FIRST RIDE: MAGNI ITALIA
MV Agusta triple in bespoke tubular chassis = cool retro sportsbike.
‘A real-world bike with very modern performance and a voracious appetite for revs’
Magni’s new MV Italia 01/01 appears to be a true ’70s child. Its stretched-out stance makes you reach to grasp steeply-raked clip-on ’bars and there’s a light-on-its-feet feel from the skinny 18-inch tyres. Yet the Italia is actually a real-world bike with very modern performance and a voracious appetite for revs – and it feels quite different to any other retro. The late Arturo Magni was an Italian race engineer. Born in 1925, he joined Gilera in the 1940s and worked on the four-cylinder engine that gave them six Grand Prix world titles. Arturo moved to MV Agusta in the 1950s where he was the architect of their remarkable haul of 75 road racing world championships, before leaving in 1976 to set up Magni, manufacturing special go-faster parts for MVS. Complete bikes followed, with engines from a variety of brands.
Arturo passed at the end of 2015. The company is now run by his youngest son Giovanni, who has strived hard over the last eight years to create an array of MV Agusta-powered models. The new Italia is a tribute to his father. ‘I wanted to commemorate what my father achieved in 1977-80 when he took over manufacturing the 750 Sport frames for MV Agusta,’ says Giovanni, 61. ‘He wanted to build road bikes without big fairings, so that the mechanical beauty of the engine could be seen and appreciated.’ Magni’s MV Italia uses a standard Brutale 800 three-cylinder motor housed in a Tig-welded open cradle chro-moly steel frame. The 798cc triple is a fully stressed member, recalling the twin-loop chassis of Agostini’s multiple world title-winning motorcycle, with a box-section twin-shock swingarm and 18-inch Jonich wire wheels – there’s a 110/80 ZR18 tyre in the front and a 160/60 ZR18 at the rear. Though derived from existing Magni models, the swingarm is lengthened by two inches on the Italia and the seat is higher. Fully adjustable suspension is from 70-year-old Italian firm ORAM, with traditional-looking 43mm right-way-up forks (based on classic Ceriani items) mounted in solid Cnc-machined yokes. Brembo’s brakes obviously use non-radial calipers.
It’s a bike that’s intuitive to ride – despite just 85mm of trail the Italia is not at all nervous due to a reasonably relaxed 25-degree head angle. Thanks partly to its slim rubber it is also light-steering and agile. The triple flicks easily from side to side through the trio of chicanes at the Vairano proving track. It remains rock solid in the fast fourthgear sweepers, too. Ride quality is excellent for a twin-shock rear end; the only question mark over the suspension is occasional front-end chatter on fast left-handers when asking a lot of the front tyre, though this bike is the first recently finished prototype. Handling is better still when you drive through turns, a low gear and real load making the Italia tighten its line.
And the engine enjoys being worked. It’s a friendly motor that’ll accelerate in sixth gear from just 2000rpm without any snatch, has a determined midrange and a refined feel. Strive for the 13,000rpm redline and you discover the extra hit of power above 9500rpm which makes the Magni really lunge out of bends. Exquisite note from the trio of MV 750 America-style exhausts, too. There are four riding modes: Sport, Normal, Touring and Rain, plus a Custom setting with increased options. Traction control has eight levels. The standard MV dash carries all the settings (though is partly obscured by a traditional in-your-face white Scitsu tachometer) and is accessible via the right-hand switchgear. Italia prices start at £32,000 for the 01/01 model tested here, although each bike can be built to the owner’s specifications. There’s a four-month delivery time. Magni will also take in an MV donor bike and assemble your Italia from that.