MV Agusta
by Mario Colombo, Roberto Patrignani
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Book Summary Information
Author: Mario Colombo, Roberto PatrignaniEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-02-15
ISBN: 8879113879
Number of pages: 286
Publisher: Giorgio Nada Editore
Book Reviews of MV Agusta
Book Review: MV Agusta: The Story of Italy's Red and Silver Passion
Summary: 5 Stars
The book MV Augusta is a thorough, even exhaustive history of the greatest name in motorcycle racing history, the legendary MV Augusta. When I hear younger Ducati fans describing their motorcycles as "two-wheeled Ferraris" I like to tell them a bit about MV Augusta which concluded its incredible run of consecutive World Championships before many of them were born.
MV Augustas were truly two-wheeled Ferraris. The company had a proud, difficult owner in Domenico Augusta. He not only acted like an imperious nobleman like Enzo Ferrari, he actually was a nobleman. Like Ferrari the manufacture of street motorcycles and scooters only seemed to be a hobby to Count Augusta, as racing was his real passion. MV Augustas were powerful, fast and usually beautiful.
Now, the word legendary is overused, but try this on for size: in thirty years MV Augusta motorcycles won no less than 75 Rider or Constructor World Championships, 270 Grand Prix victories and some 3,000 race wins in total. While Augusta was the only "works" or factory team for extended periods of their history, their excellence may have set the bar so high that other companies were actually discouraged from competing in Grand Prix racing. Once you have seen one of the classic MV 3 or 4 cylinder 500cc Grand Prix bikes of the 1960s or 1970s, with their beautifully cast engine cases and sumps and resplendent in their streamlined red and silver fairings and bodywork, you will never forget it. I first heard the wail of the MV's on 33rpm albums of the famous Isle of Man Tourist Trophy back in the 1960s. The bikes looked fast even while being push started on the grid.
It took two veteran Italian motorcycle journalists, Mario Colombo and Roberto Patrignani, to write MV Augusta. Columbo is a prolific writer who has written extensively on Moto Guzzi and contributed to Italian motorcycle annuals. He has an excellent grasp of the technical details that the most serious enthusiasts like to delve into. Patrignani used to write for Motorcyclismo and more recently the Italian weekly Motosprint. In additon to being a writer, Patrignani was also a racer of real distinction in the 1960s. It isn't clear whether the authors did the English translation of their Italian editions themselves, but the transition is a smooth one.
This book is considered the definitive history of MV Augusta. It was first published all the way back in 1991and this is the third update in English. The last edition, published back in 2001, was a nice hardcover, but this one comes with a flexible softcover. It is a medium format book and so the photos, while legible, are not large. It is well illustrated with a wide selection of historical black and white photographs as well as large color images of each of the major models. The only criticism I can make of the design and format is that it would have been even nicer to see this book in a larger size so that we can enjoy the beauty and design of the motorcycles even more.
The book opens with a narrative history of MV Augusta with its origins in the family's airplane manufacturing concern and the motorcycle company's birth in 1945, as Italy was struggling to recover from its monumentally stupid alliance with Germany. It covers the firm's early production motorcycles, its first seasons in racing, its growing confidence and then the epic battles with Gilera and BMW in the 1950s. Finally, there the season, after season of dominance in the 350 and 500cc classes until the Japanese threat gradually emerged to challenge MV Augusta in the 1960s and 1970s. The narrative explains the final decline of the company after Count Augusta's death and its gradual slide into insolvency.
There are also a series of nice capsule biographies of the most important MV Augusta racers. The narrative history concludes with the re-emergence of the new MV Augusta firm in the 1990's under the Castiglionis. and then, there is what is essentially a catalogue raissonne of all the MV Augusta racing bikes and then the street models with the complete technical specifications and details the tech nerds among us revel in. The writing is fine, though a bit bloodless and while, it could be argued that this subject could warrant a two of three volume play-by-play account of all the major racing events MV Augusta participated in, it can be said to be a concise complete history of this noble marque. The only addition that I would suggest for the inevitable 4th edition is for it to have a detailed appendix with a complete list of race results, riders and championships. Both my clutch and throttle thumbs are held up for Columbo and Patrignani's MV Augusta.
Summary of MV Agusta
The legendary MV Agusta motorcycles book is a newly updated third edition. This book is divided into two parts: the first covers the technical and racing history of the company, analyzing the evolution of the manufacturer in its different historic periods. The second section comprises a systematic cataloging of all the models produced by MV Agusta, all of them accompanied by technical specification and a wealth of pictures provided by the manufacturer.
The updated information focuses specifically on recent years? production from 1998 to the present day, a period that has seen an expansion of the F4 range with the launch of the F4 750 Brutale, the S, F4, the Senna version, Tamburini and Veltro.
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