Upfront..............................................
Stunning new Special from mv promises to lure in those wanting the cachet of a cool new f3 800...
As ever, it’s a busy old world out there, so we round up the news – plus win you own Yamaha longtermer!
M V and Agostini go together like strawberries and cream, so it was only natural to see the Italian manufacturer exploit this relationship in a commercial sense to come up with the F3 800 Ago. The 15 times world champion has signed each one of the 300 bikes, which also see a silver plaque on the steering yoke to denote its provenance. But with each bike coming in at 23,990 Euros, what else are you getting to justify extra eight large over the stock bike’s price?
Well, the Tricolour paintwork, a sprinkling of gold, carbon fibre fenders and a set of forged rims are pretty much the sum total of the changes. The wheels contribute to a two kilogram weight saving, with additional benefits for the bike’s already impressive steering and acceleration. And that’s about it. There are no performance upgrades, no special suspension is added, and the release of 300 seems to be on the high side to make it a properly exclusive bike.
MV is the master of releasing specials, and the F4 has had all sorts of incarnations – including the 100,000 Euro F4CC, made to honour the boss, Claudio Castiglioni, of which only 100 were made (with one reserved for Castiglioni himself).
Before this, the F4 750 had Oro, Senna and SPR versions, while the 1000 has had the likes of the Ago, the Tamburini and the Veltro, all limited runs. The cynical could suggest that these bikes are a good way to knock out stock, but the fact that MV Agusta manages to do decent business shows that there are enough collectors out there who are happy to pay extra for that added exclusivity these bikes offer. But what we’d like to see is MV adding performance upgrades, not just paint, wheels and a squiggle.