MV Agusta F4750S Serie Oro
MV Agusta F4750S Serie Oro | |
Manufacturer | |
---|---|
Production | 1998 |
Engine | Four stroke, transverse four cylinder. DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder. |
Compression ratio | 12.0:1 |
Top Speed | 280.6 km/h / 174.3 mph |
Ignition | Multipoint electronic |
Transmission | 6 Speed |
Suspension | Front: 49mm Upside-down telescopic hydraulic fork with rebound-compression damping and spring preload adjustment. Rear: Progressive, with single sided swingarm, single shock absorber with rebound-compression damping and spring preload adjustment |
Brakes | Front: 2x 310mm discs 6 piston calipers Rear: Single 210mm disc 4 piston caliper |
Front Tire | 120/65 ZR17 |
Rear Tire | 190/50 ZR17 |
Wheelbase | 1412 mm / 55.6 in |
Seat Height | 790 mm / 31.1 in |
Weight | 189 kg / 396.8 lbs (dry), |
Fuel Capacity | 21 Liters / 5.8 US gal |
Manuals | Service Manual |
It could reach a top speed of 280.6 km/h / 174.3 mph.
Engine[edit | edit source]
The engine was a Liquid cooled cooled Four stroke, transverse four cylinder. DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder.. The engine featured a 12.0:1 compression ratio.
Chassis[edit | edit source]
It came with a 120/65 ZR17 front tire and a 190/50 ZR17 rear tire. Stopping was achieved via 2x 310mm discs 6 piston calipers in the front and a Single 210mm disc 4 piston caliper in the rear. The front suspension was a 49mm Upside-down telescopic hydraulic fork with rebound-compression damping and spring preload adjustment. while the rear was equipped with a Progressive, with single sided swingarm, single shock absorber with rebound-compression damping and spring preload adjustment. The F4750S Serie Oro was fitted with a 21 Liters / 5.8 US gal fuel tank. The bike weighed just 189 kg / 396.8 lbs. The wheelbase was 1412 mm / 55.6 in long.
Photos[edit | edit source]
Overview[edit | edit source]
MV Agusta F4 750S Serie Oro
There has surely never before been a motorcycle whose apparently ordinary technical specification liquid-cooled, 750cc dohc 16-valve inline four hid so much innovation. Almost every significant component of the F4 has been freshly created by Cagiva, mostly at the CRC (Cagiva Research Centre) design studio in San Marino, headed by Massimo Tamburini and his right-hand man Massimo Parenti. Only the engine was developed at Cagiva's Varese base; and the powerplant, too, is unconventional although less so than originally planned. The 749cc unit, very oversquare at 73.8 x 43.8mm, features the radial four-valves-per-cylinder layout drawn up more than ten years ago, in collaboration with engineers from Ferrari. Early progress was slow, but accelerated in 1994, when Claudio Castiglioni took the painful decision to scrap Cagiva's 500cc GP team (after John Kocinski had just finished third in the world championship) in order to concentrate on the F4 project. The GP engineers were put to work on the four-stroke motor and completely redesigned it, abandoning the original design of offset cylinders (two forward and two back, reducing width) and forward-facing intake system. The early prototype's radial valves, operated directly (via bucket-and-shim adjusters) by the specially shaped camshafts, were retained, as their performance benefit was found to justify the additional complexity and cost. With radial valves the gas flow shape is much better power is good and the torque curve is very favourable, says Andrea Goggi, the youthful former Cagiva 500cc racing engineer who headed the development team. The original motor's removable cassette gearbox was also kept; alternative ratios will be produced for racing. Following the F4's unveiling 18 months ago, the delay in starting production was caused largely by the need to make sure that every component supplier was able to deliver reliably at the quality required (some parts were rejected several times). But the extra year has also been useful for further engine testing. Besides performance, our main goal has been reliability, says Goggi. That is absolutely essential.
The Weber-Marelli
fuel-injection system has also benefited from continued development. We have
spent a lot of time with the fuel-injection, making sure the transition from
closed to open throttle is very smooth, Goggi says. Tamburini himself designed
the 4-2-1-2-4 pipe exhaust system, which ends in that striking under-seat
quartet of silencers, after dismantling and rebuilding the exhaust of Claudio
Castiglioni's Ferrari F40 to check some ideas.
Tamburini's involvement
ensured that engine details such as the clutch cover were specially designed, in
conjunction with the fairing, for minimum width. The maestro's frame is notable
not just for its combination of chrome-molybdenum steel tubes and cast magnesium
(aluminum on the F4S) swing-arm pivot sections, but also for the way that the
front and rear sections can be unbolted for rapid access to the motor a feature
that Bimota co-founder Tamburini introduced on that firm's SB2 in 1977. The rear
subframe is small-diameter aluminum tube.
