ing's T and the team's rider, sheds
some light on the subject. "It's the
most un-Italian Italian bike I've ever
ridden," he says. "Compared to other
Italian bikes, the geabox is almost
Japanese in its precision. The controls have a very soft feel; you don't
need the arms of Popeye to be able to
squeeze the clutch or hold the throttle
ppen. Braking feel and controlability
are as good as anything I've ever ridden. The steering input needed is
very light; it turns instantly."
In the capable hands of Theobald,
hands that have guided the team's
Interceptor to top-10 finishes in
Superbike Nationals and steered
Lower's Moto Guzzi to a win in the
Stock class in Battle of the Twins
competition, the MV may very well
'turn instantly. With someone of less
acumen aboard. the bike just feels
plain twitchy. And no wonder, really,
with a weight approaching 600
pounds and a wheelbasesmaller than
that of a GPz550's. Factor in a
strong sidewind pushing against the
fuJI fairing and you have the makings of a $10,000 handful. Fun, perhaps, at an easy back-road pace, but
somehow the image of tossing all
that irreplacable Italian hardware
down the road keeps peg-dragging
heroics at bay.
The MV's quirks don't bother
Lower in the least. If you're a Point A
to Point B kind of rider, you probably don't understand why a man
cou Id trade 10 grand for atwo-wheeled
vehicle propelled by an internalcombustion engine, unique or not.
But if a motorcycle speaks to you of
speed and romance and history and adventure, then you'll understand. And
it's enough to know that silver-andred MV Agustas, and bikes like them,
are still cheerfully churning their
way along the world's back roads on
sun-dappled Sunday aft~rnoons. _
7
