Does the Enduro Veloce Still Make Sense for MV Agusta? – QotD
Adventure bike moves forward under Pierer Mobility ownership
After releasing the limited edition LXP Orioli at EICMA, MV Agusta officially announced the regular production model today, under the name Enduro Veloce. While we’re always glad to see another adventure bike on the market, we, like many others, weren’t sure we’d ever see the Enduro Veloce actually go into production.
Part of that uncertainty stems from the Enduro Veloce’s backstory. It originally debuted in prototype form as the Lucky Explorer Project 9.5 at the EICMA show in 2021 as part of then-owner Timur Sardarov’s plan to revitalize the brand. While the 9.5 and its 931cc Triple were developed in-house by MV Agusta, it was joined by a 5.5 version co-developed with China’s QJ Motor.
About a year later, KTM entered the picture, obtaining a minority stake in MV Agusta. While MV was tapping into its past with the Cagiva Elefant inspiring the LXP’s looks, KTM has a much stronger recent history with ADVs. KTM’s parent company Pierer Mobility also has a pattern of acquiring smaller companies like Husqvarna and GasGas, and producing rebadged KTMs under those brands. With Pierer Mobility announcing plans to gain a majority stake in MV Agusta, it was a fair question to ask whether the LXP still made sense.
Things got especially muddier with MO’s interview with Stefan Pierer, when Alan Cathcart asked the Pierer Mobility chief whether MV Agusta should go ahead with the Lucky Explorer. Pierer responded, saying “You’re right, nobody needs those, and especially not branded with that name. Adventure bikes are a big market sector, but they’re also the most difficult segment, and the most competitive to be present in. Nobody is waiting for such a model from MV Agusta.”
Elsewhere, in an interview with Italian press, Pierer Mobility board member Hubert Trunkenpolz (and soon to be the new CEO of MV Agusta) questioned whether the 5.5 model was harmful to the brand. Sure enough, the Lucky Explorer 5.5 was eventually scrapped. We wondered whether the 9.5 would also be cancelled, but now we know it is going ahead as the Enduro Veloce.
That leads us to our Question of the Day: Does the Enduro Veloce still make sense for MV Agusta?
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Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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Initially I thought this bike did not make any sense due to KTM being so heavily invested in the off road market, but then I thought about the positives of what this bike offers. Styling for one, KTM has a unique style and if someone is turned off by it the Enduro Veloce does offer a much more attractive package. Engine wise it offers something KTM does not also. If you don't want a v-twin or parallel twin the MV triple is an alternative. While MV has a huge job ahead of it to reestablish the brand in North America this bike will offer MV to reach more riders. The only problem I see with MV is price, for me they are all way over priced, and $23,000 for Enduro Veloce is about 7k to high. Other European brands are offering excellent products like the Tuareg, Desert x, 890 adventure, and the Stelvio at much more attractive price points, and then there are a strong contingent of Japanese and Chinese products to consider.
Yes, a premium street oriented ADV makes great sense for KTM's parent company. Especially with a new 921cc triple. Very different look and feel to a 1290 Adventure S.