If any one component
sums-up the Serie Oro it's perhaps the swing-arm. The subject of a university
thesis, it was designed using computerised stress analysis, looks totally
gorgeous, and when cast in magnesium weighs just 3kg. The F4S's aluminum
version is 50 per cent heavier.
Steering angle is a
non-adjustable 24 degrees, with 98.5mm of trail (steering head inserts to give
adjustable geometry will be available as racing kit parts). The 49mm upside-down
Showa forks also feature quick-release clamps for the large-diameter tubular
wheel spindle. Like almost every major chassis component, they were specially
developed in conjunction with CRC.
So too were Nissin's
six-piston front brake calipers and their master cylinder, which incorporate
technology used in Cagiva's 500cc GP bike. The 310mm floating front discs are
held by a 17-inch, five-spoke magnesium front wheel (aluminum for the F4S); the
four-piston rear caliper bites a tiny, lightweight 210mm disc.
At Tamburini's request
both Pirelli, who provided the new Dragon Evos for the launch bikes, and
Michelin have developed special 120/65-section front tires that are claimed to
give the light handling of a conventional 120/60 with the more neutral feel of a
120/70. Rear rubber in both cases is a 190/50 radial on a six-inch rim.
The bodywork combines
style and function to an unprecedented degree, particularly on the Serie Oro,
which uses carbon-fibre where the F4S will be plastic. Both models share the
quick-release fasteners, integrated mirrors/front indicators, practical and
stylish instrument panel, adjustable hand and foot controls, and the neat and
compact stacked polyellipsoidal twin headlight design. Given the amount of work
that the 35-strong CRC team put into developing and producing even the tiniest
components, it's no wonder the F4 took more than ten years to reach production.
MV Agusta: Rebirth of a
Legend Monza is not the most interesting circuit in Italy, but as the venue for
the relaunch of MV Agusta it was the obvious choice. The old circuit to the
north of Milan was the scene of many victories for the old MV firm, which was
based at nearby Gallarate and dominated grand prix racing for many years. In
total the firm won 270 grands prix and 75 world championships, including no
fewer than 17 consecutive 500cc titles between 1958 and '74.
Count Domenico Agusta,
the son of a Sicilian aviation pioneer, founded Moto Verghera Agusta by building
small-capacity two-stroke bikes in 1945, and was soon successful. Domenico loved
racing, and his riders including Britain's Cecil Sandford and Italian ace Carlo
Ubbiali won world championships in the 125 and 250cc classes in the 1950s.
It was the 500cc
Gallarate fire engines for which MV became best known, especially during that
period of domination after the rival Italian factories had quit racing in 1957.
John Surtees (four titles), Gary Hocking, Mike Hailwood (also four), Giacomo
Agostini (seven, plus six in the 350cc class) and finally Phil Read (two)
maintained an unprecedented period of 500cc dominance.
But in 1975 Read's
four-stroke MV could no longer hold off the two-strokes, and ironically it was
Agostini who took the title for Yamaha. By this time Count Domenico, the firm's
driving force, had died of a heart attack. MV had also built exotic
four-cylinder roadsters such as the 750S and fully-faired 750S America in the
late '70s, but they were too expensive to produce, and the firm ceased trading
in 1980.
The seeds of the revival
were sown when Cagiva boss Claudio Castiglioni bought the MV name from the
Agusta family in 1992, and decided to use it for the 750cc superbike that was
originally known as the Cagiva F4. Massimo Tamburini had originally designed the
four with a fairing nose similar to Cagiva's 500cc grand prix bike, and the F4
was completely revised before reaching its present form.
Following MV's return
with the F4 Serie Oro, other models will be added to form an exclusive range.
The F4S, due in July at approximately half the Serie Oro's price (under £13,000
compared to about £24,000 but there's a year-long waiting list), will be built
at Cagiva's new factory in Cassinetta, using engines assembled at the old
Schiranna plant on the opposite side of Lake Varese. About 1500 bikes will be
built this year, the figure increasing gradually in the future.
At this September's Milan
Show MV is likely to unveil a naked version of the F4, powered by a detuned
750cc engine in an identical frame, which will be produced next year, as will a
dual-seat Biposto model. Further into the future, there will also be a
sports-touring variant, plus a series of models with larger engines. An 846cc F4
prototype produced 140bhp several years ago.
MV chose to produce the
F4 with a 750cc engine first so the bike could form the basis of a World
Superbike racer. The marque's competition return is likely to move closer next
year with the introduction of a tuned Sport Production version of the F4.
