MV Agusta F4: First Look Review

MV Agusta F4 First Look Review

MV Agusta recently announced its plans of entering the Indian market, along with its new partner, Kinetic Group. The joint venture will launch MV Agusta’s entire range in the next couple of years, including its litre-class offering – the F4. This litre-class exotic superbike will be imported here as a completely built unit (CBU), with a price tag around Rs 30 lakh.

The MV Agusta F4’s design doesn’t stray far from the original F4 1000 designed by the celebrated Italian designer, Massimo Tamburini. Though the overall design is more or less the same, the lines have been sharpened to improve the aerodynamics of the motorcycle and boost its exotic appeal. The front redesigned headlight sits between two light guides. The decals and paint schemes further accentuate the motorcycle’s racing heritage. The trademark four-pipe exhaust system extends right up to the end of the tail section. The instrument console is made of a single electronic display, which lets you adjust the engine map, riding mode, throttle sensitivity, speed limiter and a host of other functions.

The MV Agusta F4 is built around a CrMo (Chromium Molybdenum) steel tubular trellis frame, with a single-sided aluminium swingarm. It packs a 998cc inline four-cylinder engine, with a power output of 192bhp and 111Nm of peak torque. This engine gets a sophisticated electronics package which includes an advanced injection system, torque control with four maps, eight-level traction control, anti-wheelie function, lean angle sensor and a torque shift system. The six-speed cassette style gearbox gets a quick shifter which facilitates seamless upshifts and clutch-less downshifts. The MV Agusta F4 rides on lightweight 17-inch aluminium alloy wheels.

The MV Agusta F4 gets fully-adjustable Marzocchi USD front forks and a progressive Sachs monoshock in the rear. The braking hardware is made up of 320mm double floating discs with a four-piston Brembo calliper for the front wheel and a single 210mm disc with a four-piston Nissin calliper for the rear wheel. The ABS system gets a Race Mode and RLM (Rear wheel Lift-up Mitigation).

Besides the F4, MV Agusta eventually might also launch the F4 RR superbike. It comes with electronically adjustable Ohlins suspension setup and upgraded Brembo brakes. The F4 RR gets six extra horsepower over the standard bike, boosting the top speed to 297kmph. While the suspension settings are adjusted according to the engine maps by default, the electronic controls also allow the suspension to be fine-tuned independently according to the rider’s preference.

The MV Agusta F4 will be the flagship model in the Italian marque’s line-up. We expect it to be offered in two paint schemes - white ice pearl/matt black and red/silver/matt black. It will rival other top-of-the line litre-class superbikes like the Aprilia RSV4, BMW S1000RR and the Ducati 1299 Panigale.