Difference between revisions of "MV Agusta"

'''MV Agusta''' is a [[motorcycle]] manufacturer founded in 1945 near Milan in Cascina Costa, Italy. The company began as an offshoot of the Agusta aviation company which was formed by Count Giovanni Agusta in 1923. The Count died in 1927, leaving the company in the hands of his wife and sons, Domenico, Vincenzo, Mario and Corrado. Count Vincenzo Agusta together with his brother Domenico formed MV Agusta (the MV stood for Meccanica Verghera) at the end of the Second World War as a means to save the jobs of employees of the Agusta firm and also to fill the post-war need for cheap, efficient transportation. The company manufactured small-displacement, [[Café racer]] style motorcycles (mostly 125 to 150 cc) through the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1960s small motorcycle sales declined, and MV started producing larger displacement cycles in more limited quantities. A 250 cc, and later a  350 cc twin were produced, and a 600 cc four-cylinder evolved into a 750 cc which is still extremely valuable today.

Count Vincenzo and Domenico Agusta had a passion for mechanical workings and for motorcycle racing. Much like Enzo Ferrari, they produced and sold motorcycles almost exclusively to fund their racing efforts. They were determined to have the best [[Grand Prix motorcycle racing]] team in the world and spared no expense on their passion. MV Agusta produced their first prototype, called "Vespa 98", in 1945. After learning that the name had already been registered by [[Piaggio]] for its [[Vespa]] [[motorscooter]], it was referred to simply by the number “98”. In 1948, the company built a 125 cc [[two-stroke]] single and entered Franco Bertoni in the Italian Grand Prix. Bertoni won the event held in Monza and instantly put the new motorcycle manufacturer on the map.

The [[1952 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1952 season]] saw the introduction of telescopic forks, full width alloy brake hubs and a sleek fuel tank on the 125 race bike. Power was 15bhp @ 10800 rpm. Britain's [[Cecil Sandford]] piloted the new MV 125 to a [[1952 Isle of Man TT]] victory and went on to win MV Agusta's first [[List of Grand Prix motorcycle racing World champions|world championship]].  

With the success of the 1952 season, independent or “privateer” riders could now purchase a “catalog” version of the 125 Dohc, now available through the company.  The [[MV Agusta 125 Sohc|Sport Competizione]] racer had many of the same features as the factory bike. These included a multi-plate clutch, gear-driven oil pump, Dell'Orto 27mm SS1 carburetor and remote [[float chamber]]. The bike was nick-named “The Boy Racer”. In [[1953 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1953]] the race engineers adopted the [[Earl-type forks]] to help with handling problems on the [[works racers]]. The 1953 season saw the introduction of the 350 Four.  MV’s racing efforts now included the 500 cc, 350 cc and 125 cc class.

[[Cagiva]] purchased the MV Agusta name trademarks in 1991. In 1997, it introduced the first new MV Agusta motorcycle. The new bikes were four-cylinder 750 cc sports machines ([[MV Agusta F4 series|the F4 range]]), which included a series of limited production run models, such as the all black paint work SPR model ("Special Production Racing") which was featured in the movie ''I, Robot'' and in 2004, they introduced their first 1000 cc bike. 2004 marked the end of production for the 750 sports machines, with a limited production of 300 SR (Special Racing) model in the traditional red and silver livery.

They also produce a range of 750 and 910 [[naked bike]]s called the [[MV Agusta Brutale series|Brutale]]. Production is limited, as it is the policy of the company to produce an elite machine similar to Ferrari in motor cars.  They do not compete directly with Japanese manufacturers, whose motorcycles typically sell for considerably less than the cost of an MV Agusta. Rather they compete with other Italian models such as [[Ducati]] sports bikes the [[Ducati 996|996]], [[Ducati 998|998]], [[Ducati 999|999]], [[Ducati 1098|1098]], and the naked [[Ducati Monster|Monster]]. In 2005, MV Agusta introduced the Tamburini 1000, which is named after its creator, [[Massimo Tamburini]], who previously worked for [[Moto Guzzi]], and most recently Ducati.  [[Cycle World]] and Australian Motorcycle News magazine named it the best [[sportbike]] in the world. Tamburini designed the Ducati 916 sports bike (predecessor of the 748 and 996 series) which marked the return of Ducati as a successful motorcycle manufacturer over the last decade. The MV Agusta F4 refined the innovative design of the 916. In recent publications, the MV Agusta has been highly praised as one of the best handling motorcycles ever created and the 2008 F4 312R model is known to be the world's fastest production motorcycle. Claimed power of the new F4 312R model is 183hp. In 1999 the Cagiva group was restructured for strategic purposes and MV Agusta become the main brand comprising Cagiva and Husqvarna.

On October 15, 2009, Harley-Davidson announced that it would divest its interest in MV Agusta.<ref>{{cite web

In May 2007, the company confirmed its return to racing in the 2008 [[Superbike World Championship]]. [[Carl Fogarty]]'s English based Team Foggy Racing was going to run the team.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/motorbikes/6613129.stm|publisher=BBC SPORT|title=Fogarty team confirms 2008 return | date=May 2, 2007 | accessdate=May 19, 2010}}</ref> Fogarty however abandoned the plans to return to the Superbike World Championship because of lack of sponsorship.<ref name="scraped">[http://www.crash.net/news_view~cid~5~id~155056.htm Foggy Racing scraps WSBK return.] crash.net retrieved 0n September 30, 2007</ref>