Cycle News

FIRST RIDE P70 2014 MV AGUSTA RIVALE 800 vs. 24.5º/95mm on the Brutale 800). Believe me, this doesn't make the steering in any way unduly heavy, but instead delivers a beautifully balanced package that's quick-steering yet never unstable – even when working the new-generation cast aluminum Brembo radial four-piston brake calipers (gripping the twin 320mm front discs), to stop hard and fast without the benefit of a slipper clutch. That means you have even more reason to blip the throttle on downshifts, and glory in the mechanical aria of that triple motor. With the rider sitting that much farther forward, you might expect the rear wheel to lift and start street-sweeping the tarmac when you lean on the brakes, but that didn't happen to me - even without working the rear brake first to offset the weight transfer. And traveling at an indicated 125 mph at 10,500 rpm didn't get the Rivale weaving either, as on so many other naked bikes when your shoulders catch the airstream and set the bars waving. I was surprised at how little I had to tense up to hold on at that velocity, though 100 mph at 8400 rpm is a more comfortable speed. One thing in particular stands out about the Rivale's chassis setup, and that's the unexpectedly high ride quality from the Marzocchi fork and Sachs shock. These are set up to give a much higher degree of wheel travel than is usual on a sport- " We had certain target values we didn't want to fall short of in terms of engine performance, even though we had to work hard at meeting them. We achieved the 120 horsepower target quite easily, though getting the spread of torque was more difficult. But we made it. " bike – 5.9 inches up front, and 5.1 inches at the rear – but it's controlled rather than spongy. It's so compliant you'll go looking for rough patches in the road surface just to be able to nod in approval to yourself at how well the Rivale rides it. The suspension is really outstanding, and even with that extra travel, the front end doesn't collapse earthwards when you brake hard (the default settings for the Marzocchi fork's compression damping and spring preload were excellently chosen). So too were the TC settings on the damp roads in the morning – not a trace of a rear wheel slide, though I frightened myself once losing the front wheel on a damp patch, which a combination of the MV's good handling and that wide handlebar helped save. Exactly 20 years ago a bike conceived like the Rivale in what is now the MV Agusta factory in - Brian Gillen Varese, but which back then was known as Cagiva, began production in the Ducati factory 190 miles farther south in Bologna. That bike was the Cagiva Monster, which later reached production as the Ducati Monster – a motorcycle that helped save the company several times over to allow it to survive long enough to be purchased by VW/Audi. Now the third generation Ducati Monster just made its debut on the world stage – but the fact is that it was pre-empted by the arrival of the MV Agusta Rivale. And it's a motorcycle, which in terms of character and handling as well as the beautiful minimalism of its design, is in every way a modern Monster, but with the extra performance and special personality of its three-cylinder engine platform. So what goes around, comes around – and yes, the Rivale did indeed live up to its looks. CN

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