MV AGUSTA SUPERVELOGE BOO V Agusta's resurgence under Russian on'nership has been punctuated br- the arrival of a couple of exciting new models conceived under the company's previous orvner Giovanni Castiglioni. No question that It the same dry i weight as the with a 52148 the one most eagerly admired F3 a composite percent bias, and the same gorgeous, is the ultra-striking frame, follows MY's 1380mm wheelbase. Superveloce 800, a 1iterally signature format, with a unique blend of old and new, chrome-moly tubular steel retro and avantgarde, classic and modern. upper spaceframe attached It's a fitting grand finale to its creator Adrian to aluminum side plates, Morton's 16-year stint as MVAgusta's Director which wrap around the motor and join up behind it, thus of Design Isee breakout] . During a career delivering added stiff ness spanning three changes of MV ownership, from and strength. the Castiglioni family to Harley-Davidson, back to the Castiglionis and now to the Sardarovs, Morton has consistently kept the company at the forefront of design-led innovation. And the Superveloce is a superlative exit statement that his successors will do well to emulate. Based on the three-cylinder F3 800 Supersport platform, the Superveloce was first exhibited as a concept model at the 2018 EICMA Milan Show, where it was chosen as the Most Beautiful Motorcycle of the Show by over 16,000 voters - against such equally new high-performance desirables as the Ducati Panigale V4 R, the BMW S 1000 RR andAprilia's RSV4 1100 Factory. MVAgusta was then invited to exhibit the bike the following May at the prestigious Vr'IIa d'Este Concorso d'Eleganza, where it won first prize in the concept bike category. But that same weekend MV opened its online order book for customers to reserve the 300 examples of the limited edition Serie Oro production run, retailing at27,990 euros ($45,000) in the solitary available livery of metallic scarlet and silver - and according to MV's R&D Director, Brian Gillen, these sold out within six days. Production of these, which are almost indistinguishable from last year's prize-winning concept model, began as promised in February 1} this year - but was slowed down by MV's 10-week pandemic shutdown, and according to Gillen has only just been completed. But at the EICMA Show a year later, alongside this limited-edition model, MVAgusta also unveiled a volume production version of the bike with equally enticing looks, retailing in Italy at 20,300 euros ($32,000) and with a three-year unlimited-kilometre warranty. On a hot 36'C Italian summer's day riding one of the first examples off the production line, I need to find out the answer to the all-important question: is the Superveloce all show and not so much go - or is lt even remotely as much fun to ride as it is to 1. The Superveloce -"""..?lr.r...'.tviNL a look at? mixes modern tech re like the TFT display... Because in slashing the Serie Oro version's steep price by a quarter, MV 2. ... with some retro has some of features, like the sacrificed the more leather strapped obvious bling on the bike, without tank impactingvery much on the model's 3. Chassis is similar, exquisite lines. With its fairing's combining composite slightly convex flanks devoid of engine subrame with any visible screws conveying the trellis top frame impression of the Superveloce being 50 [$ amcn.com.au 1 0totsirailar o like tfie a messages and music thanks set to a Bluetooth smartphone connection. r- c G dl- ffi.-r, ra6, r ffit 'ffi' + t-t-: . .' I rill a o I I I I I II I f,r I I I I l I I I , I t[: lt I I \ TICAt I *; I I I I I I T :i-J I I I Hi lt 1 I I I I I t, I t il[[l I I I lii I I1 \l i I I I I poised to leap forward when viewed or. from side It's a sense accenruated by the b;;, il;;_ shaped nose culminating in rl" ,L-r"na"'';;i;:, ( .llip:.o1au] projector heaarrrnp *r,i.r,liilI'ir-," 4x"\ i1 the slimly tap..ed ij]J]tsnt tuit u"i oitr* u*"-' +.- rncorporating a vestigial passenger ,E sea, pua, i, i\ an L.ED item. The numbei plare t'u, ol.n'rnlu.O further tr. down the wheel to i d"di"ut"J h;ft;;;; ,' as not to disrupt the -al clean appearance at the rear.