Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/510271
2015 MV AGUSTA 800 TURISMO VELOCE FIRST RIDE P62 Veloce's exhaust with its trio of square-profiled exit pipes behind your right leg is notably quieter than before. So much so that riding slowly through towns you can distinctly hear the rattle and whirr of the camchain, here fitted with a hydraulic adjuster for the first time. Get it revving higher than 4,000 rpm, though, and nor- mal audio service is restored, leaving you to revel in the glori- ous muted howl of the Italian bike's three-cylinder engine. Brought to MV's customers straight off the racetrack— same as the wide open pow- ershifter that's now become relatively commonplace—the MV Stradale's autoblipper downshifter system means you need never use the clutch lever again after setting off from rest, until you come to a halt once again. Best of all on the MV, the downshifter is so perfectly dialed in that you can repeatedly shift back and forth clutchlessly on a twisting road, and avoid touching the brakes, keeping up the remarkable degree of momentum that this new riding technique offers. Doing so allows you to appreciate the MV Turismo Veloce's main dynamic asset compared to the Multistrada and its mates, namely the light 421 pound dry weight of the three-cylinder bike equipped with full bodywork, and its nimble yet relaxed steering. "You don't need to have a heavy, wide and imposing motorcycle to go touring," says MV Agusta's British designer Adrian Morton. "We've kept the Turismo Veloce's maximum width down to just 35 inches, which is 3 inches less than the Multistrada and 2 inches less than the GS. And that's not all… even with the optional 7.9-gallon hard luggage fitted [standard on the forthcoming Lusso] the bike is no wider at just 32 inches across the back, so the widest point is still around the handle- bar, where you can see it." As I found for myself trailing from one stop light to another through rush hour traffic along Nice's Promenade des Anglais running alongside the Mediter- ranean Sea on the way home after my trip inland, this makes lane splitting improbably easy on a side-bag-equipped tour- ing bike. Also noting that MV's engineers have lightened the action of the hydraulically-op- erated clutch compared to the Stradale it debuted four months ago, so that your hand no lon- ger cramps up by repeatedly "THIS MOTORCYCLE IS THE SMALLER MULTISTRADA THAT DUCATI FOR SOME UNFATHOMABLE REASON DOESN'T YET MAKE. AND LIKE THE PANIGALE 899 COMPARED TO THE 1199, THE TURISMO VELOCE COULD BE A MORE ACCESSIBLE, MORE USABLE MACHINE FOR MANY RIDERS." (Top) The optional Garmin GPS is conveniently positioned on a bar behind the windscreen. (Bottom) Behind and below the GPS is the TFT dash. (Opposite page) The Veloce is available in two options: red and silver with a black frame or silver and gray with a red frame (pictured here).