Italian Bikes Archives - CARS // MOTORBIKES

Cagiva V-Raptor

The V-Raptor was a benchmark bike for Cagiva. It is fair to say that the Cagiva name does not have quite the same cachet as, say, Ducati or MV Agusta. But – back in the day – Cagiva owned both. And, add Aermacchi Harley-Davidson to the list, too. Indeed, it was in the latter’s old factory – in Varese, Italy – that Cagiva’s wheels were set in motion. Claudio and Gianfranco Castiglioni were its founding fathers. The V-Raptor, then, signalled a return to form for the firm.

The V-Raptor was designed by Miguel Galluzzi. Previously, he had penned the Ducati Monster. A 996cc V-twin engine was ‘borrowed’ from Suzuki’s TL1000S. It was duly dropped into Galluzzi’s creation. The result was a good-looking bike – with a top speed of 150mph. Especially striking, from a styling perspective, was the bike’s raptor-like fairing. Galluzzi could not have bettered its resemblance to a bird of prey’s beak!

Relatively small manufacturer that it was, Cagiva made a big impact on Nineties bike racing. Certainly, it was far from afraid to square up to Japan’s ‘big four’ teams. In ’92 and ’93, Cagiva were winning blue-riband races. American rider John Kocinski, for example, won his home GP on a Cagiva. At one point – in ’94 – the team led the World Championship standings. Mighty impressive, given the opposition. Sadly, the same year saw them retire from racing. Financial gremlins lobbed an impeccably clean spanner in the works. In road-going form, though, Cagiva motorcycles continued to impress. The V-Raptor, in particular, was given a rapturous thumbs-up by bikers worldwide!

MV Agusta 750 Sport

The MV Agusta 750 Sport was race-bred. A straight line could be drawn from the roadster to Meccanica Verghera’s competition machines. They were fettled in Gallerate, near Milan, Italy. MV ruled the racing roost, at the time. The 750 Sport’s clip-on ‘bars – and humped-back seat – gave the game away. Add to them, a 4-leading-shoe Grimeca front brake – and a chrome quartet of megaphone exhausts. All were clear pointers to the Sport’s race-track roots.

The 750’s top speed of 120mph was good going in the Seventies. Especially, since the bike was a tad portly. It weighed in at 506lb. Its in-line 4-cylinder engine produced 69bhp – at 7,900rpm. Power was supplied via gear-driven twin overhead camshafts.

Compared to its rivals in the showrooms, the 750 Sport was expensive. Suffice to say, it did not sell well. To be fair, MV had little choice but to up the price. The complexities of the Sport’s engine – and labour-intensive production processes – all had to be paid for. From a purely commercial standpoint, then, the Sport turned out to be another nail in MV’s coffin. Count Domenico Agusta had founded MV, in ’45. In ’71, he suffered a fatal heart attack. With him went the soul of MV. Indeed, it was not long afterward that the marque shut up shop. The lacklustre sales of the 750 Sport had not helped. From a non-commercial point of view, however, the MV Agusta 750 Sport summed up the spirit of motorcycling like few other bikes!

Ducati 250 Desmo

Ducati’s 250 Desmo was a nailed down design classic. The firm began in Bologna, in ’26 – producing electrical parts. That might generate a few wry smiles amongst Brit bikers of a certain age. Italian machines have traditionally been noted more for aesthetic than technical perfection. Especially in the wiring department!

At any rate, Ducati’s signature engine set-up was ‘desmodromic’. It saw valves closed by cams – rather than springs. The goal was more precise control of valve-gear components. For a marque so synonymous with styling, then, ‘desmo’ was definitely a feather in Ducati’s parts cap. The 250 was the baby of the newly engineered range. Though of reduced capacity compared to its bigger siblings, the 250 was still blessed with a fair lick of speed. Indeed, it fell just a tad short of the totemic ‘ton’. In handling terms, too, the 250 had plenty in its favour. Weighing in at less than 300lb – and with finely-tuned suspension – its rubber side remained resolutely glued to the tarmac. Saying that, clip-on ‘bars, rear-set footrests and a solo seat coaxed riders into finding the limits of adhesion!

The Desmo was designed by Leo Tartarini. He drew the 250 with simple, strong lines. They were all that was needed. The bike had dynamism built-in – by dint of its ‘racy’ parts list. So, the 250 was as strong visually, as it was technically. Certainly, its desmodromic valve-train was a key asset. But, it also possessed poised and purposeful looks – belying its size. Dimunitive it may have been, but the Ducati 250 Desmo married technological innovation with innate Italian good looks!

Moto Guzzi Daytona 1000

It is probably not a bad marketing plan to name a bike after an iconic American circuit. It is one fraught with danger, however. Turn out a machine which does not do justice to that arena … and you will look a tad daft! No such worries, though, for Moto Guzzi. When the Daytona 1000 was launched – in ’92 – its moniker was nothing if not apt. After all, the Daytona was designed by ‘Dr John’ Wittner. He was an ex-racer/engineer. Indeed – back in the day – he had jacked in dentistry, to go to Guzzi. Not surprising, really. To fans of the brand, Guzzi’s Mandello HQ was near-mythical. Dr John successfully campaigned Guzzis in the late ’80s. Now, he sought to cement that legacy – in the shape of a road-going superbike.

The Daytona was directly descended from track-based exploits. It was a gimme, then, that it handled beautifully. Of course, the Daytona engine was suitably detuned. That said, it was still fitted with fuel injection – via its four valves per cylinder. 95bhp was duly on tap – equating to a top speed of 150mph. In tandem with that, the V-twin’s torque curve was typically steep.

When it comes to motorcycles, Moto Guzzi have honed many a two-wheeled gem over the years. The Daytona 1000 was just the latest in a long line of dependable, attractive products, from the Italian stalwart. In the Daytona 1000, Dr John had dished up a mouth-watering superbike. The ex-dentist’s toothsome two-wheeled delights would be savoured by bikers for years to come. Many a radiant smile resulted!

Aprilia RSV Mille

The designers of the Aprilia RSV Mille could never be accused of muddied intent. A lap-timer – fitted to a road bike – told you all you needed to know. Of course, it went without saying that the data would only ever have been examined at track-days! That said, commuting could never have felt more like competing.

The rest of the Mille was pretty purposeful, too. Which is what you would expect from a machine derived from a World Superbike. Its sibling – the Aprilia RS250 – was similarly sourced from the bike that took the 250cc GP title. The Mille’s lap-timer was starting to make sense!

Certainly, the Mille’s chassis was impeccably race-bred. It was held together by a twin-spar aluminium frame. The engine – a fuel-injected 60° V-twin – produced 128bhp. Aerodynamically, the RSV was about as slippery as it gets. The result was a top speed of 165mph. Not surprisingly, the bike was a great commercial success. All in all, then, the Aprilia RSV Mille had cemented its place in the top stratum of Italian sports bikes.