-'' There's a smali spoiler at tt iop oiit which " Iooks a litile curious at first, Urt";;;; Oo"rri i11lact.your view as you squat down u"rrirJit. r nts bodywork is made in thin plastic sheetins -/ ratherthan rhe Serie oro,s carb#tilr;;i,rr;ir'* Gillen says brings only a I.5kg weight rn qelrveri o.""iir" ng a claimed dry weight for it Uifu tZS.tq, exactly the same as tf,"" pg. ff," " arumtntum9l .uri- single_sided srvingarm is painted amcn.com.au f,filSl MV AGUSTA SUPERVELOCE BOO 1. a * q bronze on the Oro, black on the standard bike I e - and the Oro's retro-style but radical-looking tlr rll E-motion wheels, each with 24 thick spokes I I individuallybolted to an alloyrim, are replaced I I $ |. \ by the F3's more conventional cast aluminium six-spoke affairs. The top-shelf model also comes The Supervelocewas with a neo-Agostini triple-pipe racing exhaust MV's first application system by SC Project, with two pipes on one side of virtualdesignmodel and a single on the other, whereas the standard technology bike uses the same stacked 3-1-3 'Morton organ' ,,MV COMPLETELY exhaust system as the F3 800. modelled the bike from a Even with the changes in air intake design, 3D perspective inside the the Superveloce boasts identical outright computer, With a virtual performance to the F3 800, with l0BkW (148hp) prototype, you put on virtual available at 13,000rpm, and peak torque of BBNm goggles and you reality at 10,600rpm. Engine internals are unchanged can walk around the bike, except for altered valve timing, but the Eldor ECU vou can see how the light reflects off it, you can see its has been remapped to deliver a fatter midrange, shape and form and almost :.1 in keeping with which the final-drive ratio has touch the bike, and you feel almost like you can hop aboard itl "Using virtual design ,\ technology means that in addition to cuttrng down I on the significant cost of making a clay model, it's n; like hitting the gas pedal on the design process, so you can jump through iterations and go down a bunch of rabbit holes very quickly, and then tal(e one step back and say, 'ol(ay, this is the direction we want to go"'. :'': ;'-: i;:',1:r:r.:::a'' 52 ffi amcn.com.au I IJIIDTR TllE c0IlrRs Almost identical to the F3, herc's an engine techrecap t MV AGUSTA's COMPACT, potent DOHC 12-valve three-cylinder engine powering the Superveloce 800 weighs just 54k9, with its slant-blocl( closed decl( cylinders inclinecl forward at 35". Its 120" plain-bearing crankshaft runs backwards - an unusual feature shared with most MotocP bil(es. This is made possible on the MV by the use of a counterbalancer shaft weighing 1.88k9 driven directly off the crank, which also saves space and weight by performing several other tasks, The forged steel conrods carry ultra- slipper Iightweight forged pistons with very short I sl(irts, delivering a 13.3:1 compression. These run in the Nikasil-lined bores of the cylinders cast integrally into the upper crankcase half, with just4mmwall thicl(ness between them, to minimise the width of the engine. The wide diameter bore means there's plenty been lowered by 4T on the rear sprocket, thus really well, and isn't as sensitive as some are that of space for Iarge titanium enhancing low-down acceleration. change gear practically as soon as you wave your valves in the compact Climbing aboard the Superveloce immediately toe at the lever. cylinder head, with the reveals a subtly more welcoming, even You don't need to use the gearbox as pailed 31.8mm inlets and comfortable ridlng position than the much as on the F3, because there's good 27.7mm exhausts set at 23" F3's more track-focused stance. The The view top gear roll-on from as low as 5000rpm, total included angle. l. from the handlebars have been raised lBmm rear is a mix of 'racing' making the Superveloce a really easy The trademark stacked triple exit pipe exhaust and are 6mm further back, and the seat and'wow' bike to ride in everyday conditions. system features an exhaust is actually lower. 2. Trademark MV triple At low speeds though, you do notice valve located between the "Weloweredthetailsectionbyl5mm pipesmatchwithartistic someheatfromtheleftsideofthe catalytic converter and the to get the rider sitting more into the cast wheels motorcycle - though given the ambient silencer, that's controlled bike," Gillen says. 3. Braking is similar to temperature I was riding in, that's not a by the Eldor ECU. Little things mean a lot, because this that on the F3 complaint I'll attribute to the bike. Dual injectors on each means there isn't as much weight on Does look like But get the engine revving to the of the three SOmm Mikuni 4.