for strong acceleration, even with- horse. makes them even pricier now~ out getting the Veglla tacho's needle Thankfully the braking power from the An Eiger-built Magni like this one towards the 9000 rpm redllne, twin front discs and four-pot Brembos would cost about $52,000 (£25,000), Carburation was crisp down to below was reassuringly modern, though the with the cheapest and most basic MV 3000 rpm, and the MV gained speed large rear disc locked at the hint of left- model going for about $38,000 with a smooth and steadily increasing booted pressure. Grip from the 18-inch (£18,000). That's considerably more force in the midrange. The five-speed Metzeler Camp Ks far exceeded any- expensive than a clean secondhafid gearbox was good thing that an MV pilot would have America~ But in this case you're getting a At 6500 rpm the bike suddenly pulled enjoyed 20 years ago, too, It was just a bespoke, brand new, lovingly hand- harder, as its came on the earn with that magical experience to come screaming assembled machine that can be ridden ear-splitting sound, No doubt the din up to a bend, blip the quick-action throt- hard without fear of 20-year-old parts made the bike seem even quicker than it tle a couple of times as I braked and failing, It's registered as an MV, too, was, but the flat-out Agusta certainly hooked back a couple of gears, force the because Kay has formed a company gave a mindblowing impression of speed bike into a bend and then wind open the called MV Meccanica Verghera Ltd~ and excitement. With enough space it Dell'Ortos to go howling off again, It's great to see these magical would probably have approached 220 Every motorcyclist should have the machines back in production. km/h. This bike's speedo cable came chance to do that just once, though - Roland Brown loose early in the test, but before that the bike scorched through the 160 km/h mark with plenty of perlormance to come~ Despite their expense and racetrack heritage, MV's roadster fours did not handle particularly well at high speed, partly due to the heavy shaft-drive appa- ratus~ But Magni's chain conversion cured that problem~ And the old mae- stro's frame, with its twin top tubes instead of the conventional MV single spine, gave some welcome extra rigidity~ This was still a pretty long and tall motorcycle, with old-fashioned steering geometry and a rather high centre of gravity. But overall weight was a reason- able 200 kg compared to the 235 kg of a standard MV~ Low-speed steering was predictably slow by modern standards, and scratch- ing round country lanes required a fair bit at effort at the clip-ons, but the Agusta went where it was pointed~ Even in faster curves only the odd slight wob- ble got through to the 'bars, though I'd TWO WHEELS 33