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MV Agusta F4 1000

Sportbiker

Sportbiker

Slow
Joined
Mar 29, 2002
Location
Bay Area
Moto(s)
Dirt, Street & Track
Who has a 2010+ model? Latest review bashes the bike for crappy throttle response.

I don't know anyone who has one of these to get a first hand opinon? How is the reliability these days? Never had an MV so I have only 2nd hand stories..

How is the handling?

Sound off ...:teeth

MV_Agusta_F4_2010_04.jpg
 
It doesn't need to be particularly good but it needs to look good which it does quite well. The fact that it has a few Ferrari styling licks doesn't hurt either.Its the bike to have if you want to pose at a bike night.
 
The performance aint too shabby either. Makes a ton of horsepower and looks like handles pretty well. Has good electronics too. These are all just on paper. I wanted to see how it translates into real life especially on the track..

I rarely ride on the street any more so posing points are of not much use to me :(
 
My friend Lawrence has an older 750 (along with a Ducati 851 and another duck as well). He informs me that the MV is "practically" japanese with respect to maintenance and build quality. Parts availability is spotty and pricing is a bit higher (duh) but not unreasonable. For a time there, parts were easy to get (when HD owned them). Upon sale from HD, parts availability was nonexistent and MV doubled the pricing. Not a formula for success. Not sure how it is now and you should ask around at the shops that service them. Sucks to have your bike down due to a simple relay that takes 6 weeks to get and costs some stupid amount of money.

Lawrence claims it's leaps and bounds less maintenance intensive than the Ducati bikes he owns.

As for performance, a lot can be done with a chip and some time with a good tuner. Riding position is love it or leave it. Risers only go so far due to the reach out across the tank, peg position and front fairing (not much room there as you can see). You can make it better if you completely hate it, but it will never be comfortable.

Again, my knowledge is just a second hand account from an MV owner/Ducati owner mechanic.
 
If you wanna try one let me know, the fueling isn't the most desirable but its still got a whole lot of pros.
 
FWIW, I recently test rode a Brutale 750 and a Brutale 910. Great looking bikes with an amazing soundtrack. From what I could gather they're good handlers, too.

Throttle response was either on or off, and there was substantial surging on the 750 at legal speeds around town. Although the throttle is abrupt, by the end of each ride I was able to get the hang of it and enjoy the bikes for what they are: no compromise sporting machines.

Not for mass consumption. You know who you are. :teeth
 
I remember reading reviews about it in the mags when it came out and fueling/throttle response was a main complaint.
 
I heard that MV has an update out to fix the fueling issues. Supposedly is free for any of the new 1000s.
 
So to complete the discussion:

I rode 2010 F4 yesterday and here are my rather elaborate thoughts..

The bike has the following mods.

1) Power commander with a custom map and a Remus full system exhaust.
2) Brembo master cylinder for brake and clutch
3) Rear sets
4) Quick shifter (after market I believe)


First impression (I am comparing this bike to my 09 CBR1000RR which is a similar 4 cylinder inline super bike). Overall fit and finish is very nice. The panes had DZus fasteners and you could remove all the side and lower belly pan within 5 minutes. Compared to a hour on the new generation Honda :(

The seating position is very different. You feel like you are sitting "on top of the bike" instead of "in the bike". Nothing wrong, except it felt different. The bike felt a bit heavier (although the bike was almost empty on gas). I can't say if it was just the weight or the weight distribution itself. Again, no big deal.

The bike has power.. lots of it. It wanted to wheelie in every gear. Obviously I couldn’t feel the real top end due to speeds required to get there but I have no doubt this is as fast if not faster than most super bikes. Handling felt fine. No nervousness. It wasn't really setup for my weight or riding preferences and the tires were kind of squared off yet the bike felt stable. The bike has multi-way tunable traction control. Of course I did not test it, but it is good to know that there is some level of stupidity control :)

Biggest irritant was the fuelling issue. The on-off throttle response was quite twitchy. This is despite having the custom map. I really couldn't find a smooth off to on transition in any gear. This could be an issue if you were to ride on the track and getting back on the throttle. Once you are past 5k rpm it felt nice and flat. Not sure a stock bike would do that. Remember the bike has a full system exhaust with power commander and custom map. That’s at least another $3000. I would have expected better response. The quick shifter did not want to work right. Not sure if it wasn’t installed properly or what the deal was. It is after market (I believe).

The instrument console has a lot of info in there. I am still not a big fan of the digital tachometer (bar graph) but to be fair I haven't spent any time on it so maybe one will get used to the display.

This bike does not like going slow. In stop and go traffic, the bike was getting hot.. This was in ~70F weather. I can only imagine what it would do if the ambient was about 90F??

Overall, buy it if you need to stand out in the crowd. Is it worth the 18k+ new? Not to me. It is a gorgeous bike and does make the ownership special. No question at all. Is it the performance bang for the buck? Nope.

Word on the street is that these bikes are very reliable. Only exception being if you need parts, then you may end up waiting for a long time to get stuff from Italy. I am not a huge fan of 7500miles valve check either.

I was very serious about buying this one but as of now, I am out. Someday I might pick one up just for the heck of owning one.

Hope this does not paint a negative picture. This bike like any other comes with it’s own advantages and disadvantages.
 
IIRC the F3 had fueling issues too. made me think about that bike when i saw this post. in particular if you are used to comming off the CBR's lazer lke, telepathic throttle with slipper clutch, most bikes feel retarded. thanks for the review though. i still lust after a new cbr lol
 
ready to try an rsv4 yet? Youll wind up with a new bike shortly afterward!
 
Sure if the price is right haha. You can try that one if you want to. But be warned you will definitely be tainted by the ape! :laughing
 
Sportbiker said:
Word on the street is that these bikes are very reliable. Only exception being if you need parts, then you may end up waiting for a long time to get stuff from Italy. I am not a huge fan of 7500miles valve check either.
Click to expand...

It's not 7,500 miles so maybe the parts will arrive quicker?
 

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Zerox said:
It's not 7,500 miles so maybe the parts will arrive quicker?
Click to expand...

MV parts arrive quicker from the factory in Italy than those for Aprilia in Georgia.

Georgia USA, BTW.

Aprilia/Piaggio's total investment in their factory isn't close to what HD spent in upgrading the production machines in the MV factory. I'm looking for the Turismo Veloce 800 in the next 6 months....
 
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