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
VOL. 52 ISSUE 19 MAY 12, 2015 P65 tall enough for you to get a good view ahead in traffic without be- ing awkward to climb on and off, and the slightly peculiar-looking back pad to the rider's section of the stepped seat gives an improbable degree of welcome support while emblazoned with the MV logo. The passenger has good room even if the hard lug- gage is attached, thanks to the way the leading edge of these is indented, while still being large enough to each carry a helmet— albeit the flip-up variety, not a full face design. And the passenger grab rail is extremely effective, as well as looking good. The optional Garmin GPS was carefully positioned on a bar be- hind the windscreen, and apart from being easily accessible also delivers a very electronic- age viewpoint, with the TFT dash clearly visible behind and below it. Both the higher capacity bat- tery (11Ah against 8.5Ah on the Stradale) and more powerful al- ternator, up from 350W to 450W in output, have been upgraded on the Turismo Veloce to handle all the power demands of these and other electric gizmos like the optional heated grips, etc. But when all said and done the heart of the matter is that wonderfully revamped engine. So smooth and liquid-seeming in its power delivery. So flexible and torquey at almost any revs that it's almost irrelevant which gear you choose to pull you from one corner to the next along a winding country road. The Eldor ECU's throttle response is smooth and predictable at all times. Then when it comes to stopping, the mechanical slipper clutch now fitted does a great job of controlling the fairly high degree of engine braking that Cassinelli & Company have left dialed in there to be easily accessible via clutchless down- shifts, as a further component of the fluid, flowing riding style the MV tourer encourages. And although the twin 320mm float- ing Brembo front discs gripped by radial four-piston calipers and 220mm rear disc—all fitted with Bosch 9 Plus ABS complete with RLM/Rear wheel Lift Mitiga- tor—will do a good job of stop- ping the bike fast when needed, you don't have to work them excessively hard in normal use because of the engine braking the Veloce offers. After my 143-mile day aboard it, I believe the MV Agusta Turis- mo Veloce lives up to its name in representing sport touring done right. As fine a bike as the new Ducati Multistrada undoubtedly is, I believe more riders—and especially less adept ones who nevertheless yearn to gain expe- rience aboard a bike by clocking up the miles on one—will find themselves instinctively more at home on the ultra-user friendly Veloce triple than on the big- ger, slightly more brutish and 40 pounds heavier desmo V-twin. 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 Tur- ismo Veloce could be a more ac- cessible, more usable machine for many riders. But the advent of this motorcycle—and indeed of its Stradale sister—leaves one question unanswered: how on earth did Triumph not get here first with a proper hard-luggage touring version of its own 800 Ti- ger triple that's been in produc- tion for the past five years?! CN SPECIFICATIONS ENGINE: ......... Liquid-cooled, four-stroke, three-cylinder, DOHC DISPLACEMENT: ..............................798cc BORE X STROKE: ................ 79 x 54.3mm HORSEPOWER: .......101hp @ 10,000rpm TORQUE: .....................61ft-lb @ 8000rpm COMPRESSION RATIO: ..................... 12.2:1 IGNITION: ............................................. Key TRANSMISSION: ........................Six-speed CHASSIS: ................... Tubular steel trellis FRONT SUSPENSION: .. 43mm Marzocchi inverted fork, fully adjustable REAR SUSPENSION: . Sachs monoshock, fully adjustable FRONT WHEEL TRAVEL: ................. 1.69 in. REAR WHEEL TRAVEL: .....................6.3 in. FRONT BRAKE: ........... Twin 320mm disc, Brembo four-piston calipers, Bosch ABS REAR BRAKE: .......... Single 220mm disc, twin-piston caliper, Bosch ABS FRONT TIRE: ............. 120/70ZR17 (58W) REAR TIRE: ................ 190/55ZR17 (75W) RAKE: ..................................................N/A° TRAIL: ............................................ 4.25 in. SEAT HEIGHT: .............................33.46 in. WEIGHT: .............................. 421 lbs. (dry) COLOR: ..... Silver/Avio Grey, Red/Silver MSRP: ....................... Starting at $15,998