Dr. Brian Gillen has left MV Agusta, where he worked as the chief project engineer for 15 years. During that time, he proved capable of identifying and solving numerous issues with MV Agusta models, particularly power units, in terms of both reliability and performance. He was able to extract the best from the 675cc three-cylinder F3 and safely increase it to 800cc with excellent performance, making the F3 800 RR a highly attractive mid-displacement sportbike.
Perhaps Gillen’s most notable technical achievement was the complete redesign of the 1,000cc inline-four F4, which had accumulated more reliability problems than expected at MV Agusta. The F4 unit was practically extinct when Gillen accepted the challenge. He resolved all the issues and transformed it into a very powerful and solid engine. It required a lot of hard work, but it was worth it.
Gillen’s latest accomplishment was the new 931cc LPX Orioli engine. The new unit was partially derived from MV Agusta’s 800cc three-cylinder unit, although it is new with potential, mainly because it is fully compatible with the Euro 5 standard with large margins that will facilitate its evolution to Euro 6. In the LPX Orioli, it produces an alleged 124 hp at 10,000 rpm, with a torque of 102 Nm peaking at 7,000 rpm.
In the last three years, Gillen also served as the director of CRC, MV Agusta’s advanced research center in the Republic of San Marino. He was the man responsible for pulling MV Agusta out of tough times and putting it in a positive enough condition to attract the attention of the Pierer Group.
To be clear, Gillen is leaving MV Agusta by his own decision in order to accept an offer from India’s TVS Motor Company to become the technical director of Norton. Gillen has always loved and considers Norton one of the most iconic brands in the motorcycle industry.
Gillen admitted that his departure from MV Agusta was very emotional. He added that he is looking forward to joining Norton’s engineering team to design and develop highly advanced and prestigious Norton models that will compete in the highly competitive global motorcycle arena.
