Icon: MV Agusta F4
Stunning to look at and a key part of MV Agusta’s enduring heritage
Where did it come from? The F4 was developed at the Castiglioni Research Centre in San Marino and built in the old seaplane factory on the shores of Lago di Varese. But it was born on the drawing board of Massimo Tamburini, the self-taught genius responsible for, amongst other landmark motorcycles, the Bimota Tesi and DB1 (the ‘ta’ in Bimota stands for Tamburini — one of the founders of the firm). He was responsible also, of course, for the most influential of them all, the Ducati 916.
When the Castiglionis sold Ducati in the late 90s, Tamburini stayed with Cagiva to help relaunch the MV Agusta brand and the original F4 750 was the first fruit of the reborn company.
What changed? Pretty much everything, with the exception of the styling. The original limited-edition Serie Oro of 1999 — pretty much hand-carved from magnesium — gave way to a two-seater production model, and the revvy 750cc four morphed into a gruntier 1000cc version in late 2004. In its fastest 1078cc form, in the F4 RR 312 — so named as it could allegedly hit 312km/h — it made over 190bhp. And all along the way there have been limited-production special editions, often commemorating people who were important to MV. Hence the F4 Ago (a nod to ol’ Giacomo) and various Senna special editions (Ayrton was friends with MV boss Claudio Castiglioni). There was, inevitably, a specific model dedicated to Tamburini (a mere €35,000 when it was launched in 2005) and the F4 CC, a €100,000 unicorn to honour Claudio. Why do people like it? Have you got your helmet on the wrong way round? It’s beautiful. Simple.
Cult rating 5/5 Turning up anywhere on one of these will guarantee you an admiring crowd.
The problem is… Nothing much really, except the 750s were underpowered. And the underseat pipes meant stiff rear suspension to stop pipes hitting the tyre, compromising rear traction, especially as power levels increased with the 1000cc versions. And your thumbs would get trapped on the tank at full lock. And the riding position makes a Motogp bike look comfy. And the spares situation is… problematic.
“Born on the drawing board of the genius Massimo Tamburini”
Without the F4… It’s unlikely that MV Agusta would have survived its excruciating journey through the early 2000s and on to its current boom and bust rollercoaster.