Legend of the Motorcycle 2008

Story by Michael T. Lynch

For some, the Legend of the Motorcycle celebration began mid-week as small groups began to depart for the event. More organized was a private MV Agusta group that came up from Los Angeles.
It included former works riders Giacomo Agostini and Phil Read and a stop at Jay Leno’s Garage. Arrival at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay California on Friday, May 2nd, preceded a reception for LoM participants that evening. The elegant Quail Motorcycle Tour rode in from Carmel on Saturday to enjoy private hospitality to complement the show itself.

The third edition of this festival of motorcycle history was a rare delight for lovers of Italian machinery. One of the two featured marques was MV Agusta and there were near 50 of the exotic bikes hailing from Cascina Costa in the Lombardy region.

The Agusta family had been aviation pioneers since the First World War, but got into motorcycle production after World War II because of the decline in demand for military aircraft and the concurrent rise in sales of personal two-wheeled transportation. At the beginning, the production bikes were small displacement tiddlers, but the company head, Count Domenico Agusta, had a strong competitive streak and the MVs (Meccanica Verghera Agusta) were soon winning on race courses.

In 1952, Brit Cecil Sanford won MV’s first Grand Prix World Championship in the 125cc class. Between then and 1974, when Phil Read took MV’s last championship, the machines from Cascina Costa with their flashing red and silver fairings won 37 manufacturer’s championships and 38 for riders. In 1958-59-60, their dominance was so complete that they won all four solo classes in the World Championship, 125cc, 250, 350 and 500.

Multiple World Champions Carlo Ubbiali, John Surtees, Gary Hocking, Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini and Phil Read created the MV legend. After 1974, the onslaught of Japanese two-strokes took over and it was not until last year that an Italian marque, Casey Stoner’s Ducati Desmosedici GP7, again won motor cycling’s top prize.

Agostini was the honored guest at the Legend of the Motorcycle, recognizing his record of 122 Grand Prix wins and 15 World Championships. His history was intertwined with MV Agusta and he won the company’s last Grand Prix at Germany’s legendary Nurburgring in 1976. Ago’s movie star looks and patrician manner were the same as in his winning days. He, and sometimes teammate Phil Read, another MV World Champion, graciously signed autographs and schmoozed the crowd gathered around the MV tent.

Guests circulated along the line of MVs placed at the edge of the Pacific, enjoying a wide selection. The other featured marque was Britain’s Norton, so lovers of competition machinery had plenty to look at. There was the usual catholic selection of choppers, trails bikes, board racers, desert sleds and many other iterations of the two-wheel theme.

A charity auction began at noon and later in the afternoon, the awards ceremony began, with winners and runners-up being driven across the ramp to enthusiastic cheers. Best in Show was taken by Vince Martinico’s unrestored 1908 Indian Torpedo Tank Racer, which was also awarded the Sculptor’s Award and the Preservation Award. Other notable winners were Robert Arhontes’ MV 175 CS Turismo Esportazione Lusso, which took the MV class; Gus Varetakis’ Norton 650 Mercury (Norton Production) and Jamie Walters’ Norton 750 Ron Wood flat tracker (Norton Competition). Virgil Elings’ 1967 Honda RC181 4C 500cc GP bike took the postwar competition class. This was the model that carried Mike Hailwood to 6 wins in 1967, and Nobby Clarke, the man who fettled it then was at the LoM. Gary Kohs’ MV Squalo racer was given the Founder’s Award. This year’s Steve McQueen Award was won by Tim Gilligan’s 1966 Triumph T120R. It was presented by McQueen’s son, Chad. (See Steve McQueen: The Last Mile).

The day wasn’t over, and Bonhams and Butterfields had scheduled an auction for 4:30. Over 100 bikes crossed the block plus many more lots of memorabilia. For years, MV Agustas have been the price leaders among Italian street bikes on the auction circuit. However, MVs haven’t won a World Championship for a quarter century. Meanwhile, riders who started out on Ducati singles in the 1960s and worked their way through the V-twins when they became available are now in their peak earning years and there are a lot more of them than MV fanciers. This situation has finally manifested itself in auction results. The top sale at Bonhams and Butterfields LoM sale was achieved by a Ducati 750SS at $117k. Next in the price sweepstakes was an MV 861 Magni, a bike made after production ceased, by Arturo Magni, once MV’s head race mechanic. It brought a smidgen over $69k. It wasn’t long ago that you could get an MV 750 for $35k, but the price rise has been exacerbated by the dollar’s decline against the Euro and Pound, which makes these dollar prices seem like bargains to the Brits and Continentals.

As the happy buyers and sellers streamed out of the showroom, there was still the Dinner of Legends to attend. Good friends, some of whom had not seen each other since last year’s show, exchanged hugs and stories of life on the roads of the world.

Sunday morning saw the Tour of the Legends head down the ocean road and up into the coastal range. This was followed by a brunch, laid on as only the Ritz can do it. With that over, we await next year’s show. The featured marques for 2009 were announced as Indian and NSU. Set your calendar for the first weekend in May next year. The Legend of the Motorcycle is a can’t miss event for motorcycle enthusiasts, and calls for at least one visit in a lifetime from serious aficionados of extraordinary transportation. There’s no other event where you can not only see the great marques of motorcycle history, but also those who designed, built, prepared, rode and wrote about them.