2020 MV Agusta Superveloce Review

As your eye gazes along, the folds and creases that make up the fuel tank and tail section admittedly look thoroughly modern (some might even say complex), though the leather belt strap atop the tank is a blatant homage to the past. You know, when fuel tanks were actually held on with leather straps. Whether it fits in this context I’ll leave for you to decide.

The MV gets back in line with its heritage when we reach the back of the bike. The slim tail section can’t be ignored. Proportionately, it’s clear the inspiration came from racers of the past. It’s so diminutive, and yet it ties the bike together nicely. The single round LED taillight, like the headlight in front, is simple. And that’s what makes the whole thing work. Visually, it isn’t weighed down by having to carry turn signals and a license plate – those are mounted separately on an arm attached to the swingarm to give a “floating” appearance.

Still, the 798cc Triple is one sweet engine. With 12 valves, six injectors, 13.3:1 compression, a counter-rotating crankshaft, and an oversquare bore and stroke (79 mm x 54.3 mm), MV says it pumps out 148 horses (at the crank) at 13,000 rpm – that’s healthy. Full ride-by-wire means you also get traction control (adjustable to eight levels, and off), four ride modes, and cruise control(!). You also get other electronic goodies like Continental ABS, and a quickshifter in both directions.

On the suspension side, we see a 43mm Marzocchi inverted fork with rebound, compression, and spring preload adjustment. A Sachs shock is in the rear with the same level of adjustment. Dual 320mm discs are paired with Brembo M4.34 radial-mount calipers, with a single 220mm disc and Brembo 2-piston caliper in the back.

Of course, looking at a motorcycle is one thing. Actually riding it is where it counts. With a name like Superveloce, this is a bike that likes to be ridden super fast. Naturally, I was happy to oblige. With a trip out to the race track, the MV is in its happy place. This makes sense considering its grand prix inspiration (though I’ll stop short of calling it “heritage”).

When all 148 horses are galloping at full tilt and the three-cylinder is wailing, the Super-V moves along at a quick pace – but not a frightening one like a 200 hp literbike would deliver. It’s fun and manageable, made even better by the clean, linear fueling and throttle mapping. Each twist of the wrist is met with an appropriate amount of thrust. Kudos to MV, because it wasn’t long ago when I couldn’t say such a thing about MVs…

Speaking of mapping, keeping the bike in its most aggressive Race ride mode wasn’t intimidating. Again, the clean fueling does wonders here. And considering the perfect riding conditions, there was no need to drop to a different mode. Not that you’d really need to. The quickshifter is a godsend as long as you’re deliberate with each shift. Linger with your foot around the shifter and you could be met with an accidental ignition cut. So, either use the shifter or keep your foot back on the peg.

With the underpinnings of the F3 800, the Superveloce’s manners through a corner are sweet. It tips into a corner with ease, on or off the brakes, which is likely helped by the counter-rotating crank. Once leaned over it holds its line and reacts to inputs nicely. This really is a sweet little track bike.

Well, almost.

On the track there were three glaring issues that kept bothering me. First is the lack of room. While yes, the slim tail section is visually appealing and attractive, in practical terms the small seat doesn’t give the rider much room to scoot back in a tuck. So even at 5-foot, 8-inches, I couldn’t get comfortable on it. Not a huge deal on a tighter track, but anywhere with a long straight, this could get annoying pretty quickly.

Second, the brakes. While I’d prefer a little more feel and linearity at the initial application of the brakes, there’s actually plenty of stopping power. And that’s the problem. On track the ABS intervenes much sooner than it needs to, which then leads to a pulsing lever, and you left wondering if you’re going to make the corner or not. To make matters worse, ABS is always on. It’s adjustable, but even in its least intrusive setting it kicks in far earlier than is needed.

The third is traction control. This complaint isn’t so much about what it is, but more about what it isn’t. The 2020 Superveloce doesn’t have an IMU, so it’s old-school, which may or may not fit the old-grand-prix-racer theme. The reactive system (as opposed to predictive) actually works as well as a reactive system can. But it’s the unfortunate reality that modern sportbikes are now judged by the robustness of their electronics, and this one falls short.

UPDATE: Well, this is awkward. As I sit here typing this review of the 2020 MV Agusta Superveloce, just yesterday MV announced an updated version of the Super-V for 2021, complete with a big addition I wish the current model came with – an IMU.

On the street, the Superveloce finds itself in an awkward position. It thrives when it’s being revved and the sweet motor is singing. Get it up in the hills and you’ll enjoy hearing the unique three-cylinder wail bounce off the canyon walls. All the attributes that make the bike a nice handler on track transfer over to the street, too, and being able to adjust the suspension for the rougher environs of publicly maintained roads is obviously a benefit. What’s more, the generally slower pace of a canyon ride means the ABS intervention isn’t much of an issue.

Obviously, there’s a “but.” The MV’s sweet spot is very narrow. Normal riding brings out other flaws. First, there’s the hard seat. Other than the addition of the IMU in the 2021 update, MV also added more seat foam, though we can’t imagine it’ll make a drastic difference. On our 2020 tester anyway, the seat was very hard, making a trip to Starbucks about as far as we wanted to go at any one time. To make matters worse, the creases from the body panel beside the seat pad bend at a sharp angle, which just so happens to be right where the rider’s thighs are. So not only is the seat hard, but you have hard plastic biting into you as you’re rolling down the road.

Next is the engine. It clearly likes to rev. So when it’s not, the ride suffers. Cruising along at about 5500 rpm, the bars emit this medium-frequency vibration that slowly creeps in and makes your hands fall asleep. Luckily, a dab of the cruise control will let you shake your hands free (assuming it’s safe to do so, of course!) There’s a decent amount of torque even when you’re down that low in the rpm range, but the Triple isn’t as eager to spring into action until the revs pick up.

As fun as it is to keep the engine singing and move the bike from side to side, that’s only a small part of most street rides. The rest of the time you’re headed in a mostly straight line with the engine in an efficient (read not screaming) zone. Here, the Superveloce’s hard seat, sharp creases, and hyper engine loses some of its appeal.