At the time of their respective retirements from international motorcycle racing, MV Agusta was the winningest manufacturer and Giacomo Agostini was the winningest rider. Agostini rode the marque to 106 Grand Prix wins, 12 Isle of Man TT wins and 13 of his 15 world championships. Yesterday the company announced a roadster in honour of the AGO - the 137bhp 750cc AGO will be an exclusive limited edition roadster with a price tag expected to be in the $100,000 range.
There is no more revered and magical name in motorycle history than MV Agusta.
The famous marque won 75 World Titles (38 riders championships and 37 constructors championships) and was ridden by many of the greatest names in motorcycling such as Surtees, Hailwood, Read, Ubbiali, Provini and the most successful racer of all-time, the great Giacomo Agostini. Agostini won 122 Grands Prix, 12 Isle of Man TT races and 15 world titles, all but a handful coming on the famous red and silver MV Agustas.
It is accordingly quite fitting that with the emergence of a new and potent motorcycle in the form of the MV Agusta F4 750 roadster, that a model should be named after "Ago."
The limited edition F4 AGO is about as exclusive and desirable as its possible to get in motorcycling terms - just five hundred people will have the privilege of owning an F4 AGO.
Styled in the form of the race-winning bikes of the seventies, complete with yellow race-number plates, the bike comes with many exclusive features, not the least of which is a certificate of authenticity signed by Agostini himself, and an 18kt gold plate plate on the steering head, personalized for every single client with their name and motorcycle's serial number. Ago's signature also appears on the rev counter, making it unique and at the same time horribly expensive to get one of these upside down.
Most of the other features of the bike are in the detail and exquisite finish of almost every part: new design forged aluminium alloy Marchesini wheels, titanium nitride treated Marzocchi 50mm forks, single block "Nissin Racing" six piston brake calipers, Sachs Racing shock absorber and everything titanium-polished.
No price is available at the time of going to press, but if you follow the links, we'll post the price at the web site as soon as it is announced. Don't expect much change from $100,000.