MV Agusta 500 Three

The MV Agusta 500 three-cylinder ( 1965-1973 ) also MV Agusta Tre was a racing motorcycle of Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta, which was used in the highest class of the FIM World Motorcycle Championship. Giacomo Agostini won with this bike without interruption from 1966 to 1972 drivers' world championship in the class up to 500 cc; next won MV Agusta 1967-1972 the Constructors' World Championships with this model. The MV Agusta Tre is considered the most successful racing motorcycle history.

Development and Technology

The air-cooled three-cylinder MV Agusta was the first engine with four- valve heads. The intake valves having a diameter of 21 mm, 16.3 mm, the exhaust valves, the valve angle is 60 degrees. The valves are operated by bucket tappets by dual overhead camshafts driven by a spur gear on the right engine. The crank pin of the crankshaft are offset by 120 degrees, two each of six roller bearings are located at the end of the crankshaft. Just to have an L-shaped oil ring on the piston was unusual for a four-stroke. Three 30 -mm Dell'Orto carburettors feed the engine with fuel mixture is ignited by Marelli 10 -mm spark plugs, get their electricity from an 8 -volt battery ignition.

Racing applications

Already the first use of a Tre ( but with 350 cc displacement and in this class ) in the first round of the World Championship for motorcycle world championship in 1965 at the Nurburgring was a complete success. The young Giacomo Agostini won clearly ahead of veteran Mike Hailwood. In the second round of the 1966 season Agostini rode for the first time a 420 Tre in the 500 class, first in the seventh round then the ³ to 500 cm drilled Tre. Until the 1967 season Mike Hailwood on Honda was the toughest competitor for the world title. After the end of 1967, however, Honda withdrew from racing, there was no comparable team, the MV Agusta the title in the 500cc class could have challenged; this remained so until the motorcycle world championship in 1972. The first race of the 1973 season were still driven by Agostini on his Tre, then this of the more powerful MV Agusta 500 four-cylinder was replaced. The 1973 Tre got as a modification or front disc brakes Scarab, in terms of performance but it was inferior to the two-stroke Yamaha.

Sister model

The developed before the 500 MV Agusta 350 Tre was no less successful. Giacomo Agostini was uninterruptedly from 1968 to 1973 with this model in the class up to 350 cc world champion driver. For the Motorcycle World Cup 1974 MV Agusta stepped up in class to 350 cc not to, now focused on winning the half-liter class. Technically, both machines were almost identical. The 350s had Tre to reach the smaller displacement, a 52- hole, a smaller tank, generally a seven-speed gearbox and weighed about 3 kg less. The performance of the 350 (1972 ) was 65 hp at 13,500 rpm 1 rpm.

MV Agusta 500 three-cylinder

MV Agusta three-cylinder 350 (1970 )

References

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