FEATURE – 1975 MV Agusta 750S America
If you’re reading this article and you’re of a certain age, MV Agusta really needs no introduction. Mere utterance of the name would evoke memories of Agostini, Hailwood and Surtees, who took the brand to no less than 37 World Constructors’ Championships through the 1950s, ’60s and early ’70s.
If you’re not of that “certain age”, you probably associate MV Agusta with their current efforts in World Superbike and World Supersport competition, as well as a string of fast and stylish naked (Brutale), sports (F3 and F4) and touring (Turismo Veloce) motorcycles.
MV Agusta’s modern aura of style, speed and desirability was set decades back by the brand’s aforementioned racetrack dominance. Their first world title came via Cecil Sandford, who won the 125cc World Championship on MV’s 125 ‘Bialbero’ in 1952, with many others following.
The brand’s racetrack pedigree is inextricably linked with Giacomo Agostini, who won seven 500cc titles in succession from 1966, as well as six straight 350cc world titles from 1968 aboard an MV Agusta.
Race to Road
While MV Agusta had a string of popular and successful small capacity road bikes, they never seemed to be able to translate their premier class racing success to a large road bike. They did have a crack, though, and the two main models they produced – the 750 Sport (aka 750S) and 750S America – are highly-desirable collector’s items today.
The 750 Sport was released in 1972, but had its roots in a 600cc model that hit the market five years earlier. Built as a luxury tourer with shaft drive, the 600 lacked the style for which the brand had already become famous.
It was also expensive and, against the emerging Japanese competition (CB 750, Z900, etc.), was slow, so something larger, faster and more closely-connected to the brand’s competition image was required.
Enter the 750GT and its brighter, bolder and faster sibling, the 750 Sport.
Debuting in late 1971, the 750GT was a definite improvement over the 600, but alongside the 750 Sport, it looked dowdy.
With its red, white and blue tank, complemented with a red frame, red-trimmed saddle, headlight shell and side covers, the 750 Sport was unmistakable and unforgettable, easily offering more visual appeal than the 600.
Mechanically, though, the changes were less radical. Shaft drive was retained, along with the 5-speed gearbox. The double overhead cam layout of the four-cylinder engine – that had connections to MV’s 500cc racing powerplants - was also carried over, but capacity was increased to 743cc and a quartet of Dell’Orto carbies were fitted.
Interestingly, the 600’s disc front brakes were changed for a large drum for the 750GT and 750S, but in the 750S’s final year of production, disc brakes would return.
Quick in a straight line and quite manoeuvrable off it, the 750 Sport was undoubtedly good, but hobbled by its shaft drive and excessive weight, it never truly excelled against similar Japanese machinery.
MV Agusta’s claims of the bike’s performance never matched the reality, either, but the biggest barrier to the success of the 750S was its price. At just under $4,000 here in Australia when new in 1972, it was much more expensive than anything from Japan and even pricier than bikes of equivalent capacity from Europe.
Back then, $4K would have bought you a new XA Falcon hardtop, a HQ Kingswood with all the fruit, and was only a few hundred dollars shy of a V8-powered Monaro, but despite the steep price, a handful did sell here.
However, slow sales for the 750S were the least of MV Agusta’s problems in the 1970s. The company had been somewhat rudderless since the death of founder Count Domenico Agusta in 1971, and while the racing program was still successful, it wasn’t making the company any money.
Road bike sales were needed, but like the British before them, the Italian bike industry was feeling the effects of the Japanese invasion and MV Agusta would cop it harder than most. So, when an offer to sell more bikes in the US came up, MV Agusta jumped at it.
Enter the America
As the name suggests, the 750S America was created for the American market and was the brainchild of MV Agusta’s US importer, Chris Garville, and one of their more enthusiastic dealers, Jim Cotherman.
