2010 MV Agusta F4 - review after first ride

I posted the following review on mvagusta.net, thought I'd share it here too
http://www.mvagusta.net/forum/showthread.php?p=416517#post416517

Let me preface this by saying I've been in love with the F4 since 2002, when I rode behind one at a charity ride. The practical side of me however turned out to be a cheap little bastard who always whispered in my ear 'come on, what are you going to do with this thing, get something practical..' Ironically, the Hypermotard I ended up getting turned out to be even less practical - with no wind protection, and not a canyon or supermoto track in sight..

Fast-forward almost a decade, and the crate with the titanium F4 finally arrives. Time for a test ride. I have to admit, I was secretly hoping it would be a disappointment, so I wouldn't feel stupid for missing out all these years, but no such luck..

In short, this machine is absolutely brilliant.

I've owned and raced my share of metric bikes, and ridden even more, and I can't think of one that can fairly compare.

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way.. It was hard on my knees. Even compared to my bikes with race rearsets, the knees took a beating, but come to think of it, some of that might just come from me getting old(er).. I am 5'5", inseam is about 30", I don't know if it would be materially different for someone with longer legs. Body position is very aggressive, with a lot of weight on the wrists, exactly what you would want in a superbike racer but not necessarily for a 3-hour backroad romp.

Now for the good. Where do I start..

Looks. Ok, I'm a woman, so looks are important. I had my heart set on the classic red/silver and did not expect the titanium/silver to take my breath away as it did. The red frame peeking out is a masterpiece. Although the weld seams on exhaust headers could be a little neater, but then I'm just picky.. But the sound.. oh my god.. it's like someone stuffed a V-12 Ferrari under there..

Five minutes into the ride, a pickup truck with a dad and a couple of kids catches up alongside, gives me a huge thumbs up and, after a friendly wave, cellphone cameras come out. The rest of the day wasn't much different, lots of thumbs up, long looks, smiles and compliments, both on the road and at the gas station. For once, none of them had anything to do with a woman riding and were aimed at the machine lol

I also loved the cockpit design. The windshield, although not designed as a double bubble, is set at a perfect angle for my size, with the deflection air stream hitting me at the very top of my helmet - so even for someone taller than me, the wind should only hit them about where the helmet curves back, very comfortable. And even mirrors have aerodynamic funnels.

Gear box/transmission/clutch. My absolute favorite thing about this bike. I have never in my life experienced a transmission so perfect in its action. No clank, not even a click, with only slightest of efforts required - at times I'd even have to check the dash to see if the gear actually engaged (it did every time, but with the close ratios the rpm change is not always noticeable at highway cruising speeds). And I absolutely love the gear selector indicator on the dash, what a treat - I've had aftermarket ones installed on some race bikes but they were often unreliable and clunky looking, love having this option.

The downshifts are incredibly smooth. I am accustomed to riding twins so I was expecting significant engine braking and a lot more resistance, but with only the slightest throttle blip downshifts were effortless. If I were on the track, I would have played around a little harder but even on the street the difference was remarkable, I'm sure in large part thanks to slipper clutch and traction control.

The fact that the gear box is a cassette blows my mind, I've only seen this option on MotoGP bikes - this means you can work on it without splitting the cases, which not only allows to to change gear ratios at the track (ok, who's really gonna do that) but will unquestionably save on mechanic's labor bills for years down the road.

Brakes. Brakes perform well, very powerful but not grabby, very predictable, can't wait to try and push them a little harder in a more aggressive environment.

Handling. The bike is amazingly well-balanced. It doesn't "fall" into the corner unlike some other models with similarly aggressive body position, but instead tips in with precision, and holds the line throughout with no additional inputs. I would also attribute that to a good choice of tires (I always liked the profile on Diabolo Corsas, which always made for a smooth side-to-side transitions).

Engine. SO MUCH POWER.. my god. Need I say more. What feels like unlimited, linear supply of power at your fingertips. I can see getting into a lot of trouble on this machine.. better keep it for the track..

OVERALL CONCLUSION: I'm in love. I was so smitten by the looks I almost didn't want to ride it for fear of disappointment as I've been burned before (ask me about a 996 one day).. But my girlie crush has been fully justified! It's like falling head over heels for Alain Delon, only to find out he also cooks and gives foot rubs.

Brutale, you are next!

Yuliya

 

Love it! I have it pinned on the wall in my office, it generated some chuckles - you are welcome to use it!

Pictures attached
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Does the bear wear a funny hat?



From what I can tell, yes, beyond decent. 9 levels (0 being completely off). On mid-settings, no wheel spin at all; turned off, you can get some predictable spin/slip (as you expectedly would on a liter bike). Let's just say I didn't leave it off too long. I'll need to give it a thorough thrashing on the track to give you an honest opinion.

I'll work on taking a few demos to Texas World or MSR Houston, come down give it a beating yourself?

 

No, my husband and I are the new dealers in Houston, MV Agusta of Houston. Or to be more precise, he does all the wrenching and I get all the toys!

I do know some of the AF1 folks, Micah and the gang, they are good people and are the local dealer of choice for a lot of my race friends (Ducs, Aprilias, you name it). Spent some time talking to them a while back about the Aprilia motard twin, the honest (and not so flattering) opinion they gave me made me respect them even more.

 

How the heck are you, buddy?! I promise not to cash in any get out of jail cards with you

 

You've read my mind. I've known Mark V from Lonestar Trackdays/CMRA years back when he was the Aprilia regional rep, he is a great guy and I was thinking of getting in touch with him pretty soon. Have you and I met before? Definitely interested in ideas, if you don't mind sending me a PM. As to used bikes.. well, we've build a successful service business that's been doing well over the past ten years, the good news is we don't have to rely on new unit sales alone to be profitable and it makes us strong to be able to showcase MVs and give them the focus they deserve (not the red-headed stepchildren in the back as I've seen in the multi-line dealers - AF1 excluded!), but I'll just leave it at that, not what this thread is about..

Ahh.. RS250.. the bike I never got up the courage to ride.. I hope to get a chance one day, it fits my size perfectly. We toyed with the idea of spooning a CRF450 motor into the RS frame but couldn't find a dang frame anywhere lol

PS Gregg - you're on!