Magni’s Italia Is Lightness and Beauty in a Classic Shape

[Admin]

The Magni Italia is powered by MV Agusta’s 800cc triple. (MV Agusta/)

After Arturo Magni’s retirement from MV Agusta Racing, the legendary team manager formed Magni Atelier to keep the ultra-refined technical DNA of the latest MV Agusta racing bikes alive. In association with his sons, Giovanni and Carlo, Magni gave life to a sequel of models that thoroughly duplicated MV Agusta’s classic double cradle frame structure and their extraordinarily balanced geometrical characteristics. Also, the styling, graphics, and elegant execution were impeccable down to the last detail.

At the time, MV Agusta was totally out of business. Consequently, Magni and sons had to adapt their classic design to engines that, in some cases, shared nothing with the neat design of the MV Agusta three- and four-cylinder GP units. That was the case with the Moto Guzzi 1,100cc 90-degree V-twin, and yet the replicas the Magnis created re-created both the visual and the dynamic feeling of an actual classic MV Agusta. They also put the mighty Suzuki GSX 1,158cc engine to very good use, adapting it to power the Sport 1200 S, a replica of the breathtaking MV Agusta 750 Sport.

Magni’s Italia takes from the RiloRosso and Tributo 750 S. (MV Agusta/)

Creative versatility and supreme technical competence made every new Magni model a superb sportbike and a great homage to the MV Agusta tradition. After the MV Agusta brand was resurrected by the Castiglioni brothers in 2013, Magni Atelier built a few special editions of the Brutale 1090. Named Storia, it was dressed in a red-white-and-blue color scheme also inspired by the MV Agusta 750 Sport. It was a great-looking special, but the Magnis had focused their attention on the MV Agusta 800cc three-cylinder unit, which was compact and light with adequate power.

The following year, at EICMA 2014, Magni Atelier unveiled the striking FiloRosso. This new creation by Giovanni Magni came at a hard time for the family; at the show, Giovanni told me that Arturo Magni was not feeling well. Arturo’s passing a few weeks later was a tremendous loss for Giovanni and Carlo; Arturo was a great father and an even greater manager.

Cycle World tested the FiloRosso in July 2015. It was a highly emotional ride aboard a bike patterned on Giacomo Agostini’s GP bikes of the 1970s, complete with a full racing fairing and three separate exhaust megaphones. The sound alone was terrific. With the FiloRosso, Magni Atelier turned the page, using the bike as the platform on which it would develop a line of highly exclusive models.

Beneath the Italia’s steel tube frame sits an MV Agusta 800cc triple fed through classically shaped velocity stacks. (Bruno dePrato/)

The 750S Tributo, another wonderful replica of the MV Agusta 750 Sport, was tested by Cycle World in early 2019. This bike was a big surprise as, while it was based on the FiloRosso chassis, it proved much more versatile thanks to the subtle modifications designed to make rider ergonomics more rational and comfortable. Yet the 750S Tributo is an absolutely pure sportbike in the classical sense.

With the experience earned from making FiloRosso and the 750S Tributo, Giovanni created the Magni Italia. At first glance, this motorcycle looks like a naked FiloRosso with a top fairing, but the influence of the 750S Tributo is evident in its chassis geometry and riding position. On the Magni Italia, Giovanni adopted the 2-inch-longer swingarm from the 750S Tributo to obtain the same 56-inch wheelbase. Giovanni says he will adopt this chassis modification for the next batch of FiloRossos. The longer swingarm was a positive change for the dynamic qualities of the chassis, granting all models a very mild front end geometry: 25 degrees of steering axis rake, 60mm-offset triple clamps, and 85mm of trail. As with the FiloRosso and 750S Tributo, the Magni Italia rolls on 110/80-18 Metzeler Racetec RR K1 tires in front and 160/60-18s at the rear.

The Italia shines in terms of styling, execution, and finishing. The quality is superb down to the last detail, and the sinuous design features three exhaust megaphones, which add extra dynamic muscularity to the bike’s lower profile. All body and chassis components that Magni utilizes in its creations are custom made: The forks and rear dual shock absorbers are by local specialist Oram, wire wheels are by JoNich, and the tank is hand-hammered aluminum.

The Oram fork and JoNich wire wheels are custom made just for the Magni Italia. (Bruno dePrato/)

The brakes are Brembos, but the calipers are not the latest radially mounted type but more traditional units, as fork specialist Oram still patterns its forks on the classic Ceriani units. The calipers are mounted with the assistance of an additional plate. Only the fork stanchion diameter has gone up, from 35mm to 43mm. The handmade seat got a little extra padding to increase its height from the 30.3 inches of the FiloRosso to 31.5; this improves the man-machine interface, as the rider’s legs are far less compressed than on the FiloRosso.

The tank is the same as on FiloRosso, making for a stretched-arm riding position as the distance between the seat and the clip-ons is a significant 35.5 inches. Installing my 5-foot-10 frame aboard was not a problem, but that stretched-out reach to the clip-ons is not my favorite riding style.

The exhaust note from the three megaphone “silencers” is more raucous than I remembered it from the straight units mounted on the 750S Tributo. But it is simply terrific.

Three megaphones belt out a sonorous tone. (MV Agusta/)

The Magni Italia is beautifully light and agile. Despite the stretched-arm riding posture, I felt completely in command of a front end that communicates easily through the clip-ons. The MV Agusta 800cc Triple in its 110 hp configuration is all it takes to make the 342-pound bike shine in terms of acceleration and throttle response during its progression to top speed. The engine in this entry version offers a very pleasant flexibility which combines with the Italia’s light weight to make the ride a genuinely enchanting experience.

I had to take the backroad outside the Pirelli Tires Test Track situated on the banks of the Ticino River at Vizzola Ticino to fully enjoy the test ride. The testing surface was wet from night dew, with the only dry section being a tight corner where it was hard to fully exploit the handling qualities of the Magni Italia’s chassis. That kind of spoiled the photography session, but the ride out on roads in the middle of nowhere was just perfect.

On the backroads, in the middle of nowhere, the Magni Italia is just perfect. (MV Agusta/)

The great reception the FiloRosso and its derivatives have been given by enthusiasts around the world vindicate the hard work of Giovanni and Carlo Magni. The brothers dedicated themselves to developing a credible airbox and adapting their three-megaphone-style exhaust system to the MV Agusta Brutale 800′s huge catalytic converter, somehow homologating their bikes in those countries where the basic rough-and-tough models might otherwise not be street legal by a few light-years. Despite the restrictive size of the airbox, only 3 hp was lost. Yet ultimate power is not the real meaning of these Magni works of art.

View the full article