In late 1974, changes in vehicle legislation in the US effectively outlawed bikes with right-side gear shifters like the 750 Sport and numerous other European models. Concerned over this loss of income, Garville and Cotherman believed the 750 Sport could be re-invented as a premium ‘GT’ motorcycle for the US.
Approaching MV Agusta with claims of being able to sell 500 units a year in North America, the pair convinced the company to invest in developing the idea further.
As the 750 Sport and 750 GT were spun out of the 600 tourer, so too the 750S America owes much to the 750 Sport. It used the same frame, most of the same cycle parts, the same transmission and even the same basic engine, but a 2mm bore increase to 67mm resulted in capacity being upped to 788cc, while the compression ratio was also increased and the Sport’s 24mm Dell’Ortos were replaced with 26mm units.
Larger valves were fitted, too, along with reshaped combustion chambers to suit the increased capacity. The camshaft profile was milder, though, to suit the more relaxed “tourer” (rather than “sports”) specification of the new model. The combined changes delivered 56kW against the 750 Sport’s 51kW.
The exhaust system was largely the same as the 750 Sport, but featured distinctive black silencers, which were applied to almost all 750S Americas produced.
The left-side gear shifter was adopted to meet the aforementioned US legislation, and while the Sebac rear shocks were carryover from the 750 Sport, the Ceriani front forks were increased to 38mm diameter for the America.
Twin front disc brakes with Scarab calipers were similar to those applied to the last 750 Sports to be built, while the twin-clock instrumentation and clip-on bars were familiar, too, but detailing and style were noticeably different.
Where the 750 Sport featured rounded shapes and features like chrome mudguards, the 750S America adopted a squarer style for the fuel tank, with a boxy ducktail added aft of the suede-trimmed saddle, while the mudguards were now slimmer painted units.
Messrs Garville and Cotherman believed the more modern styling, combined with the increased power, disc front brakes and other features would deliver a winner.
They needed it to be a winner, as the US$,6000 price tag the 750S America wore on its release in 1975 made it one of the most expensive motorcycles available in the US and, like the 750 Sport, put it up against not just other high-end bikes but also well-equipped cars.
That pricing was brought into question by US bike magazines when testing the 750S America, but those same testers praised the bike’s performance and handling, predicting that every unit MV Agusta could produce would be sold.
Exactly how many 750S Americas were built remains the subject of speculation, not least because of MV’s sketchy record keeping during those turbulent years. Somewhere between 500 and just under 700 examples are believed to have been produced over five years - well below the expectations of both MV Agusta and their American importers.
But, as with just about anything that was a “failure” when new, the 750S America is a highly collectable item today.
It still lags behind the 750 Sport in terms of desirability and market value, but the 750S America has a pretty impressive record at auction, with good examples regularly selling for six figure sums, including one ultra-low-mileage unit that sold for almost $160,000 in 2016.
America in Australia
The 750S America featured came here from the UK in 2002. Its chassis number identifies it as one of the later models built, and as you can see from the photos, it’s in great condition.
As bought, the bike did come with the factory pipes, but a full Magni exhaust system has since been fitted.
Recently, the owner entrusted the bike to Surfside Motorcycle Garage in Brookvale (NSW) for some minor refurbishment work, including a frame repaint and new cadmium and chrome plating on selected parts, but the seat, tank, mudguards and bodywork were untouched, with the wheels, shocks and most other parts also the 1975 originals.
Internally, the engine was good, but thanks to new rings, valve lapping and rebuilt carbies – all performed by the skilled mechanics at Surfside - it now runs much sweeter.
As good as this bike is nowthe owner has plans for other MV Agusta projects, so has decided to offer it for sale. The odometer shows 16,881 kms, around 1,600 of which have been racked up here.
The asking price is $150,000. See the advert in the current issue of JUST BIKES, online HERE, or call Peter Weste at Surfside Motorcycle Garage on (02) 9905 4755 for more details.
Words: Mike Ryan
Photos: Courtesy of Surfside Motorcycles
