When the motorcycle itself is the adventure:
- Thread starter MTVR
- Start date
The MV Agusta factory is like nothing I've ever seen. Even the parts that you can't see once assembled, look like jewelry. The tubular chrome moly trellis frames are TIG-welded by hand. They are painted by a painter, not by a robot. One guy, with one hammer, pounds every single valve seat into every single cylinder head. Every single engine gets run on the dyno wide open to redline, before it is installed. Every single completed motorcycle is run on a chassis dyno. When we toured the factory, located on the shores of Lake Varese, they told us that Honda spends an average of 11 minutes of hand labor on each complete motorcycle, and MV Agusta spends 11 hours just on the engine.
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CampStewart
Observer
Why F3, was the F4 too powerful?
Lol- 148 horsepower seemed like enough for my purposes. Besides, I already had an open-class motorcycle.
In the end, the F3 800 just moved me the most. It was the last motorcycle designed by the late Massimo Tamburini, the "Michelangelo of motorcycles". The 13,500 rpm reverse-rotation long-stroke titanium-valve inline triple rips like a twin right off idle, and yet has top end power like a four cylinder. With three cylinders instead of four, the engine is narrower, giving more cornering clearance. It was 40 pounds lighter than the F4, a generation newer than the F4, and handles better than any motorcycle I've ever ridden.
In the end, the F3 800 just moved me the most. It was the last motorcycle designed by the late Massimo Tamburini, the "Michelangelo of motorcycles". The 13,500 rpm reverse-rotation long-stroke titanium-valve inline triple rips like a twin right off idle, and yet has top end power like a four cylinder. With three cylinders instead of four, the engine is narrower, giving more cornering clearance. It was 40 pounds lighter than the F4, a generation newer than the F4, and handles better than any motorcycle I've ever ridden.
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wow.
Nice bike
My gf was seriously considering an 800 brutale, they are beautiful bikes. We ended up getting her a Street triple instead. I was worried about parts availability, since dealer support is non existent in our area for MV. We already have one Italian bike in the garage and that is enough for now.
My gf was seriously considering an 800 brutale, they are beautiful bikes. We ended up getting her a Street triple instead. I was worried about parts availability, since dealer support is non existent in our area for MV. We already have one Italian bike in the garage and that is enough for now.
Nice bike
My gf was seriously considering an 800 brutale, they are beautiful bikes. We ended up getting her a Street triple instead. I was worried about parts availability, since dealer support is non existent in our area for MV. We already have one Italian bike inthe garage and that is enough for now.
I totally understand. We looked at the MV Agusta Brutale 800 for my wife too, and ended up going another way. The Street Trip is a great bike. Did you get the 675, or the 765?
MV Agusta was not the only manufacturer that we toured. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Pagani, Ducati, and MV Agusta are all located within a few hours of each other in northern Italy, and we spent several days touring them all. We feel like we have a better understanding of how Italians do things now.
Ducati is a large-scale manufacturer with massive financial backing under Volkswagen. MV Agusta is a tiny little boutique manufacturer that is constantly on the brink of bankruptcy.
It's not that there is no MV Agusta dealer in my AREA, it's that there is no MV Agusta dealer in my STATE. I purchased this thing, knowing that I may very well be on my own here.
When I purchased it over the phone from an MV Agusta dealer in Southern California, they shipped it to me. When I picked it up, the aptly named "BS" brand battery was dead. I wasn't able to jump-start it, because the battery is buried deep in the center of the bike, requiring removal of the tail section, fuel tank, and multiple trim panels, just to reach it. And I couldn't bump-start it, because the slipper clutch works so well. So I charged it with the supplied charger for 8 hours to get it started. But the battery would not hold a charge, so I replaced it with a Shorai lithium racing battery. My bike now lives on a Shorai battery charger, because it has a constant electrical draw- not because of any defect, but because it was designed that way, because- Italian.
