The Desmosedici | Agostini

How do the MotoGP bikes of today compare to those of three decades ago? That was the question on everyone's minds as Giacomo Agostini was afforded a precious opportunity to ride the 2007 championship-winning Ducati Desmosedici 800 back to back with 1973 and '74 works MV Agusta 500s.

On a chilly Halloween's eve we convened at Monza, Italy, as guests of Italian magazine Motociclismo, which arranged this once-in-alifetime test. On hand was Ducati's test team, with the Desmosedici GP7 normally ridden by Vittoriano Guareschi done up in Casey Stoner livery. So OK, it wasn't really one of Stoner's bikes-those were en route to the final Grand Prix of the season at Valencia, Spain-but it was a dead ringer.

In the garage next door were a couple of MV Agustas, accompanied by the entire crew from Agostini's final championship year, 1972-one of whom, it should be noted, is the father of one of Stoner's mechanics. The two MVs are owned by Elli Ubaldo, owner of the Elly tool company, who reportedly has more than 30 works MVs in his collection.

Stoner was utterly dominant en route to his first world championship, winning 10 of 18 races. But that's nothing compared to Agostini's record. Granted, racing was less competitive then, with less factory involvement, and the Italian was often the best rider on the best bike. But Ago had to beat legends such as Mike Hailwood, Phil Read and Jim Redman, and in doing so won a record 15 world championships and 122 GPs. Even more incredibly, he won seven-straight 500 and 350cc world titles on Count Agusta's MVs before the onslaught of Japanese two-strokes ended Italian dominance. Ago shocked the racing world by signing to ride for Yamaha in '74, and became the first rider to win the 500cc championship on a twostroke one year later. Ironically, he was also the last rider to win a race on a four-stroke, when he dusted off his old MV 500 to ride at the daunting Nrburgring in Germany in '76. That race also proved to be his and MV's final GP victories.

Grand Prix racing was much different then.Races were regularly held on blindingly fast public-road circuits, and the Isle of Man TT was a points-paying round of the world championship until '76, when Ago led the movement to have it removed from the calendar on safety grounds. Even purpose-built racetracks were faster and more flowing. A lap of Monza used to consist of long straights and fast corners, whereas today it's dotted with speed-limiting chicanes. So there was more emphasis on high-speed handling and outright top speed than on acceleration and braking, which are the main focal points today.

The works MV Agustas bear little resemblance to the streetbikes sold to the public. They look primitive parked next to the Desmosedici, but they were state-of-the-art in their day. Their inline-four engines are air-cooled and carbureted, but they boast gear-driven DOHC, four valves per cylinder and make a claimed 98 horsepower at 14,000 rpm-more on par with a 903cc Kawasaki Z1 than any period 500. Their frames, while made of steel rather than today's aluminum, aren't simple backbones but rather multi-tube trellises that wrap around the cylinder block like on an '80s Bimota. Suspension is as primitive as it looks, with a spindly right-side-up fork and twin shocks, and the '73 bike had wire wheels and a drum rear brake. But by '74 those had been replaced by mag wheels and discs all around. Tires on both bikes at the test were treaded Michelin Hi-Sports. Slicks weren't used in the GPs until Kenny Roberts and Goodyear arrived on the scene in '78. Top speed was optimistically given as 185 mph.

The Desmosedici, in comparison, looks like a spaceship. Ducati's press offi cer made a huge fuss about the crew pulling off the fairing for the first time ever in public, and hell if we knew what we were looking at. With electronic fuel injection, on-board data acquisition, an anti-engine-braking system, plus launch, wheelie and traction control, there are so many wires and electronic gizmos you can barely see the engine. That engine is a 90-degree V-4, incidentally, with desmodromic actuation for its 16 valves (thus the name) and a redline somewhere north of 18,000 rpm. Power? "More than 200 bhp," is all they'll say, but that figure is likely closer to 220.

The Ducati is tall to allow the insane lean angles commonplace in modern racing, and its mass is centralized-everything is packed tightly around the engine, with only the bare essentials at the periphery. Unique among modern MotoGP bikes, the GP7 employs a steel-trellis frame that stops at the engine. It's essentially a front subframe to support the fork, fairing and instruments.The engine is not just a loadbearing chassis member but an integral part of the frame, joining the front subframe with the massive black-anodized aluminum swingarm, which pivots in the engine cases. There is no rear subframe per se, just a self-supporting carbon-fiber seat. Suspension consists of a massive gas-charged inverted fork and single shock, both multi-adjustable, while radially mounted front brake calipers grasping carboncarbon rotors do the lion's share of the stopping; the tiny rear brake is pretty much along for the ride. Wheels are magnesium, the rear wider than both MV wheels combined. Top speed is conservatively given as "more than 200 mph."

With a dense cloud cover threatening rain,the proceedings got underway at 10:30 a.m.sharp with the '74 MV booming to life. With its four open megaphones it was obnoxiously loud, and it needed to be revved to keep from stalling-the classic vroom, vroom, vroom-the scent of castor oil hanging in the air. Surrounded by onlookers but with little other fanfare, Ago hopped on and roared off, pinning the throttle and going through the gears like a man 40 years younger. Listening to his progress around the circuit it was obvious he still knew his way around, and he came down the front straight with his head behind the bubble like a man on a mission. Approaching the Prima Variante (literally First Chicane), he clearly downshifted five times, each accompanied by a blip of the throttle. All alone on the track the MV looked fast-and sounded even faster. And while no one was taking lap times (at least publicly), Ago's pace was no doubt respectable for a 65-year-old man on a 33-year-old motorbike.

