Mv Agusta F4 Strada
MV AGUSTA F4 STRADA
Art that moves you
The sportbike world is a fast-moving place. Ho-ho! Seriously, would you have thought three years ago that today we’d have a Suzuki GSX-R750 that’s lighter than a 600 and as fast as a 900? MV Agusta probably didn’t either. True, they probably had their F4 Strada crosshairs set on the Ducati 996. And in performance terms and riding feel, the F4 is about on par with the Duck. The MV makes a little more power, weighs a little less and cuts about the same 10.7-second quartermile time as our most recent 996 testbike. It’s got about the same torture-rack riding position, too.
Of course, this is a world of CBR929RRS,
YZF-R1S, Aprilia RSV Milles and-most relevant in the MV Agusta F4’s case-GSX-R750s.
Just so you know, the GSX-R is half the price of the $18,900 F4 Strada (which is in turn about half the price of the magnesium and carbon-fiber F4 Oro), weighs some 50 pounds less than the MV’s 447 pounds and makes more horsepower from the same displacement, 124 vs. 109.
And while the MV is certainly no stone, pure performance numbers for the dollar can be had at a much better rate than what the F4 delivers.
But even if you never turn the ignition key on the MV Agusta, it does enough sitting there looking beautiful to keep most of the pleasure centers in the brain entertained for a very long time. Every new angle presents another subtle flavor of eye candy. A few steps closer and delicious details are revealed-a large-diameter hollow front axle with quick-release dropouts...ultra-cool threaded rear-ride-height adjuster...the trickest little choke lever mounted on the throttle-grip housing...quad-tailpipes poking out from under the seat...all manner of interesting textures and contours. Start peeling off the bodywork, taiisection and fuel tank, and, well, the delight continues as new elegance is revealed at every layer.
It’s gorgeous, inside and out.
So despite the fewer ponies, the extra pounds and the higher price, the buzz over the MV will continue. Easy to see why.
Mark Hoyer
