??????????????? ‘I BOUGHT THIS BIKE TO GET INTO THE <strong>GIRO</strong>, BUT I SOON GREW TO LOVE IT’ Chris Halfknight 46
Q Comfy position and torquey engine make 200-mile days a doddle 1958 MV AGUSTA 175 AB A CLASS ACT AND A GREAT ALL-ROUNDER FOR THE <strong>GIRO</strong> (APART FROM THE SEAT) Engine: Air-cooled, 172cc, ohv single Chassis: Steel, tubular open-cradle type The numbers: 7.5bhp, 60mph, 123kg (271lb), £6000 If a bike can hold the key to redemption, Chris Halfknight’s MV Agusta is one machine that does. An increasingly hectic period spent thrashing big-bore sports bikes at licence-threatening speeds has given way to a passion for Italian lightweights – and the roadbased events in Italy that are tailor-made for them. “I’ve packed up the sports bike,” smiles Chris. “I don’t even ride much in the UK any more. Events like the Giro and the Milano-Taranto have spoiled me. I can’t get enough of them. I’m even learning Italian.” That’s serious. Just what changed the mindset of the former rocker? “Blame Tom Bolger,” Chris laughs. “He knew I’d been blasting around on sports bikes, but he suggested I give the Giro a go. I’d never even heard of it, but I agreed to give it a go when Tom told me he knew of an MV for sale in Essex. We went over to have a look and that was the start of it. The owner said the crank had run a bearing, but that he’d had another crank modified to take a Kawasaki roller-bearing big-end that he’d include with the deal. I took a chance, brought the bike home and stripped the engine.” A pushrod single held no terrors for former Jaguar mechanic Chris. “It’s really the simplest engine to work on,” he confirms. “If you can manage a Honda CG125, you can manage one of these.” Once he was inside the engine, Chris realised things weren’t as bad as the previous owner had believed. “The original crank, with its white-metalled big end, wasn’t in bad condition at all,” he says. “The main problem was a bent exhaust valve. There was even a nearly-new piston and rings. I replaced the bent valve, fitted the roller-bearing crank as a precaution and re-assembled the engine.” Tom had told Chris about the benefits of the Power Dynamo electronic ignition systems and he was keen to fit one to the MV. “The problem was that Power Dynamo don’t produce a kit to suit the Model AB,” he says. “But a chance conversation with a guy at the Bristol classic show led to him offering to make me a one-off adaptor to enable me to use a kit intended for an earlier CSTL model. The self-generating Power Dynamo system is brilliant.” Owning an MV would be enough for many people, but for Chris, the real draw is the events he gets to ride on his immaculate red and white AB. “I’m really competitive,” he admits. “The Giro is a real riding experience. The time schedules are so tight, you have to ride flat-out all day. I love it. A pre-’59 175 is what you need to get in, so I’ve got one. But I soon grew to love the bike. “It’s the best bike I’ve ever owned,” announces Chris with all the zeal of a true convert. “I’ve finished six Giros and a Milano- Taranto on it. I won my class in the 2012 Milano-Taranto and finished fifth overall, as well as winning a couple of the daily time trials. That’s not bad going from a little ohv model.” As I head off up the road, I appreciate its qualities almost at once. The handlebars are flat and comfortable, the Air Hawk air cushion seat cover transforms the narrow stock seat (“a hard seat will kill you on the Giro,” says Chris) and the pleasantly torquey engine makes 50-55mph cruising easy – and enjoyable. There’s a feeling of quality about the MV, too. There’s a reassuringly solid feel to the ride, the handling is more than a match for the modestly-tuned engine and the brakes offer dramafree stopping. This is a bike I could happily tackle the Giro on. OWNING ONE: The owners’ club should be your first stop for parts. New Old Stock spares are getting rarer, but the club (mvownersclub.co.uk) hold stocks and re-manufacture some hardto-find parts. “Italy is definitely the place to go for bargains, though,” counsels Chris. “Italians just don’t seem to buy this sort of bike, so you can still find good buys. I’ve found that the websitemoto.it/moto-epoca is a good place to find bikes. A budget of around £5000-£6000 should find you a good one.” 47
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