As Ago circulated on the MV, the Ducati team fired up the Desmosedici, and the sound couldn't have been more different. With a gaspowered roller painted in factory colors turning the rear tire, a mechanic let out the clutch lever and the V-4 burst to life, settling into a fast idle that sounded like the world's loudest popcorn popper. Unlike the previous-generation 990cc GP6, the 800cc GP7 uses a traditional "screamer" firing order rather than a big-bang. According to designer Filippo Preziosi`, that's because vehicle dynamics (read: wheelies) limit how much power can be used-riders seldom use full throttle-and the engine-management electronics are more sophisticated now. That goes a long way toward explaining why lap times haven't changed much since engine displacement was reduced. In fact, if you look at data-ack info for the 800 and 990 lapping the same circuit, you'll see that the former is faster entering, apexing and (briefly) exiting corners, while the latter has an advantage in acceleration and top speed.

As Ago returned the MV to the pits, Ducati test rider Guareschi took to the track for a few shakedown laps, the Desmosedici having never been ridden at Monza. The Italian circuit has been off the MotoGP calendar since the early '80s, so there's no point in testing there, and besides, Monza is MV territory: Legend has it that every MV streetbike was tested at Monza and geared accordingly. The most obvious immediate difference was how much quicker the modern bike went through the gears- Guareschi was in fourth by the end of pit lane.

While Vitto checked out the Ducati, Ago's crew fired up the '73 MV, which was reputed to be in a higher state of tune than the '74. It certainly sounded that way, running rough except at peak revs, when its deafening exhaust note was glorious. Indeed, Ago had a hard time clearing its throat, slipping the clutch the length of pit lane. Once underway the bike didn't run much better, sounding like it had clogged pilot jets. Maybe it did. Ago brought it back to the pits after just one lap and handed it back to the mechanics with a dour look on his face.

Then it was time: Agostini is nothing if not cool, and while his facial expression didn't give away his nervousness as he approached the Desmosedici, his body language said otherwise. He had a hard time swinging his leg over the tail, the bike still sitting tall on its rear stand, and while he made a joke about that, you could tell he was embarrassed. He got something of a running start for his second, successful attempt, then settled into the saddle, clicked the bike into gear, let out the clutch...and just like that we were watching history in the making.

Meanwhile, Vitto had taken to the track on the '74 MV, and as fate would have it, Ago joined in just behind him. For a minute or two it was concerto in moto maggiore as the two unmuffl ed motorcycles circulated together, their engine revs rising and falling in unison. Then, as they headed onto the back straight, Ago stretched the Desmosedici's throttle cable, passed Vitto and disappeared into the distance. He did just three laps on the Ducati before pitting, and while he returned to the track a short while later it was just for photos, as rain had begun to fall. Although the bike was quickly fitted with rain tires, it still had carbon rotors, which don't work very well in the wet. Even 15-time world champions know enough to take it easy on someone else's motorcycle-especially when said bike is worth a million dollars or more.

As Ago spoke to the Italian press, I cornered Vitto and asked him how the MV compared to the Ducati. "There's a big difference," he replied in his best paddock English. "When I started on the track on the MV, the The feeling is close to a bike for the street. My father has an old Moto Guzzi V7 Sport, and the feeling is very similar: the position, the brakes, the engine, everything. You have to pull the brake lever sooo hard. And when you downshift is very slow: wom, wom, wom. But this is race engine, and race brakes, so is better. Is like when I ride a 1098 and then the Desmosedici: Step by step, street to race, the difference is the same.

"Asked what it was like to be passed by his own bike, Vitto smiled and said, "At the exit of the Ascari corner, Giacomo passed me. I stayed in the bubble and I see the revs:13,000...14,000. And Giacomo: bah, bah, bah. Maybe the Desmosedici has three times the power! But I think, 'This is Agostini's bike and it wins many world championships. I don't want to crash or break the engine.'"

When Ago was done with the Italian press, I cornered him for a brief debriefing, and he echoed Guareschi's sentiments: "There is a big difference, for sure," he began. "Is about 35 years' difference, so the progress is a lot. If you go 85 percent, the Desmosedici is easy to ride. But when you go 100 percent, I'm sure is much more difficult.

"Everything is perfect: the frame, the tires, the brakes, everything," he continued. "The carbon brakes are incredible: You just touch and decelerate so much. Shifting is almost automatic-full-throttle upshifts and just the clutch, no throttle, on downshifts. And the speed! At the end of the straight is maybe 40 kilometers per hour (25 mph) faster than the MV."

The on-board data acquisition revealed that Ago had in fact surpassed 300 kph (186 mph) on the front straight, while Guareschi had touched 320 (198 mph). This in spite of relatively short gearing, as the team was headed directly to Valencia for the traditional end-ofseason test. One technician speculated that had the Desmosedici been geared for Monza, it would likely have gone 340 kph (210 mph).

And just like that, our day was over. Ago pulled off his trademark Dainese leathers,pulled on a yellow sweater and led the march to the paddock restaurant for lunch. This was Italy, after all. And while what we had witnessed was indeed history-making, for Giacomo Agostini it was just another test session at Monza.