Every time it starts up without blowing up or catching on fire, I thank my lucky stars. I don't even take it to the gas station for the ethanol-free fuel that it requires, because that would require pushing the starter button twice as many times- I throw my gas jug in the frunk of my Porsche convertible, go get gas, and refuel the MV before I ride. The exhaust system bakes the rear brake master cylinder to the point that the rear brake might as well have been designed by Nerf, but I don't use the rear brake, so that's okay.
When we toured Ducati, we were herded through like cattle, as part of a large group. Our tour guide didn't even mention Paul Smart's 1972 Imola 200 race-winning 750 Desmo twin (arguably the most significant motorcycle in Ducati's history) when we walked past it. When we showed up at MV Agusta for our scheduled tour, we found that they had gotten things mixed up, and there was no English-language tour that day. After much discussion, they finally found Marco, who gave the complete tour to us and one other couple, in two languages (and no pictures allowed inside the factory).
My point is, that the "Italian-ness" of MV Agusta, makes Ducati look like Honda by comparison.
We had briefly considered a new Panigale for me (this was before they came out with the V-4). We rented il mostro 1100 S when we visited the Isle Of Man for the TT races. But after seeing MV Agusta building motorcycles in person, our decision was made.
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In what way do you mean "wow"?
I wish the camera was capable of accurately depicting the colors- the red is redder than any red I've ever seen- I'm a retired cop, so I've seen plenty of blood, but I've never seen blood as red as this red. The silver looks like it was made of crushed diamonds.
The single-sided swingarm and trellis frame are sexy for sure, but Tamburini's bodywork is just impossibly gorgeous, from every angle.
For me, it is the sound and the physical sensation that speaks to me most. The titanium pipe-organ exhaust sounds as exotic as any V-12 Ferrari or Lamborghini, and the intake roar is even more so. The whole bike just tingles, in a way that the Japanese have carefully engineered out of their incredibly competent yet soulless machines.
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She's got the 675 triple.
Lol, I totally hear you on the Italian bike thing. I've got the budget Ducati, a monster 1100evo. Timing belts every two years and you have to set tension with a guitar tuner???!! And desmo valves that have double the shims. It puts a smile on my face when I look at it or ride though, so I'll keep it.
If I wanted a bike to ride all day, everyday I'd have probably gone with a VFR800. I rode a friend's for a year and that bike had over 100,000kms and was still going strong when he got it back. I had a weestrom that I put over 60,000kms on but I ride way less now than I used to due to a back injury.
Lol, I totally hear you on the Italian bike thing. I've got the budget Ducati, a monster 1100evo. Timing belts every two years and you have to set tension with a guitar tuner???!! And desmo valves that have double the shims. It puts a smile on my face when I look at it or ride though, so I'll keep it.
If I wanted a bike to ride all day, everyday I'd have probably gone with a VFR800. I rode a friend's for a year and that bike had over 100,000kms and was still going strong when he got it back. I had a weestrom that I put over 60,000kms on but I ride way less now than I used to due to a back injury.
This is also my first motorcycle with a full suite of electronic rider aids. Programmable Race ABS that works even at full lean. Rear Wheel Lift Mitigation. 8 programmable levels of traction control intervention. Electronic clutchless speed shifter. Ride by wire throttle with four programmable maps (including one custom map), programmable throttle sensitivity, programmable rate of throttle response, and it even has programmable engine compression braking that jacks the center throttle body open on decel so you can enter corners like a two-stroke if you want.
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jkam
nomadic man
KTM is selling two Moto GP bikes.
$340,000 each.
newatlas.com
$340,000 each.
KTM to sell two factory MotoGP bikes to the public at $340,000 each
KTM Motorsports is selling two race-prepared 2019 KTM RC16 factory MotoGP bikes in a move that seems certain to attract global attention. The bikes will be race-prepared and will be sold with a wide range of additional benefits including official KTM team apparel, merchandise, a set of Pol…
newatlas.com