Motorcycle Test by Adam Child ‘Chad’ – Photography Tim Keeton

When MV Agusta first unveiled the Superveloce in 2018, my jaw hit the floor. Now, on a perfect summer day in the UK, on the actual production bike, which isn’t too far removed from the beautiful prototype, I’m in love again. She is stunning.

A simple question, is there a more desirable, sexier, production bike on the market?

It’s unique, a throwback to the ’70s when MV dominated racing, it’s individual and daring. It’s built and manufactured in Italy, produced by an iconic brand, with an eye for detail.

Check out the single LED headlight and taillight, the protruding three exhausts give you an indication of it’s the engine, the ‘dummy’ leather strap over the fuel tanks, is lavish, over the top, doesn’t’ have a purpose, but I still like it.

MV has hidden all the fairing fasteners and unsightly bolts, it gives the appearance the sculpted 70’s bodywork is floating – it’s the attention to detail and lavish styling I love.

On looks alone, it must be one of the highlights of this year, arguably the last five-years. It’s based on the highly acclaimed, track-focused, if slightly dated F3, so it should perform. But, does it go as well as it looks? A week in the UK and nearly 1500 kilometres miles should give us some answers.

Peak power and torque is identical to the MV F3 which was launched back in 2013, yes that long ago. Peak power is 148 ponies at 13,000 rpm while the 88 Nm of torque peaks at 10,600rpm. The torque and power curves are identical between the two models, however the Superveloce has altered fuelling to compensate for the change in the air-box intake runners, which differ slightly from the F3.

In today’s world where super-naked and superbikes are producing eyewatering power, the new MV may not have the power figure to impress mate down the pub, but in the real word, on the road, the power is impressive and usable. You don’t have to dance around on the gear selector in search of power, the three cylinder, complete with counter-roting crank, has usable power lower down in the rev range, then really starts to take off and run from the mid-range onwards. There are also four rider modes, Sport, Race, Rain and a Custom mode which changes the engine characteristics and throttle response.

The three protruding exhausts down onside sound as good as they look. MV always produces a lovely sounding bike and the Superveloce continues that tradition. In-line triple engines sound great, and despite passing Euro-4 legislation the MV sounds tops via the 3-1-2 exhaust, more so as you send the digital rev-counter towards its redline. At tick-over its mildly humming, but still sounds unique. As the revs build so does its lungs, the MV is one of those bikes you just love to rev, just to hear the three exhausts holler.

On the road, you’d don’t really need to drop back a few gears for an overtake and you don’t have to leave every 50 km/h zone in second gear, there is more than enough usable torque, but because it sounds so good you can help to flick back a few gears, to allow the engine scream. The gear changes are effortless, due to a super smooth gearbox with an up and down quick-shifter. The auto-blipper matches the revs every time on rapid down changes, and the cut in power on up changes is race bike like, smooth and fast – love it. Even at low speeds, around 50-60 km/h the clutchless changes felt smooth on fuss-free. On occasions, I did accidentally manage to find neutral between 1st and 2nd, but only a few times on an 1200-km test.

The upper half of the rev range this is where the MV is the happiest though, in its element. Make no mistake the Superveloce is a quick bike, it might look like a 70’s throwback, but underneath there is still a F3 engine which wants to run. In the first gear and occasionally in second gear the eight-stage traction control must work overtime to keep the front wheel in contact with the ground. The counter-rotating crank, combined with a rider pushed forward over the top yoke, means it’s not a wheelie happy bike, you’re not fighting the front to keep it on the road, instead it just accelerates forward. However, if you do want to impress your mates it’s more than happy to loft the front, once you’ve deactivated the TC, which is easy to do and can be done on the move, thanks to the easy-to-use full colour TFT clocks. The Superveloce may look like a work of art, but don’t be mistaken it’s still a 240 km/h sportsbike underneath that retro clothing. It’s like Usain Bolt in a 70’s tracksuit.

Back in the real work, away from wheelies and top speed, MV has always been criticised for poor fuelling at low speeds. In Race mode, as you’d expect it’s a little harsh, but in Sport and even more so in Rain mode is much softer and easy-to-use. I, unfortunately, had to ride through a biblical rainstorm, lots of standing water and was thankful for the soft Rain mode.

The manual suspension set-up, fully-adjustable Marzocchi up front, and fully-adjustable single Sachs unit at the rear is identical to the F3. But for this year MV has added a new progressive linkage on the rear and revised the fork’s settings. The overall set-up, as you’d expect, is on the sporty side, but it’s not overly harsh, this isn’t a race bike for the road. But equally this isn’t a softly sprung sports bike, like a Triumph Dayton Moto2 for example, it’s friendly but only up to a point.