Castiglioni refuses to comment on his racing plans, but it is possible that MV
will be back on the grid in 2001.
For a moment I was in
trouble. This was only my fourth ever lap of the Monza circuit, north of Milan,
and as the MV Agusta F4 howled towards the tight chicane after the famous Curve
Grande right-hander, I was confident that I had my braking marker fixed in my
mind.
But that marker did not
allow for the fact that on this lap, for the first time, I'd found the courage
to hold the 750cc four flat-out through the ultra-fast Curve Grande. The MV's
front brake slowed the bike with its normal ferocity but as I approached the
chicane I suddenly realised I was travelling faster than before. With eyes
bulging behind my visor and no more room to shed speed, all I could do was throw
the F4 into the left-hand turn regardless...
I needn't have worried.
Seconds later I was through the chicane and accelerating hard down the next
straight with my head behind the bubble, the F4 having sliced through the
left-right combination with such ease that the incident was already history and
my braking point had been proved right after all. Such is the agility and the
cornering power of the F4 that its limits had still not been thoroughly
examined.
Unfortunately I never did
get to know either Monza or the F4 Serie Oro quite as well as I'd have liked.
After a few more laps on that bike and another F4, rain arrived to end my
testing of the 16-valve 750. But that moment's panic at the chicane had merely
helped confirm what the previous few laps had suggested: reborn MV Agusta's
debut model, more than ten years in development, is a remarkable bike with the
speed and, especially, the handling to match its sensational looks.
Few bikes can have been
as eagerly awaited as the F4, about which so much has been said and written
since its unveiling in Milan in September 1997. All these months later, it's
still every bit as jaw-droppingly beautiful. Even in the gloom of an overcast
April day at Monza the traditional MV home circuit, chosen as the launch venue
by Cagiva boss Claudio Castiglioni for unashamedly nostalgic reasons the F4
manages to look radiant from every angle.
More even than its
skilfully sculpted shapes and forms, it's the F4's incredible attention to
detail that captures the eye. From the tiny polyellipsoidal twin headlights
placed one above the other in the nose of its fairing, all the way to the four
cigar-shaped silencers jutting from beneath its equally original and beautifully
formed tailpiece, the MV has been designed and put together with consummate
skill and an absolute refusal to take the easy option of using bought-in
components.
That impression is
maintained when you climb aboard and ease into the seat, which is thinly padded
and, at 790mm, low enough for most riders to get both feet on the ground. The F4
Serie Oro is light and compact, weighing 184kg dry and with a 1398mm wheelbase
(making it 7kg heavier and 3mm longer than Yamaha's R1), but it's reasonably
roomy even if you're tall, and the footrests' position is adjustable.
Ahead is a unique view
dominated by the stylishly asymmetrical instrument panel, in which a digital
speedometer sits to the left of a large, yellow-faced tachometer calibrated to
17,000rpm. Huge red-topped fork legs (at 49mm in diameter the Showas are wider
than those of any other production bike), complete with preload and damping
adjusters, protrude through the top yoke.
The aluminum yoke
carries a small oval badge with the number 004/300, signifying that this bike is
one of the first few Serie Oro, or Gold Series, F4s of which a total of just 300
will be built. An adjustable
hlins steering damper is mounted transversely and
fixed at both ends, in a new layout patented by CRC. Even the front brake and
clutch master cylinders are freshly designed, ultra-compact and the subject of
three separate patents.
Hit the starter button,
blip the throttle, and you're rewarded with a deliciously crisp and tuneful
exhaust note from the radial 16-valve motor. As I headed up the Monza pit lane
with the F4's low-rev warble turning into a full-blown howl, I assumed the bike
was fitted with a factory tuning-option pipe, but MV has somehow managed to
homologate this system for street use. Well, this is Italy...
Maximum output of the
749cc motor is a claimed 126bhp at 12,500rpm, which is actually 7bhp less than
Suzuki's GSX-R750 (to name one current rival), and it's clear that there's no
way the F4 could be competitive with open-class sportsters such as the R1 in a
straight line, either on top-end power or midrange grunt. Peak torque of 54ft.lb
is produced at a highish 10,500rpm, but by 750cc standards the Italian bike has
a linear power delivery. It pulls cleanly from low revs and pretty hard from
below 8000rpm, which was about as low as the needle dropped through Monza's
chicanes, before really letting rip at the top end.
The motor was
impressively smooth, too, especially the first of the bikes that I rode, which
was a well-thrashed development F4 (complete with un-anodised magnesium
swing-arm), in contrast to the trio of immaculate machines that had been run-in
for the launch. While the newer bike I rode had a slight high-frequency buzz
typical of a Japanese four, the first was remarkably smooth all the way past the
red-light warning at 12,600rpm, till it hit the limiter at 13,300.
