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 MV Agusta - 600 Quattro
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Photo ou archives : archives FMD
3420

Capacity : 600
Model : Quattro
Production : 1966 - 1970
Category : (R) Street Bike

MV AGUSTA

600 Four-Cylinder -1966

Right bike, wrong style

The first road-going MV Agusta four was unveiled in 1950, causing a sensation, but it never passed the prototype stage. However, MV Agusta was farsighted and took up the challenge 15 years later with this 600. Its technical specifications were exemplary: twin

overhead-camshafts driven by a train ofgears, all-alloy engine and even mechanically actuated double disc front brakes.

Unsporty Image

However, that wasn't enough to assure the commercial success of the MV 600, because it simply cost too much. Its image as a sensible touring bike cut no ice with a generation that dreamed of sports bikes and whose idols - Surtees, Hailwood and Agostini - dominated the Grand Prix on their MV Agustas. Neither the sales network of the marque nor its production capacity could support a sufficiently large output to make the 600 a worthwhile proposition.

Magic of a Name

Sadly for Agusta, 14 years later, Soichiro Honda was to make his fortune with the same idea and a less prestigious but simpler and more reliable four-cylinder bike boosted by a more effective marketing campaign. The MV 600, conceived as a touring bike, was inspired by the firm's original racers but had little in common with the racers of 1965. MV attempted to atone for its error by increasing the displacement to its four-cyinders to 800cc and adopting more sporty lines and colors but, handicapped by the obsolete basic design, the MV Four had little more than the magic of its name.

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 592cc (58x56mm) air-cooled transverse 20-clegree inclined four-cylinder four-stroke

Power Rating: 51 hp@ 8200 rpm

Valves: lwin overhead-camshafts, 8 valves

Fuel System: carburetor

Transmission: 5-speecl, chain final drive

Suspension: relescopic forks (front); swing arm with twin spring/dampers (rear)

Brakes: twin discs (front); dtum (rear)

Wheels: wire (front & rear)

Weight: 487 lb

Maximum Speed: 106 mph

 

In production until 1970, the MV 600 four cost, in its middle yea'rs, twice as much as a BMW R69S!






Le fichier Moto Passion réalisé par François-Marie Dumas réunit près de deux mille photos accompagnées d'un historique très complet des machines présentées.
Il sera progressivement mis à jour ici et toute information complémentaire est la bienvenue sur info@moto-collection.org.

Cette documentation unique, qui constitue sans doute l'encyclopédie la plus exhaustive jamais écrite sur l'histoire de la moto, a été réalisée avec l'assistance de nombreux spécialistes dont principalement Didier Ganneau, Christophe Gaime, Mick Woollett, Jean Goyard, Bernard Salvat, Christian Rey, Yves Campion, Helmut Krackowizer, Michael Dregni, Michel Montange, etc. que je remercie ici.

Disponible sur demande :
- Les fiches originales sur papier
- Les photos et archives signées de mon nom en haute définition ou les documents originaux.
Me contacter sur info@moto-collection.org pour les conditions et droits d'utilisation.