Working 9 to 5

2022: year of the adventure bike? Very possibly. John Westlake inspects MV’S new 9.5 and 5.5…

‘It should be a giggle on the road’

The Ducati Desertx isn’t the only bike channelling Cagiva’s past off-road glories: this new MV Agusta is at it too. The MV 9.5 was launched amid a blizzard of retro puff about Cagiva’s ’80s Lucky Explorer Paris-dakar bikes, and the new bike’s paintjob is vaguely similar (if you squint through a cloud of Lucky Strike fag smoke). Whereas Ducati have a link with the old Cagiva Elefant because the company provided the engine back in the day, MV’S connection is more tenuous – MV now own the Cagiva name. Still, the new 9.5 looks purposeful, with a beefy bashplate, brake disc protectors, a 21in front wheel and long travel suspension. With a claimed 121bhp it should be a giggle on road and potentially terrifying off it. The engine started life as the current 800cc triple, which has been bored out and fitted with a new crank to give it a longer stroke and bring the capacity up to a Desertx-rivalling 930cc. The new cylinder head lowers compression from the 800’s 13.3:1 to 12.5:1. Like the 800, the 9.5’s crank is counter-rotating, which reduces gyroscopic resistance to turning – helpful on cut-throat Motogp bikes but we’ll need some convincing it has much effect on a whopping adventure bike. MV claim 75 lb.ft at 7000rpm and 121bhp @ 10,000rpm, which is 20% more than Triumph’s Tiger 900 triple. The electronics are expected to be standard MV fare – ie damn good – with a 7in TFT screen and MV’S excellent Bluetooth connectivity system that lets you use your phone’s sat nav. Like the 800s there’s the option of the Rekluse automatic clutch and a semi-automatic gearbox. Honda spent years perfecting their DCT gearbox for the dirt, so it will be interesting to see how the MV system works off-road.

And when will it be for sale? Our guess: late 2022.

There’s a mini-me too

Launched at the same time as the 9.5 is the 5.5, powered by a 550cc parallel twin developed with China’s Qianjiang Motors. The bike looks to be heavily based on the Benelli TRK502 (Benelli is owned by Qianjiang), though with plenty of high spec components. Price is yet to be announced, but it’s got to be the cheapest MV ever.

NEW BIKES CHASSIS All new, with a steel frame made of forged and extruded sections and an aluminium dualsided swingarm instead of the 800s’ single sider. SIZE The wheelbase is 1580mm – longer than an R1250GS, Africa Twin and Harley Pan America (by 0.2mm). STYLING Is anyone else thinking Africa Twin? Maybe it’s just the lack of beak and similar headlights. ENGINE 930cc triple making 121bhp outguns Triumph Tiger 900 and if MV’S Brutale 800 is anything to go by should be a belter.