Like the engine the faster you ride, the happier the suspension and handling is, it copes with braking, acceleration, and cornering loads with ease. You could roll out onto a track day with little complaints, the set-up is track-ready with standard tyres. The Superveloce feels at home on the fast, smooth, and flowing sections; at times I had to remind myself I wasn’t in race leathers and had to pull my knee in to avoid contact with the road.

On bumpier, uneven sections the MV doesn’t feel as accomplished as it did on the fast-smooth sections. It’s stable, it’s not overly harsh like MV’s new Brutale 1000RR, and again the faster you go, the more you load the suspension the happier it feels. But on the odd occasion, the rear did jolt my spine. If I lived somewhere remote, used more B-roads than A I’d certainly think about opening up the suspension, make it plusher, more road-focused than track.

Around town at slow speed, whilst constantly admiring your reflection you will grimace from time to time. Pot-holes and speed humps aren’t your friends. The riding position is on the radical side, the seat isn’t soft enough – don’t forget that black visor to hide your discomfort. But aside from posing why are you in town? Get away from the big smoke, allow the MV to breathe, enjoy the sporty handling, and decide if it’s kneed down or knee up.

Like the suspension the Brembo radial stoppers are stolen from the F3, the same high quality set-up. Without an IMU, which measures lean angle, adjustable ABS braking is conventional and not lean-sensitive. I never had a problem with conventional ABS but some riders/owners may have expected cornering ABS on a premium new 2020 model.

I rode the Superveloce in all conditions and was happy with the brake set-up. In the wet, the Pirelli Rosso Corsa 2 tyres are much better than they appear, and the ABS isn’t too intrusive. In the dry the brake lever has a nice progressive feel to it, the Marzocchi forks drive smoothly in the stroke, not too rapidly and rebound is controlled. Braking is impressive as you’d expect from a bike based on the F3.

As mentioned earlier, the new Superveloce doesn’t have an IMU therefore the eight-stage traction controls isn’t lean-sensitive. However, traction control intervention and reintervention are smooth and effortless. Furthermore, it is a doddle to change on the move, I was up to eight the maximum setting in the wet, and deactivated the TC for the photoshoot.

The all-new full-colour five-inch TFT clocks are easy to navigate, are clear, with simple graphics. It’s easy to change the TC on the move, or even de-activate it without stopping. I don’t have to scroll through various screens and sub-menus, it’s simple and intuitive. I love the new clocks, and unlike the MV 1000 Brutale 1000RR, the are in the correct position, behind the retro screen not near the fuel cap. The new clocks allow Bluetooth connectivity and communication with the MV Ride App. Again, the app is simple and easy to use, you can track your ride, even change the settings like ABS and TC all from your phone.

It may appear to be a 70’S throwback, but the new clocks give you the very latest technology. The only downside is they are hard to read when the sun is low and behind the rider. The rider modes are easy to change, again it’s simple this time done via the start button, but again in low light, it’s hard to read as sometimes Rain mode looks like Race mode, maybe they should have called it wet and track mode.

Cruise control comes as standard, and as mentioned so does the up-and-down super smooth quick-shifter. Cruise control hints towards, dare I say practicality, if you can say that about a retro MV with bar-end mirrors, which aren’t that bad, but surprisingly good in fact.

As you’d expect there are some lovely accessories to play with, carbon trinkets, the CNC almuminium spoked wheels are mouth-watering, and there’s an aftermarket Arrow race exhaust. The open exhaust for tack use only pushes power to 112kw and looks stunning with two pipes exiting on the right and one on the left. I’m told, it sounds amazing, which I’m sure it does.

Verdict

In many ways we can simplify the new MV Superveloce, it’s essentially a highly acclaimed F3 with new clocks, stunning styling, and revised suspension for 2020.

Take one of the best-handling bikes in your range, if not in the middle-weight category, leave the stunning in-line triple alone, don’t fix what isn’t broke, make it sound great, and cover it in unique, inspiring bodywork and styling. MV couldn’t go wrong really. I think it’s jaw-droppingly beautiful, and underneath is a motor and handing to match.

This is a true retro racer which in the right hands could indeed embarrass dedicated sports bikes on the track. It’s not the most comfortable, especially in town, the screen is too low on the motorway, and pillions will have to be brave or stupid. However, if you can live with the discomfort and the price, and yes MV dealers are sparse, then you’ll fall in love every time.

As you’d expect from MV, and like anything attractive from Italy, at $32,990 the new Superveloce is not exactly cheap. The fact that MV Agusta Australia do include a three-year warranty, two-years road-side assist, and service intervals are a lengthy 15,000 kilometres does helpen to soften the blow.  The first Australian stocks arrive later this month (September).  There is also a new colour option recently announced (Link).

Source: MCNews.com.au