Italian motorcycle
company, Magni Motorcycles, introduced a model called the Italia
01/01 to pay tribute to its founder Arturo Magni, who died in
2015, and in honour for his contribution to motorcycling.
The Magni brand is famous for
creating modern interpretations of bikes from the heyday of Grand Prix racing,
specializing in retro-modern MV Agusta models. Its bikes feature classical
looking frames that use modern manufacturing techniques and materials, with MV
Agusta's three-cylinder engines providing power.
The Italia 01/01 is powered by MV’s
Brutale, 798cc inline-three producing 110hp. It is constructed around a
bespoke 25CrMo4 chassis and adorned in one-off hand-formed bodywork in Magni’s
classic Italian cafe racer style.
The Italia 01/01 features a round
headlight, an aerodynamic fairing that wraps around the handlebars and a short
tail. Designers didn't add panels to the bottom part of the bike, to keep the
frame, which was designed in-house, and the engine exposed. Arturo Magni is said
to have preferred this look, exposing the "beauty of the engine's mechanical
structure to be visible."
A fork with classic lines reminiscent
of the historic 70s GP forks were made exclusively by ORAM.
The braking system consists of 320mm
floating discs and 4-piston calipers, by Brembo. Specially designed spoked
wheels from JoNich are shot with tubeless tires.
Finishing off the Italia 01/01 it has
a “Rosso Corsa” livery and a set of signature blacked out exhausts.
Short history of Arturo Magni
Arturo began his adventure as part of
the grand prix racing teams at Gilera in 1947, then moved to MV Agusta in 1950
where he was Director of the Racing Department until 1976. In 1980, Magni
was head of the race shop at Cagiva. He was in charge of development of a new
four-cylinder racing two-stroke. The engine, which was a development of the
Yamaha TZ 500 engine, was first used by Virginio Ferrari the 1980 German
motorcycle Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.
Arturo actively contributed to the
victory of greats like Giacomo Agostini, John Surtees, Carlo Ubbiali, Phil Read,
Mike Hailwood, Cecil Sandford and Tarquinio Provini. The Varese-based company,
under Magni's guidance, won a total of 75 world titles (37 manufacturers and 38
riders).
From 1977 he began his career as an
entrepreneur founding Magni Motorcycles. Initially the company
manufactured special parts for the MV Agusta 750 S motorcycles, such as chain
drive conversions, big-bore kits and frame kits. Later, in 1980, the
company progressed to the construction of complete motorcycles. The first models
were powered by Honda CB900F engines (models MH1 & MH2). Later BMW R100 (MB1 &
MB2) and various Moto Guzzi engines were used. The Sfida 1000 model, introduced
in 1989, used a Moto Guzzi engine in a machine styled to reflect the MV racers
of the 1960s. (Sfida means "challenge" in Italian). In 1999, models based
on the four-cylinder Suzuki Bandit 1200 engine were added.