MV Agusta has finally released full details on its highly anticipated F3 middleweight supersport and judging from the spec sheet it looks like it was worth the wait. For the same price (€11,990 in Italy) of a Triumph Daytona 675 you get a gorgeous looking machine in white, black or silver/red, boasting 126bhp and 52lb/ft (on par with the Triumph), coupled with a highly sophisticated performance-enhancing electronics package called Motor & Vehicle Integrated Control System (MVICS). On top of that, the F3’s 675 cc three-cylinder engine utilizes a counter-rotating crankshaft, a design only seen before on MotoGP bikes that is said to improve handling. The F3’s peak power comes way up at 14,500 rpm and MVICS helps tame it with full ride by wire engine controls including 4 pre-set maps, one personally tuneable map, and eight-level traction control. There’s also optional launch control, anti-wheelie and quick shift. Added to the usual-for-these-systems, engine and wheel-speed sensors, is a lean angle detector. So yeah, quite a sweet little high-tech package indeed.
The F3’s suspension comes in the form of a Marzocchi fork and Sachs shock, while brakes, as you’d expect, are by Brembo. Like other MVs, the F3 uses steel tube/aluminum swingarm pivot frame, here modified to capitalize on the use of a smaller engine to create an incredibly compact machine with a dry weight of just 173 kg.
“The F3 will be the smallest bike that’s ever been produced in this category,” MV’s Giovanni Castiglioni, said in a Hell for Leather interview. “It’s like a 125.”
With its unique engine, stellar electronics, gorgeous looks and a price tag that puts it in direct competition with bikes of similar performance, the F3, at least on paper, looks hard to beat.
MV Agusta Canada has yet to announce pricing and availability for the F3 in Canada. We’ll be sure to let you know when they do, because we know you want one. We sure do.
