By Mrs Gowan
In a galaxy far, far away
I had always wanted a road bike. I learnt to ride on a mountain goat farm bike, but my father wouldn’t let me have a motorcycle. A wheelbarrow with a motor had to suffice...
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Partner in crime
Fast forward several years and my husband helped me and taught me to ride road bikes, and I was hooked. There is a lot more to this story, and maybe I’ll tell it in another article; it involves me keeping my husband’s much loved 99 GSX-R 750X with a complete Arrow race exhaust system and giving him my GSX-R400 to do what he wanted with…. that’s another story for another day though….
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Expensive tastes
It was decided one weekend that we’d ride from Wanganui to Motomart to see the new MV Agusta F4 750. We had read about it in magazines and wanted to see one. So off we went. It was a fair hike from Wanganui on sports bikes, but it was a fun ride.
We got to Motomart, but they were shut, so the three of us pressed our faces against the window, and ogled all the exotica inside. The MV was on display, front and centre, I was in love, it looked so good, those flowing lines, the under-seat exhaust, it just looked fast, and I knew my butt would look fast on it too!!
But, the price, oh my god!! I could never afford that, never. We set off for home. All I could think of was that red and silver MV Agusta, and how it just looked so good.
We all said it was just an expensive way to go slower than a GSX-R750, but even so, I still couldn’t forget it. We even saw a couple being raced at Manfield and that sound!! It was just different to all the other bikes, very distinctive.
Compromise then true love
I moved on to a K4 GSX-R1000, then a K6 GSX-R1000 before a lifestyle change, and we sold our bikes. But within a few years, and another change of jobs we were discussing road bikes again. We both started looking, and I astounded my husband by finding a 2002 MV Agusta F4 750S Diamante Monoposto for sale in Auckland, and we could afford it!! A deal was done, and I finally owned my dream bike!!
Ok, it’s not the red silver one I first saw, but there aren’t many Diamante Monoposto ones around!! Sadly, someone had cut the decal out of the top of the air box, it had 37 stars representing MV’s 37 GP victories, luckily MV had two left, but they are now discontinued. We bought them both, along with every other decal it needed, and decided to get it tidied up. The painter discovered it wasn’t the correct silver, and painstakingly matched it to the correct colour and painted the whole bike!! It now looks stunning! The blue flip in the silver really does make it pop in the sun.
The bike was everything I imagined it to be, and the sound from those four under-seat pipes is music to my ears!! I love this bike!! It handles well, has great power, looks stunning and is a blast to ride. Yes, it is more work than 1000, and it needs a bit more careful gear selection to get the best out of it, but it is so rewarding when you get it right.
It had a couple of issues, a slight weave, which turned out to be a steering damper that has swollen seals causing too much stiction, and a bad contact on a relay. Other than that, it has been hassle-free riding.
A few years later, the opportunity arose to buy a 2006 MV Agusta F4 1000R, so I did. Now I have two glorious MVs!! But the Diamante is my baby, I have turned down a few offers to sell it, I just can’t let it go, I love it that much!!
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