MV Agusta has a knack for launching limited edition models. Well, as the saying goes, if you have the look, flaunt it. And flaunt it they do with this eye-popping Dragster 800 RR Pirelli.
MV Agusta is always on the cutting edge of motorcycle design and the 2018 Dragster800 RR is a result of that philosophy. However, the bike begs to be customized despite already looking great as stock (especially that truncated tail).
On the other hand, famed tyre maker Pirelli is not a stranger to style, either, so it is only right that these two Italian firms worked on a motorcycle together.
The project started with the bike as a canvas with cosmetic changes added to it. There two models, one in black and yellow and the other in white and blue.
Either way, both models stand as homages to Pirelli brand, therefore there are plenty of Pirelli designed details scattered throughout the bike.
For example, the rub tank pad, passenger seat and instrument cluster nacelle bear the Pirelli Supercorsa SP’s lightning bolt-like tread pattern. The three exhaust tips are coated in a special ceramic paint.
Other cosmetic touches are the yellow or blue power-coated trellis frame, prominent Pirelli stencil, Diablo logo on the tank, vinyl on the rims and specially lettered and lined Supercorsa SP tyres.
There is no news yet of how many MV Agusta Dragster 800 RR Pirelli will be produced and its price. We also wonder if it could appear in Malaysia, given the mess left behind by DNC Asiatic (Demak).
Demak shuts down: What could have happened to this promising Malaysian motorcycle builder?
We reported in May this year that the DNC Asiatic, the manufacturer and distributor of Demak motorcycles had shut its factory and service centres, including the MV Agusta showroom and workshop.
However, no one could put a finger on why the company tanked so quickly after showing so much promise, especially after opening their new office building and factory in Banting, Selangor. The lack of a definitive answer meant speculations started flying.
Now there seems to be a revelation of what happened. The Edge had recently reported that the company has gone into receivership as DNC Asiatic Holdings Sdn. Bhd. as Maybank seeks to recoup the monies owed to them.
The Edge discovered that work halted at both the Banting and Kuching plants two months ago, following the disappearance of two DNC Asiatic directors and general manager six months ago.
The business paper also performed a check with the Companies Commision of Malaysia (Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia or SSM), the shareholders are Gao Rong (70%), Dato’ Seri Feona Sim @ Norjanah. The directors are Gao, Sim, Sharifah Nong Jasima Syed Junaidi and Hu Ying. Lim Boo Hing is the company’s secretary as well as General Manager at the Banting plant. Both Gao and Hu are Chinese nationals who have since become Malaysian citizens.
According to The Edge’s sources, Gao, Hu and Lim could not be located.
Dato’ Seri Feona Sim the spouse of former Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar. Sharifah, on the hand, is the couple’s daughter.
Contrary to popular belief, the SSM revealed that DNC Asiatic had been profitable for the last five years. In fact, revenues had more than doubled to RM 195.59 million in the financial year ended 31st December 2016, compared to RM 92.57 million in FY 2012. Accordingly, net profit rose to RM 10.73 million in FY 2016 as opposed to RM 8.17 million in FY 2012.
From that, DNC Asiatic’s accumulated profit was RM 73.38 million in FY 2016 with total liabilities of RM 129.33 million. Also, according to SSM, the company may owe Maybank as much as RM 54 million, besides other debts to Kuwait Finance House and Bank Islam.
However, DNC Asiatic announced that they had entered the Cambodian market and would be shipping 25,000 motorcycles and parts worth US$ 56 million by the second quarter of this year. This is on top of the motorcycles being exported to Sri Lanka and Myanmar.
Executive Hu quoted that they had started to shift their focus towards the export market, with half of the annual 60,000 units produced at Banting being exported. Production capacity at the Kuching plant was also reported to be at 60,000 per year.
Additionally, DNC Asiatic had been building a plant in Colombo, Sri Lanka, as we have reported.
That was the report be obtained but again, we could only speculated about the missing directors and general manager. However, we now know that production had stopped after their disappearance.
This is the first official image of the MV Agusta MotoGP race bike slotted to make its debut in the Moto2 series of 2019.
Previewed on the official MotoGP website, the Forward Racing Team will race the MV Agusta with support from the Italian factory.
This is not the first time that MV Agusta will be racing in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, in fact, MV Agusta still is the most successful European motorcycle manufacturer of all time with a total of 75 world titles between 1952 and 1974.
Let that sink in for a while.
Check out the official video from the Forward Racing Team as they work on their new race bike.
A brief history
MV Agusta, which stands for Meccanica Verghera Agusta, was founded in 1945 in Cascina Costa, Italy.
If you’re wondering, Meccanica means Mechanic in Italian, Verghera is the hamlet where the first motorcycle’s were made. And Agusta was originally an aviation company which was formed by a certain Count Giovanni Agusta in 1923.
Just like Ferrari, MV Agusta originally built road bikes solely to fund its racing efforts. The company won the first race it participated in 1948, and it all went up-hill from there.
The company was known to build the best racing bikes in the world, and spared no expense in its passion to pursue the ultimate race bike.
Soon customer teams lined up to buy a MV Agusta, and this boosted the factory’s profits and gave them more money to build better bikes.
In 1957, Italian motorcycle manufacturers Gilera, Moto Guzzi and Mondial had agreed to withdraw from GP racing due to its escalating cost. MV Agusta too had earlier agreed to withdraw, but ended up racing anyway. The company went on to win 17 consecutive 500cc world championships.
When Count Domenico Agusta, son of the founder who had died in 1927, died in 1971, the company is said to have lost its direction. MV Agusta won its last GP in 1976 and completely withdrew from racing in 1976. And it was all downhill for the company from there, until it was resurrected by Cagiva in 1991. The rest as they say, is history.
Here’s hoping the iconic Italian brand comes back to its winning ways and finds it way up to MotoGP.
Premium Italian motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta has unveiled their latest 2018 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso SCS just a couple of days ago. There are no major changes based on the looks but the SCS in the breathtaking name actually stands for “Smart Clutch System” which is completely brand new. (more…)
It was only last month that MV Agusta that they will be returning to the world of MotoGP in 2019 after a 42-year absence. A four-year deal has been signed with the Forward Racing team which will see them compete in a brand new reworked intermediate class that will run Triumph’s 765cc inline-three engine. (more…)
Not many manufacturers can pull off special models time after time and still be successful, relevant, and still beautiful. MV Agusta is one of a few brands out there that has specialised in special editions and their latest model further cemented that very fact. (more…)
It’s been a while since we last saw or heard the name MV Agusta being mentioned in the MotoGP universe. After over 40 years of absence, the premium Italian bike manufacturer has confirmed their return to the Grand Prix scene next season. (more…)
MV Agusta has announced that there will be launching an updated version of the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800 very, very soon. According to the latest report made by MCN, not a lot of details have been released by boss man Giovanni Castiglioni apart from a brand and mysterious clutch system. (more…)
The folks from MV Agusta have announced the star-spangled 2018 MV Agusta Brutale 800 RR America. This very limited edition has been launched to further promote their latest Brutale platform which now runs an updated 798cc inline-three engine which is now Euro4-compliant and punches out 140 plus 87Nm of torque. (more…)
© Copyright – BikesRepublic.com 2023 Trademarks belong to their respective owners. All rights reserved
