Steve. Steve..
Oh dear.. what are you ON..?
“I’m amazed at the level of respect for this cool old bike”.. WHAT..??
Surely that is the difference between an American and an Anglo or European. If you’d been in the UK or Europe in the late 60’s and early 70’s.. you’d have known EXACTLY what this bike [or replica]
represents.
The finest melding of man and machine in GP racing history [with the possible exception of Tarquinio Provini and the FB Mondial.. but that was the 50’s and I was too young to see that]. And in period, simply the most gorgeous racebike with the best noise.. EVER.!!
Racing in the US has become quite something with the Roberts etc era and now the MotoGP period.
I was around then and I’m around now, then was wonderful, NOW is better. But, there still hasn’t been a bicycle to match this MV3. In any department.. performance, results, beauty, noise.
And, Agostini is still the ONE all the MotoGP boys aim for.. including Rossi [and he WAS almost there]. But he [Ago] wasn’t the greatest.. and neither is Rossi .. 29 guesses who.. IMHO, is the GREATEST.. I’ll give you a clue. He was retired at 27, with all his glories intact. Just amazing and I saw him many times. Deep joy.
Regards as ever
WF
CARLISLE UK
Oh yes, I meant to add..
I understand the asking price for these MV3 rep’s is in the region of GBP£ 250k.. approx USD$ 400k.
And, trust me, if I had the wherewithal.. I would certainly buy one and put it where I could see it every hour of every day.
Folks pay such monies for antiques and such.. surely, we all can have a rather lovely, small red motorcycle.. as a keepsake of our youth. Nice eh..?
Regards again
WF
CARLISLE UK
Knew I could count on you William! Greatest bike/rider combo ever? Certainly a solid argument over the course of a career. But if I could watch just one season it would have been Roberts. A bit before my time but his battles with Sheen on 2 strokes (my personal preference for true GP bikes) would do it for me every time.
Dear clasq..
You are so right.. SMBH it was.. and remains. Well, at least for those of us of a certain age.
Tho’ the UK/ Euro press always seem to shout for Rossi as the “Goat” the greatest of all time.. he’s NOT.. but he surely IS the best modern.
Things are not always what they seem in “the press”. I spoke to Michael a few times after his return. He’d tried living in NZ and S. Africa, he was no business man, ventures had failed [as they did in the UK]..
Unhappy and [ I always feel, bored..] and wanting something “EXTRA” to do.. aha ! I’ll race bikes again..
Most of us fans in the UK were horrified.. I was so afraid that he’d ruin the perfect history and look foolish. Oh foolish me..! Oh me of little faith.. and the rest is history.
I knew Michael well enough from the mid 60’s. We weren’t buddies, I didn’t go round to dinner. BUT, we talked often.. I have some old photo’s.. many happy memories of him. He was just the nicest fellow.. and I tried his 500 Honda [sat on it !] whilst he explained things. He was lovely and that’s the TRUTH.
But, he wouldn’t suffer fools and could be really harsh with those who were.. “rude” !
He once told me to F’off after I chided him for being sharp with some youths [ who were in truth, being smart-arsed..]. So I [looking wounded I suppose..] walked off and went to see someone else and lo,
here comes Michael all sheepish and apologies and a hug.
If you knew him, the appalling accident and his death were one of the shattering events of my life. Like others I remember with great sadness.. JFK, Dr King, J. Lennon.. heartbreakers and many, many tears. He was buried on my birthday.. I’m sure you can imagine how I felt.
For me, and untold thousands more, he remains the TOTAL and UTTER KING of our wonderful sport.
So, yours in sport
WF
CARLISLE UK
Motorcycle Photo Of The Day 
Steve. Steve..
Oh dear.. what are you ON..?
“I’m amazed at the level of respect for this cool old bike”.. WHAT..??
Surely that is the difference between an American and an Anglo or European. If you’d been in the UK or Europe in the late 60’s and early 70’s.. you’d have known EXACTLY what this bike [or replica]
represents.
The finest melding of man and machine in GP racing history [with the possible exception of Tarquinio Provini and the FB Mondial.. but that was the 50’s and I was too young to see that]. And in period, simply the most gorgeous racebike with the best noise.. EVER.!!
Racing in the US has become quite something with the Roberts etc era and now the MotoGP period.
I was around then and I’m around now, then was wonderful, NOW is better. But, there still hasn’t been a bicycle to match this MV3. In any department.. performance, results, beauty, noise.
And, Agostini is still the ONE all the MotoGP boys aim for.. including Rossi [and he WAS almost there]. But he [Ago] wasn’t the greatest.. and neither is Rossi .. 29 guesses who.. IMHO, is the GREATEST.. I’ll give you a clue. He was retired at 27, with all his glories intact. Just amazing and I saw him many times. Deep joy.
Regards as ever
WF
CARLISLE UK
Oh yes, I meant to add..
I understand the asking price for these MV3 rep’s is in the region of GBP£ 250k.. approx USD$ 400k.
And, trust me, if I had the wherewithal.. I would certainly buy one and put it where I could see it every hour of every day.
Folks pay such monies for antiques and such.. surely, we all can have a rather lovely, small red motorcycle.. as a keepsake of our youth. Nice eh..?
Regards again
WF
CARLISLE UK
@William Ferry: The answer is Mike Hailwood. But you are forgetting the 1978 comeback.
Knew I could count on you William! Greatest bike/rider combo ever? Certainly a solid argument over the course of a career. But if I could watch just one season it would have been Roberts. A bit before my time but his battles with Sheen on 2 strokes (my personal preference for true GP bikes) would do it for me every time.
Dear clasq..
You are so right.. SMBH it was.. and remains. Well, at least for those of us of a certain age.
Tho’ the UK/ Euro press always seem to shout for Rossi as the “Goat” the greatest of all time.. he’s NOT.. but he surely IS the best modern.
Things are not always what they seem in “the press”. I spoke to Michael a few times after his return. He’d tried living in NZ and S. Africa, he was no business man, ventures had failed [as they did in the UK]..
Unhappy and [ I always feel, bored..] and wanting something “EXTRA” to do.. aha ! I’ll race bikes again..
Most of us fans in the UK were horrified.. I was so afraid that he’d ruin the perfect history and look foolish. Oh foolish me..! Oh me of little faith.. and the rest is history.
I knew Michael well enough from the mid 60’s. We weren’t buddies, I didn’t go round to dinner. BUT, we talked often.. I have some old photo’s.. many happy memories of him. He was just the nicest fellow.. and I tried his 500 Honda [sat on it !] whilst he explained things. He was lovely and that’s the TRUTH.
But, he wouldn’t suffer fools and could be really harsh with those who were.. “rude” !
He once told me to F’off after I chided him for being sharp with some youths [ who were in truth, being smart-arsed..]. So I [looking wounded I suppose..] walked off and went to see someone else and lo,
here comes Michael all sheepish and apologies and a hug.
If you knew him, the appalling accident and his death were one of the shattering events of my life. Like others I remember with great sadness.. JFK, Dr King, J. Lennon.. heartbreakers and many, many tears. He was buried on my birthday.. I’m sure you can imagine how I felt.
For me, and untold thousands more, he remains the TOTAL and UTTER KING of our wonderful sport.
So, yours in sport
WF
CARLISLE UK