Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128349
2005 MV AGUSTA F4 1000 MAMBA ne of the biggest pro blems facing any creative genius is knowing whe n enough is enough. Th os e capable o f establishing the be nchmarks by which others in their chosen sect o r o f artistry must be judged are neve r completely sat isfied with their handivvork, because it's the mark of genius that one is always pushing the boundaries, always loo king for ways to improve on pe rfection . Look how lo ng it too k Michelangelo five centuries ago to complete painting the Sistine C hapel: four years, bec aus e he ke pt co ming back and adding stuff or touching u p what he 'd already finished! Half a millennium on , it' s the same thing fo r the Michelangelo of motorcycles, Italian design guru Massimo Tamburini, whose rare cap acity fo r original two wheeled thought , pursued via painstaking O 32 NOVEMBER 10 2004 • development co upled w ith creative flair, sees him co nstantly improving his latest mas terpiece. Constantly combin ing lead ing edge spo rtbike sty ling wi th gro undbrea king tech nology, while at the same time taking care to preserve the essential original form that gives each of his designs such a strong following, Tamburini's des igns have consistently earn ed the approval of the marketplace, which underwrites his ongo ing act ivities, via the custo mer dollar. So it is with the latest addit ion to the Tamburin i portfol io, the MVAgusta F4 1000 launched earlier th is year and now in series production in sufficient volume so that the Japanese manufacture rs' import e rs are no lo nger able to kee p it out of the Genman Superbike Championship (as they d id at the start of the season, in a series essential ly run to Supersport rules , complete w ith much higher, 1000-o ff minimum homologation CYCLE NEWS numbers). It has won two races there and twice finished second afte r finally e ntering the fray towa rd the e nd of the season. But in creating the F4 1000 , Tamburini was obliged to heed MV boss Claudio Castiglioni and avoid playing arou nd with the existing 750cc model beyo nd the installation of the bigger engine (developme nt of which was the responsibility of others) and a substitution of MalLocchi forks for the Showas on the 750. "We always intended that the o riginal styling of the MV F4 would remain essentialIy unchang ed in 1000cc form," Claud io Castiglioni says, "beca use we believe this is a timeless work of art which will be as desirable 10 years from now as it was the day it was launched - just like the previous model Tamburini created for me , the Ducati 916. Whe n you have a bea utiful bike like e ither of these, you need to understand that you must develop it. must evolve it • not throw it away 40th Anniversary and try to do something be tter; because you won't succeed." With the production of the Mille up and running, it was time for Tambu rini to start adding all those extra touches to the base level mod el, hence the de but of th e F4 1000 Mamba at lntermot 2004 . The Mamba is a strictly limited-edition, 300-off ultra bike concocted by Tamburini with the help of his son Andrea, himself a talented designe r who's responsible for creating the MV Agusta Special Parts aftenmarket catalog dripping with magnesium and carbon fiber goodies. These pieces are developed in the adjacent unit to his dad's CRC design house in the hilltop republ ic of San Marino, and a wide range of them has inevita bly found its way onto the Mamba. wh ich moreover features several techn ical improvements ove r the stock F4 1000. as I found out for myself when I was invited to join the CRC test tearn