Taking a new path

Legendary Italian brand takes a break from yet more Agostini replicas and turns its adventure concepts into rather appealing reality Lucky Explorer

There’ll have been a difficult moment at the bar during Italy’s recent EICMA bike show. Ducati’s Desertx adventure bike is clearly influenced by Cagiva’s Ducati-powered Dakar winner of the early 1990s, and now MV Agusta have released their all-new Lucky Explorer 9.5 which is inspired by exactly the same bike. Awkward. Blurred histories aside, the new 9.5 appears pukka. Seen as a final prototype last year, the finished bike retains the concept’s looks, just-so stance and slim build. Its steel frame carries fully-adjustable ‘off-road ready’ suspension, with proper travel (220mm front, 210mm rear) and ground clearance. Wheels are 21-inch front, 18-inch rear. Power is from a new 931cc three-cylinder engine with MV’S usual sky-high compression ratio and counter-rotating crank. There’s a potent 122bhp and useful 75 lb.ft of torque, with 85% of peak grunt at an accessible 3000rpm. There are four engine maps to play with, with eight-level traction control in case you get carried away. High spec continues with a seven-inch TFT dash with connectivity and navigation, cruise and launch control, and cornering LED lights. Price is critical. The 9.5 is more powerful, lighter (220kg) and has a larger tank (20 litres) than Honda’s rival Africa Twin, but it’s an MV – and so it surely won’t be near the £13,046 Honda. £16k? We’ll see when it arrives in late spring. And if the 9.5 is a bit steep there’s a new Lucky Explorer 5.5 too. MV have a relationship with QJ Motor – owners of Benelli – and it’s clearly based on Benelli’s TRK502X. It’s no bad thing as the TRK has been Italy’s best-selling bike for three years. Changes will push price up: the parallel twin has grown from 449.6 to 554cc, there’s extra tech (TFT dash, connectivity, nav), a tastier swingarm and MV’S superior styling. However, if they can get it in showrooms for £8000 it could do well. It’ll be launched in February.