60 Greatest bikes: 1966 MV Agusta 600GT

Updated: 23 March 2015

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It’s widely considered to be one of the ugliest motorcycles ever built – thanks in no small part to the huge Fiat car headlamp bolted incongruously onto its nose. But the 600GT is also one of the rarest MV Agustas, and it was an important model as it was MV’s first DOHC four-cylinder production bike.

Year: 1966
Manufacturer: MV Agusta
Model: 600GT
Claim to fame: MV Agusta’s first DOHC four-cylinder production bike
Did you know?: The GT’s unkind nickname was ‘the Black Pig.’

Only 127 units were built and there was a certain logic behind the GT’s ‘distinctive’ looks. MV had been slow to capitalise on all its racing success and even by 1966 had still not released a large capacity four-cylinder bike for the road, preferring instead to focus on smaller capacity machines. When the firm eventually decided to build a four-cylinder production bike, Count Domenico Agusta did not want them to be raced in case poor results devalued the brand.

So MV launched an unfaired, shaft-driven tourer with a bulbous fuel tank just to be sure. Making 60bhp, weighing in at 220kg, and with a top speed of around 108mph, the ugly GT was an expensive sales flop and MV was forced to change tactics and launch the far racier 750 Sport in 1970. Needless to say, the 600 was discontinued soon afterwards, although it still retains a small cult following.

To mark 60 years of publication, we are proud to prompt maybe the most controversial debate yet!

Between now and the end of the year we will keep the argument, over which of these bikes is the best that we’ve seen over our sixty years, raging and we want you to get involved. Cast your vote, send in tales and pictures as you make a case for your personal favourite.

By MCN Compare