MV claims a top speed of
175mph, and says the F4 has recorded a genuine 178mph on a slight slope during
testing at the Nardo circuit in southern Italy. I must have reached over 150mph
(no time to look) on Monza's long start-finish straight, before hitting the
anchors for the first chicane. Equally importantly, the six-speed gearbox on
both bikes was supremely slick, and the F4's fuel-injection system gave a
notably smooth and controllable response when the throttle was wound open in
mid-corner.
That helped the MV get
out of the bends fast, but it was the chassis that was the star of the show. The
frame of tubular steel and cast magnesium is immensely rigid, as is the hunky
magnesium swing-arm. They combined with the high quality suspension, light
weight and sharp geometry to make the F4 manoeuvrable, precise and wonderfully
stable. Most fun was the famous Parabolica, a fast, never-ending right-hander
where you could just hurl the bike on its side, plant your knee on the ground
and whiz round, getting on the gas harder and harder as the curve spilled out
onto the start-finish straight.
Again the well-used
development bike felt slightly the sweeter of the two F4s that I rode, which
Tamburini put down to its suspension being better run-in. The Sachs shock worked
well, but I would have liked to try firming up the rear end of both bikes to
suit my 14-stone weight. Two much smaller and lighter testers who rode the F4
immediately before me pronounced it the best-handling 750cc roadster they'd
ridden, so it was hardly surprising that the bike felt a bit soft for me.
Both front and rear
suspension units are multi-adjustable, and the rear end can be altered not only
for ride height, but also to give a choice of rising-rate by using alternative
pivot points for the rocker-arm. Given more track time and a few stops for
adjustment, I'm sure the already fine-handling F4 could have been given even
quicker steering with no notable loss of stability. But with a queue of eager
journalists awaiting their turn in the pits, there's no way I was going to risk
coming in before I had to...
There was definitely no
need for fine-tuning of the braking system, as the pair of specially developed
six-piston Nissin calipers bit the 310mm discs enough controllable force to
stress even those drainpipe-like upside-down Showas. Pirelli's new
120/65-section Dragon Evo Corsa front tire, produced in collaboration with CRC,
gave heaps of grip and a very neutral steering feel, too, although its influence
on the overall handling package was hard to judge.
Similarly, we won't know
just how competitive the F4 really is until it's pitched head-to-head against
some serious opposition. For all its stunning looks and innovative technology,
cynics will argue (and with some logic) that the Serie Oro is no lighter or more
powerful than a GSX-R750 costing less than a third of this bike's £24,000 price,
and that for most riders the MV's classy chassis won't make it significantly
faster than the Japanese bike.
But to assess the F4
Serie Oro in such terms is to miss the point regarding a bike that is one of the
most stylish and immaculately detailed vehicles ever built, as well as one that
will for ever be remembered as the machine with which one of the world's
greatest motorcycle marques made its return. For the F4 to be this fast, this
agile, this special, this good right from the word go is an achievement to match
any in the long and glorious history of MV Agusta.
Source
Make Model | MV Agusta F4 750S Serie Oro |
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Year | 1998 |
Engine Type | Four stroke, transverse four cylinder. DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder. |
Displacement | 749.4 cc / 45.7 cu-in |
Bore X Stroke | 73.8 x 43.8 mm |
Cooling System | Liquid cooled |
Compression | 12.0:1 |
Induction | Fuel Injection |
Ignition | Multipoint electronic |
Starting | Electric |
Max Power | 126 hp / 91.9 kW @ 12500 rpm |
Max Torque | 72 Nm / 52.8 lb-ft @ 10500 rpm |
Transmission | 6 Speed |
Final Drive | Chain |
Front Suspension | 49mm Upside-down telescopic hydraulic fork with rebound-compression damping and spring preload adjustment. |
Rear Suspension | Progressive, with single sided swingarm, single shock absorber with rebound-compression damping and spring preload adjustment |
Front Brakes | 2x 310mm discs 6 piston calipers |
Rear Brakes | Single 210mm disc 4 piston caliper |
Front Tire | 120/65 ZR17 |
Rear Tire | 190/50 ZR17 |
Wheelbase | 1412 mm / 55.6 in |
Seat Height | 790 mm / 31.1 in |
Dry Weight | 189 kg / 396.8 lbs |
Fuel Capacity | 21 Liters / 5.8 US gal |
Consumption Average | 18.7 km/lit |
Standing ¼ Mile | 10.4 sec |
Top Speed | 280.6 km/h / 174.3 mph |