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sion damping - one in each leg, as on' later Marzocchi forks .. via the numbered nut atop each stanchion. There's also a friction steering damper built into the fork stem - no modern telescopic one is needed, even on such a short-wheelbased yet powerful bike - and the right handlebar incorporates a large knurled adjuster for the front-brake cable. The only thing missing is the tennis ball with the top cut off which Ago used to mount on the opposite side, in which he'd carry a damp sponge with which to wipe insects off his goggles during the hour-long GP races - or two-hour TIs - of the day. Now we have tearoffs. Firing up the MV-3 after it had been warmed up at around 7000 rpm is child's play - three steps, drop the clutch, and get ready for the wall of sound that envelops your senses, even with a full-face helmet. No won(Below) The MY revs to 13,500, though no once since Agostini has been allowed to rev It that high. It produces a claimed 83 horsepower. Cathcart sneakingly rewed the bike to 12,500. der Ago led so many races from start to finish in those bump-start GP days - he'd have been changing into third gear by the time the 350cc British singles and Japanese two-stroke twins had fired up and been clutched up onto the pipe. Instead, the MV-3 is civility personified, pulling cleanly out of the tight corners in the Cadwell GP circuit's Woodlands section from as low as 5500 rpm without touching the light-action clutch lever - accompanied by a gruff, basso profundo growl which translates into a higher-pitched howl as the revs mount toward the 11,500 rpm limit Iannucci stipulates for parades - or guest riders. There's a progressive build in power up to that mark, and a very Latin dab of red paint on the Veglia at the 12,500-rev mark which Redman is allowed to aim at 'for winning races', and that in turn is 1000 revs lower than MV Agusta themselves redlined the bike at back then. But making the past come alive again in musical form, you don't need to rev it any higher to get an impressive turn of speed. (Above lettl The naked MY - a design that won 14 World Championships over a nine-year spell. (Above) The bike uses a Cerlanl fork, though the author felt the fork could have been set up better with more rebound damping. A key element in this is the MV's ultra-precise, short-action, right-foot, one-up gearshift, and the perfectly chosen ratios of the seven-speed cluster, which see the bottom five close together to keep the engine singing out of turns and to maximize acceleration, then a gap to sixth and a still longer one to top - a format designed for Monza in the pre-chicane era, but ideal for Daytona, and Goodwood too, if not Cadwell, where predictably sixth gear was all the bike would truly pull. Snicking easily and c1utchlessly from gear to gear allowed me to keep the engine driving well between 9000 and 11,500 revs all around the circuit, until the Mountain and the entry into the tighter section where the MV3's willing flexibility came into its own, and the trademark rattle of the dry clutch could now be heard above the exhaust note. On my final lap, I gave it a greater dose of revs down the main straight, and found an extra wedge of speed at the top end when revving it to the 12,500 rpm redline - enough to cue' • embarrass a 600cc Supersport Honda who tried to keep up. Well, there were no Honda sixes around Cadwell that day... Even at high rpm, the three-cylinder engine is smooth and vibrationfree - yet tne MV-3's 120-degree crank also helps produce that smooth power delivery and torquey midrange pickup out of slower tums. It's easier to ride and more forgiving than the later 350 four - no wonder Ago practically had to be levered off it to ride the new bike. The MV-3's chassis package matches the engine for inherent user friendliness, even if the suspension on the Team Obsolete bike needed some attention. In spite of the short 1310mm wheelbase, it's very stable around faster turns like Charlie's, even where you have to trailbrake n __ S • OCTOBER 17, 2001 17