VOL. 50 ISSUE 26 JULY 2, 2013
(Above) Three pipes, of course.
(Top middle) The 800 produces
148 horspower – 20 percent
more than the 675.
(Top right) The bike gets Brembo
monobloc front brakes.
(Right) The distinctive MV look.
(Left) The F3 800 is the more
powerful, torquier version of
MV's 675cc three-cylinder F3.
there's an overlap range where
the lower injectors start to work
less, and the top injectors work
more, up to a point where, depending on throttle position and
rpm, the upper injectors take
over completely. Basically, above
10,000 rpm and 30 percent of
throttle, you're almost completely
on the top injectors, for maximum
performance."
The Eldor ECU has been completely remapped to take account
of this, and also has a new software strategy that Gillen claims
results in a more connected,
smoother throttle response, especially on initial pickup from a
closed throttle.
I immediately noticed this riding the F3 800 at Misano.
In any of the sequence of slow
corners in the first part of the circuit, there was definitely a stronger drive than on the smaller F3,
but paradoxically delivered more
smoothly when I got back on the
throttle again on the exit of a turn.
You realize almost at once how
much smoother the throttle action is, how much more connected it is to the engine. So when
you ask the engine a question
with the throttle, it now responds
immediately and much more
smoothly: Together with the noticeably improved torque, the F3
800 is much more rideable.
P41
But that's not all. Thanks to the
much torquier, wider spread of
power, you must force yourself
not to shift as often as on MV's
smaller triple. This meant that I
could use second gear for three
slow bends, which on the 675
would have required first gear.
And it's the same in faster corners – I used third gear for the
last left-hander onto the Misano
pit straight and not second.
The new MV pulls really strongly from 7000 rpm, where there's
already 72Nm of torque available. So at just halfway to redline
you're already coming right up
onto the fat part of the curve. It's
a really delightful, forgiving engine that will readily lift the front
wheel - especially if you shortshift around 12,000 rpm, which
will put you right back in the fat
part of the torque curve as you
gas it wide open in the next gear
higher. Fun, fun, fun!
It's downright meaty for a
middleweight triple, delivering
considerably enhanced perfor-
