1973 MV Agusta 500 Four
MV Agusta began racing in the 500 cc Grand Prix in 1950 with a four-cylinder design that was promoted until it was replaced by a three in 1966. The trio was Agostini’s mount for seven consecutive titles. his from ’66 to ’72.
A new 500 cc four-wheeler designed for 1973 (although at the start of the season it had a displacement of only 433 cc) and essentially an enlarged version of the successful 350 cc quad introduced in before and above that Agostini won the title from Yamaha’s Jarno Saarinen. It was the threat of Saarinen mounting on a new 1973 Yamaha 500 cc 4 that prompted the MV to replace the old 500 trio.
In fact, it was Phil Read who launched this bike because Agostini still prefers his old trio. The fear of the MV was justified when Saarinen won the opening race of the season, the French GP, with Read in second.
Yamaha again won the next round (Austria) with both MVs eliminated. Next is the German GP and Read is now mounted on the big four (498.6 cc) engine with the Agostini on the 433 cc. Read had a comfortable win.
It was the following round at Monza that saw the tragic deaths of Saarinen and Rezo Passolini and then Yamaha withdrew from the championship. With pressure off the MV returns to the old trio for the rest of the season.
Kim Newcombe on König provided good competition until his death (in a non-championship race) and then finished second in the ’73 title won by Read and Agostini finished third.
The 500/4 returned for the 1974 season with riders Phil Read and Gianfranco Bonera – Agostini moved to Yamaha. Read took the title with four wins, Bonera was second with one win, Teuvo Lansivuori was third with one and Agostini was fourth with two wins.
1975 saw Agostini win for Yamaha with four wins, leaving Read the second result and runner-up in the championship.
Agostini returned to riding the MV in 1976 with his own team (fearing Yamaha pulled out of the GP again) using full factory bikes and mechanics but the 500/4 is now definitely underperforming the competition 2 Well, not so much in terms of absolute power but in the way it gets into the ground.
New noise limits also play a part. He only raced MV in the first and last laps of the season, spending the rest of the year in a Suzuki. In a final, the match was 500/4 bowing out of the competition with a final round victory at the Nürburgring in difficult conditions. This was the last 500 cc GP to be won with a 4-stroke engine.
The bike seen here is a 1973 498.6 cc, 102 hp at 14,600 rpm.
1973 MV Agusta 500 Four Specification
- Engine – Four cylinders in line
- Capacity – 433 cc then 497 cc from 1974
- Bore x Stroke – 56 x 44 mm then 58 x 47 mm from 1974
- Maximum power – 80 hp at 14,000 rpm then 92 hp from 1974
- Clutch – Dry, multiple discs
- Transmission – Six speeds
- Drive – String
- Frame – Steel Double Bracket
