VOL. 52 ISSUE 19 MAY 12, 2015 P59
effortless—just press the starter
button and the TFT color dash
tells you what mode you're
in. Press it again to select the
next mode, then keep press-
ing until it shows the mode
you want, then just stop and
wait a couple seconds for it
to actually change. You don't
even have to press the button
twice to confirm your choice,
as before, and this makes
mode I'd been using for added
controllability, to Touring for
extra performance. But then up
in the hills there'd be stretches
of damp that had me switch-
ing back to Rain mode almost
instantly. Before they dried out
again and I could reverse the
process, then move to Sport
as the terrain opened up and I
could start to use the engine's
meaty torque to best advan-
tage. The ease of access and
degree of intervention the MV's
Eldor electronic package gives
is just right, and very welcome.
The altered character of
this redesigned engine has
dictated fitting an all-new gear-
box, with revised ratios aimed
also at reducing fuel consump-
tion by 20 percent, thus giving
a claimed 250-mile range
from the 5.8-gallon fuel tank.
In pursuit of that, sixth gear is
now an overdrive, with a more
constant gap between each
ratio further down the 'box. Yet
the Turismo Veloce's engine
is so flexible you can now pull
wide open in top gear from
just 2,000 rpm without the
slightest hiccup or any trans-
mission snatch, all the way to
the 11,000 rpm redline, where
you can feel the performance
subtly peak, then hold to the
12,000 rpm soft-action limiter.
Even in Sport mode, there's
a mile wide, ultra-flat torque
curve, which allows you to
hold a gear for mile after
mile along a twisty stretch of
road. As on the sportier-tuned
Stradale, 4,000 rpm to 9,000
rpm is the Veloce's happy
zone where you feel it likes to
operate, so to keep it there
you make full use of the wide-
open powershifter and clutch-
less auto-blipper downshifter
both included as standard on
the new MV Agusta, same as
on the Stradale. The Ducati
Multistrada that sits squarely
in the MV Turismo Veloce's
gunsights doesn't let you shift
down without the clutch, and
after riding the MV for any
length of time along a twisty
road you'll soon become
convinced what a huge asset
it is on a bike like this, which
makes long distance riding
that much less tiring; as well
as more musical.
Mind you, in meeting Euro
4 noise requirements the
"IT FEELS EXTREMELY LONG-
LEGGED AND RELAXED IN LIVING
UP TO ITS NAME—VELOCE, WHICH
MEANS FAST IN ITALIAN."
riding the Veloce over different
kinds of road surface both safe
and reassuring. So, the tarmac
was wet as we set off on our
ride after overnight rain in Cap
Ferrat, but then dried out allow-
ing me to switch from the Rain
(Top) For stopping power,
the Veloce gets twin 320mm
floating Brembo front discs.
(Bottom) Although part of the
800 family, the engine was
completely redesigned for
the Veloce.
