An important milestone achieved by the iconic 98 cc engine from MV Agusta: the engine from the Schiranna company turns 80, a special birthday that encompasses the history of the two wheels of the Italian brand. The epic of this unit is closely intertwined with the post-war events in Italy when Domenico Agusta began the adventure of Meccanica Verghera, the first historic company that anticipated the current MV Agusta.
The birth of MV Agusta
To retrace the history of the Schiranna brand and of this engine, however, it is necessary to take a further step back: in 1943 it was now clear that the war would be lost, and that the production of aircraft for military use would soon end. A future had to be ensured for “Costruzioni Aeronautiche Giovanni Agusta”, the company that Domenico Agusta had started managing since 1927, when the founder, Count Giovanni Agusta, died at the age of only 48. Without the need to produce aircraft, they tried to think of cars but the scarce resources led the company to live on motorcycles. This was the motivation that prompted Count Agusta to undertake the development of an engine that would allow this commercial opportunity to be explored.
The 98cc engine
In August 1943, the engine for motorcycle use was ready to start mass production, designed and studied in every detail, in order to prepare the models necessary for casting the individual parts. The choice was to focus on a simple and economical engine, reliable and easy to maintain: single cylinder, 98 cc, two-stroke with three-port distribution, primary gear transmission, clutch and block gearbox with grease lubrication. It was therefore a simple solution, which would allow mass and economic production. In September 1943, however, the German army occupied the Agusta plant, forcing the stop of production. Fortunately, all the models and drawings of the first 98 engine had been hidden a few weeks earlier in the homes and basements of the most trusted technicians and engineers to protect them from eventual looting by the army.
The beginning of a legend
The projects and models of the 98 engine remained hidden for a few months, to then be resumed towards the middle of the following year, a period in which the production works resumed which will allow, the following year, to give birth to the first motorcycle branded MV (Meccanica Verghera): the MV 98. The 98 engine, whose project, like the first prototypes, was completed just before the invasion, 80 years ago, represents the starting point of a glorious story of passion, successes, performance and style.
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