Joining MV Agusta for a press launch is an amazing journey every time, it is something special, is like going back Home, a unique warm feeling of belonging to a Family, under the roof of MV.
This press launch has been unique from many points of view.
Immediately we met Gigi Soldano the head and owner of the most famous Motorsport photo agency in the World, and photographer of Valentino Rossi!!! His Agency is the official one for every press launches MV organize.
Always be exclusive and at the Top, this is the leitmotif of MV Agusta.
Then we knew that our group would have been leaded by Marco “Lucky” Lucchinelli!!
Marco Lucchinelli is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. In 1981 he won the FIM 500cc World Championship. Lucchinelli represent many sides of the same complex personality, a humble World Champion, a Crazy Horse (that was is nickname while he was competing), out of the line but fair, highly intelligent, very deep and precise on his analysis, an incredible deep soul Poet and Chansonnniere, of course with subject related to the two wheels world. He is MotoGP commentator for SKY the channel and he is the author and singer of the MotoGP soundtrack.
Wow what an amazing start for this press launch!!!
We also got our personal natural soundtrack from Mother Nature, a huge massive thunderstorm that started during the press conference and followed us the next day.
This time we were in Varese for the official press launch of the new beauty coming out from the pencil of Adrien Morton and mechanically and technologically boosted by Bryan Gillen, the MV Tourismo Veloce 800 Lusso SCS.
SCS is a new clutch technology created and patented by MV Agusta, with an exclusive partnership with the American company Rekluse.
A first of its kind clutch and engine integrated control system on a production bike, an integration between a mechanical and an electrical system, without increasing the overall weight of the bike.
It is a unique system that allow tuning precisely the action of the clutch, rendering the clutch either manual with the clutch lever still present on the handlebar or completely automatic.
The complete automatic system has been integrated into an engine control system where is possible to tune completely the operation of the clutch integrated with the torque output and torque pulses of the engine.
This will allow the rider to choose his riding mode weather to continue to use the clutch in start and stop situation, like for example in traffic or roundabout, or going to the complete automatic system, where simply playing with the throttle, the user can pull away from any start/stop situation.
This last part is very tasty, because the rider can have also very fast launches with the same acceleration of a World Superbike that do a high performance start during a race. The Turismo Veloce in fact with its 110 HP is able to go from a dead stop to 100 km/h in 3,1 seconds!!!!! That’s insane!!!
How this can affect your emotional system???? It will transform a family daddy into a professional rider!!!!
MV Agusta is the first motorcycle manufacturer now able to transfer a superbike acceleration performance on a touring bike!!!
They are always focused on researching new ways to enhance the riding experience introducing new technologies.
The leading idea behind this bike was to make a Tourism bike, but starting for a different point of view: the Performance.
Mv Agusta creates performance bike, so they made new route in the imagination of an adventure rider.
Castiglioni himself defined this bike “…a bike for emotional commuters”.
Being fascinated by this bike, we had dinner inside the Factory, and the evening took off because the President took his place at the table next to us, we have the time for a very pleasant conversation about the motorcycle industry, about MV and its heritage.
Having a dinner with the President of a Primary and exclusive Motorcycle Company is not matter of every day, and the care that in MV take for their guests is beyond every expectations.
Morning after, early morning we are ready to go outside the Hotel, and the Van of MV Agusta came and picked all the journalist finally to the Factory to start the test of the new model.
There are journalist from all over the world, Australia, Japan, Russia, Italy, UAE, Germany, UK: Wow such an international Press Launch!!!
The models available for the test were actually two, the “normal” version without the SCS, and the model equipped with the SCS.
We being divided into two groups, immediately we tested the Turismo Veloce Lusso, while in the afternoon after a training test in the yard of the Factory to get used to the new clutch system, we tried the version equipped with the SCS system.
We left the Factory with our faithful thunderstorm that did not stop for the entire trip of approximately 200 km. It didn’t stop us at all, everybody just wanted to go.
But as I always say, let’s try to obtain the maximum from what we have, so I changed the Map from touring to sport, and use the bike within the main concept behind it, Emotional commuting!!!!!
This bike is extraordinary, it gives you an immediate confidence, so that you can go full throttle and have fun even on a difficult situation like rain, with a minimum back sliding when you pass over the painted zebras.
You ride surrounded by the amazing sound of MV Agusta (even though it was much more remarked on the Brutale – the exhaust is fully compliance to Euro 4), and the quick shift up/down makes rider’s life very easy, and very accurate, no single hiccups.
The position on the bike is comfortable and it gives you the sensations to have the bike under control every time, with your arms a bit wide over the handlebar helping a lot on controlling the bike in every corner, even the narrow hairpins.
The power range is constant on the entire scale from the bottom to the middle high, giving back a permanent printed smile on your face.
No extra movement on the back from the bags mounted, that as an incredible space to lodge a full face helmet on each one.
The incredible thing is that the total size of the bags does not exceed the size of the handlebar, this is unique and helps slaloming in a traffic jam!!
After a photo shooting with Milagro’s photographers, it is time to come back home, to have lunch and be ready for the second part.
Jupiter pluvial finally decides to grace us with the weather, so we spent some minutes on the internal square of the Factory, under the watchful eye of Bryan dispensing all the technical explanation regarding the new clutch, letting us be aware of all its potential.
Actually, it is easy to be familiar with, it makes the life of each rider stress free, and allowing riding at very low speed with not necessarily be on first gear to ride in traffic or along a queue.
It really interesting to test in the launch from a dead stop to 100 km/h in 3,1 seconds!!
St. Bryan evangelistically asked us to have faith on him and rotating full throttle instantaneously in his command.
You fell like Buzz Lightyear the Disney cartoon character, launched to the infinity and beyond!
The question rise spontaneously Bryan: why maintaining the clutch leverage on the handlebar? He answered straight: wheelie?!!
We left again the Factory for another 100 km riding around Varese, in an amazing landscape between the lake of Varese and the lake of Lugano, on beautiful roads surrounded by greenery, with sequences of curves and bends.
We had time to taste a try the new clutch system, including passages in some town with traffic, roundabouts.
Honestly, the bike become very easy, there is no need to play with the gearbox, and it is only needed to play with the throttle to be pulled out from the traffic.
We need to remark a couple of important things.
First, the bike rides from a dead stop in first gear and second gear when the transmission is engaged: does not start in third gear. This may seem obvious, but it is not. With SCS clutch, it is very easy to remain in third gear approaching a stop sign, and at the restart be surprised why the bike doesn’t. Just Keep an eye just take a look at the indicator of the gear engaged!
Second if you ride fast as an MV deserve to be ridden, the saddle can be a bit hard after a while, but it is also true that is a Tourismo so sometimes you must stop and have look at the landscapes.
Summarizing I strongly believe that MV have found the secret recipe to have the total bike, I mean a bike for every use, tourism, emotional commuting, or even track racing! Nowadays they are making very difficult for a user decide which among their range can be the bike to buy!
Turismo Veloce 800 Lusso SCS will be available soon in the UAE at a price of around 92.000 dirhams in Fire Red & Dark Metallic Opaque Grey, Pearl White & Avio Grey.
Are you ready to be surprised? Don’t’ wait too much; in 3.1 seconds she will be gone!
MV Agusta – Motorcycle Art!
