ITALIAN JOB
Fast Bikes reader Turbo Trev takes us through the highs and lows of owning his four-year-old MV F3 800.
I’m no stranger to Italian engineering. We’re talking years and years ago now, but I’ve had all sorts of Italian bikes and cars, and I used to have so much bother with them all. It got to the point where I just thought stuff this, the next thing I buy will have to say ‘made in Japan’ on it. I’ve had Moto Guzzis, Cagivas, all sorts and every time I’ve had one it’s been a long time before I’ve gone back to Italian machinery again. Deep down I have always loved Italian bikes though and after a lot of thinking about it I decided I’ve been long enough without one now so it’s about time I gave it another chance.
According to the blokes over in the MV Agusta factory in Italy, the F3 has “the exhilaration of a 1000cc bike, the handling of a 600, the torque of a twin and the acceleration of a four-cylinder,” which sounds great doesn’t it? I’ll be honest though, they could have said anything about it; the moment I clapped eyes on the (then) new F3 800 in the showroom I fell in love and I knew straight away I wanted one. It’s a thing of beauty, and I just had to have one. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying looks alone can ever be enough to justify its £13,990 price tag and I didn’t just dive in head over heels and buy one. I wanted it dearly but I looked at all the problems associated with them first. I heard of problems with the clutch springs, intermittent fuelling problems at low revs, the rear brake fluid boiling up, all sorts. I was advised strongly by a lot of people against buying it but the looks kept screaming at me. In the end I just thought I don’t give a s*** what’s wrong with it, I’m buying it anyway and if it’s that bad I’ll flog it later!
Long before I’d even picked the bike up I knew I was going to develop a bit of a soft spot for it. I’d seen my son Gaz (two-times TT winner Gary Johnson) flying around the IOM to take the Supersport TT win on a Triumph 675 so I knew the triples had more than enough potential to perform and that they sounded just brilliant. And to me, there is something a little bit more special about bikes like this; an MV isn’t like a Honda or a Yamaha. I’ve had Jap bikes before and enjoyed them, but I don’t think you fall in love with them like you would an MV.
I’ve never been one for bolting tacky horrible crap onto my bikes just for the sake of it, but if it looks right and its quality stuff then I don’t mind, so I bought some LighTech rearsets from Reactive Parts which were really easy to fit. I’ve put a rad guard and a slightly darker aftermarket Puig screen on, which was the one that MV recommended. It came with a big ugly number plate holder hanging off the arse end so I fitted a tail tidy to smarten it up a bit. I don’t think MV finished the bike off very well, the plastic bits they used gave it a bit of a boring naff looking finish which didn’t do it any favours, so I swapped the front mudguard, rear hugger, air scoop covers and chain guard for carbon fibre and now it really looks the part.
I’ve had the F3 for four years now and we have clocked up 11,000 miles together, which has been plenty for me to decide whether I like it or not – and I bloody love it. Every time I see the bike sat there in my garage I just fall in love with it a little bit more so I know I made the right decision when I bought it back in 2014.
And it’s not just a pretty face, either. Out on the road it’s perfect. I know it doesn’t have quite the same level of poke as today’s super-fast litre bikes, but it’s not far off the power they were making a few years ago. It’s plenty for the road anyway, and it’s more than enough for little old me. The great thing about not having 200bhp is that you get to spend more time with the throttle pinned listening to that beautiful three-cylinder exhaust singing… oh it is good! I’ll tell you what though, it’s the way the bike handles that really makes you grin. I live in Lincolnshire, you see, and there are some fantastic twisty roads for the bike and I to enjoy, and we do. MV aren’t kidding when they say the F3 handles like a 600, it really is a hell of a bike to ride. The brakes are so sharp that sometimes you end up tugging them a bit harder than you maybe ought to, but it’s never a problem because the suspension is just so good. Everything just does exactly what you want it to no matter how hard you seem to push, and it makes you feel like no other bike I’ve ever ridden. A league of its own. I’ve had a ’Blade, an R1, I’ve had Gixers and even a TL1000. None of them even comes close to the way the MV makes you feel. There is nothing wrong with any of them but compared to the F3 they’re just a bit plain. And I think these days, with modern technology and materials, the dodgy Italian reliability that was once a real consideration when buying a new bike is now a thing of the past. I mean, I can remember in the day having to ram as many spanners as I could underneath the seat on any ride further than the end of the street. I know you still hear the horror stories don’t you, but I was never worried about it s***ting itself and exploding, not these days. It’s only ever been the daft stuff that’s ever gone wrong really, those little bits that just spoil your day out. It’s mainly what most of the F3s from that year suffered with.
The throttle stopped working so you could twist it all the way round and the bike would just carry on ticking over – the ride by wire system just stopped playing all together. It was still under warranty so that was put right very quickly. And the sprag clutch, which has been a major problem with them, has knocked out a few times so it’s had to have a couple of them fitted. It has cut out a few times, I think that’s been due to the side stand switch, but it hasn’t really caused me a problem. It actually popped a few bulbs really soon after I bought it, but I just nipped to Halfords and got some replacements for a couple of quid and it’s been fine ever since. I know I took my chances when I bought the bike but I’m prepared to put up with a few little niggles and a bit of extra homework, it’s worth it for such a good looking bike.
When the bike was newish and things started going wrong, I’ll admit it was a little bit unnerving, but it was never anything that couldn’t be cured. Most bikes will go wrong from time to time but I have always said that the best way to stop that happening is to look after them properly. A bike like this takes a bit more looking after. My R1 just got petrol, the odd oil change and she’d be right, but Italian stuff just takes a bit more love and affection. I mean, I only ride the MV in summer, I wouldn’t dream of going out in winter. It’s purely a dry weather bike and if I get caught in the rain I’m gutted. It’s straight home for a bath.
Although I love my bike to bits, and the standard quickshifter is pretty handy, I haven’t got a lot of time for all the electronic nonsense that comes with today’s modern motorbikes. The MV has got four riding modes and eight traction control levels that, in all honesty, I find a total waste of time. I just stick everything on zero and ride it. I don’t think it’s advanced enough on this model to
bother with. When I picked it up I switched i it all straight off and after a few months I tried t the traction control on level one and two for a quick blast but just thought it was stupid, so I canned it and I have been happy with it since. I know newer bikes like the latest Ducatis and Y Yamahas and stuff might have a system that’s worth using, but I’m happy just bobbing along as I am, call me old fashioned if you like. A mate of mine has the latest R1 and he c can’t praise the electronics highly enough because It’s so advanced now. Sometimes I think I wouldn’t mind a bike with the very latest gizmos, but then I take one look at my MV and I think ‘no, I maybe won’t bother’. I don’t think you need to have space age electronics to enjoy riding your bike.
Truth be told, I can’t compliment the MV enough. It’s got great power with loads of mid-range and it handles as good as, if not better than, any 600 I’ve ever ridden. I’m certainly not in the market for anything else at t t the moment because this bike is still doing eve erything I need and want a bike to do, but if I was going to chop it in, at the moment it w would only be for a newer F3 800; the Euro 4 2018 version. That’s ro 4 2018 about version. the only reason I would sell l it – if I were to start again with a brand new w one. I do fancy another Ducati at some poi nt but at the moment I’m fairly positive if it t did come to parting with some cash for an ew motor it would be the current MV bec cause I’m not in the habit of fixing wh at isn’t broken.