All Tests – Turismo Veloce 800 test: finally ready, not perfect – MNC riding the Turismo Veloce 800

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Turismo Veloce 800 test: finally ready, not perfect

All Tests - Turismo Veloce 800 test: finally ready, not perfect - MNC riding the Turismo Veloce 800

Like any beautiful Italian, MV Agusta’s ” Touring ” motorcycle was long overdue! Unveiled in autumn 2013 at the Milan show, the Turismo Veloce 800 arrives this spring in French dealerships. Site has already tried it… in the wet.

MNC riding the Turismo Veloce 800

The first contact with this MV Agusta touring is excellent: the back is vertical, the arms are relaxed and above all, the buttocks are greeted by a soft saddle … much better padded in any case than the other "top" models from Varese !

Narrow at the front and placed at a reasonable height (850mm), this saddle gives the feet easy access to the ground. Once the boots are on the footrests – lined with rubber, per favore! -, the legs are not bent too much either. A good balance in short.

Rather favoring tall pilots (1.80 m for MNC in this case), the Turismo Veloce is very welcoming to long thighs and knees, which wedge wonderfully against the skillfully flared tank..

The hydraulic controls – clutch and brake – are quickly adjusted thanks to their small screw and the electronic controls are almost as quickly tamed. The masterful slab which acts as a dashboard greatly facilitates access to the various settings (read our Technical point on page 3).

After having "checked" its various on-board systems, the MV Agusta can be seen again in the middle of the screen. Narcissistic, the Turismo Veloce? No, it simply signals to the stunned that the side stand is deployed (standard unit on the Lusso only).

The "Side Stand!" disappears as soon as the side is stowed and releases the "speed" field: 230 km / h maximum according to the manufacturer’s technical sheet. But for Site today, it’s not so much to check this V Max as to test the bike without damaging it….

Because without reaching the cataclysmic degree of our very first outing on the handlebars of the Rivale in the same region of Nice (read our), our 230 km trip aboard the Turismo Veloce begins on soaked roads…

It is therefore with caution that we swallow the first kilometers on the handlebars of the Turismo Veloce 800 which, although it varies in many points compared to the Rivale, seems to us almost as easy to access thanks to its lightness. ‘on the one hand, and his docility on the other.

Like the rest of the MV Agusta production, this new road seems very light: the 191 kg dry announced by the brand seem barely weighed down by the gas tank filled before our departure. And yet, the tank holds 22 liters, which is far from negligible, especially since it is high placed.

The zigzagging and steeply sloping streets at the start of our route are climbed or downhill without any apprehension. The front end of the motorcycle is perfectly neutral, the steering – Italian style! – acceptable and the 190 mm wide rear tire (!) absolutely does not affect the agility of the bike, which has a very short wheelbase (1424 mm).

The long-travel suspensions (160 mm at the front and 165 at the rear, never seen on an MV!) Absorb cobblestones, speed bumps and other holes in the road with application. The buttocks and the back of the pilot are particularly spared, and only the big shocks come to pat the wrists.

The engine also greatly facilitates handling: injection and transmission have been finely tuned by engineers. So much so that the "Rain" mode carefully selected by Site is quickly abandoned in favor of the "Touring" mode, just as docile but a little more vigorous at mid-range.

Accepting to trot at 2000 rpm on the last report (just above 40 km / h), the Tre Pistoni is vigorous on the intermediate gears from 3500 rpm. With the quickshifter – fitted as standard on the standard model as well as on the Lusso! -, we like to quietly go up the gears without cutting the throttle.

Also active when going down the gears, he puts the little throttle "ki-va-bien" to eliminate any jerk in the chain, provided that the pilot does not touch the right grip. Gentle at low and mid-range and at low or medium load, the EAS 2.0 system is a real plus in town and on the road.

Exactly, on the small always wet departmental roads around Nice (La Trinite, Castagniers, Colomars then Vence to Seranon, you follow?), Site plays yoyo, far behind the Aprilia rider who opens the road with great restraint…

Braking is thoughtful thanks to its moderate bite and its perfectly dosable power, whether you use the lever or the pedal – a little low on our bike. While trying to trigger the ABS, Site realizes that the grip of the original Pirelli Scorpion Trail – and the grip of the road! – is good. We put a little more gas ?!

Take turns and increase the pace, the Tre Pistoni 800 asks only that! Although the sound level of the new silencers does indeed seem slightly lower than that of the Brutale or F3, the still rocky tone still encourages screwing the handle in the corner, irresistibly…

After the 5000 rpm mark, the "Turismo" becomes devilishly "Veloce"! On the first two gears and by searching a little, it is possible to raise the front wheel, like that, just under acceleration. The always-on-two-wheelers don’t care and will even be wary of it, but it shows how healthy this "little" 800 is !

The extension is much less impressive than on the F3 800 – which spat 148 horsepower -, but the 110 hp of this version are indeed present. In use, however, we rarely exceed 7000 rpm because the torque under this regime is sufficient to print a good rhythm.

Like the ABS, the traction control is triggered only if you insist heavily, even when setting it to maximum (level 8). By opening wide on the first three gears, the warning light comes on all the same on the dashboard, but the interventions are so barely perceptible that they in no way hinder the pilot‘s concentration..

Thanks to some nice clearings during the lunch break, our return to Cap Ferrat (via Grasse, Cagnes-sur-mer and Roquefort-les-Pins, are you still there?) Is carried out on partially dry. As a result, acceleration, cornering and braking gradually increase…

As soon as the asphalt allows it, MNC keeps the brake on entering a curve and notices that the sinking of the fork slightly disturbs the trajectory. Like the Rivale, the Turismo Veloce 800 is not as precise as its roadster or sport siblings. It was to be expected…

It is at the exit of a bend that MNC discovers the main weak point of this new MV Agusta: under the impetus of the engine – vigorous, as we have seen! -, the bike slackens a little too much at the rear. Even more annoying: as long as the coating is not impeccable, it starts to bounce more than reason.

Tightening the preload knob does not make it possible to erase this defect … It is more on the side of the hydraulics – the rebound of the Sachs shock absorber is adjustable – that a remedy could have been found, but curiously the Italian engineers prevented us from playing the screwdriver !

Despite the very reasonable pace set by the opener, Site therefore realizes that the new MV Agusta is more Turismo than Veloce. An observation shared by all the French journalists present, but that our European colleagues who came to try the bike the previous days would not have established…

"My ! You French journalists always want to drive fast, and you are often complaining, but that’s your nature", jokes – half – one of the members of the MV Agusta team … Not wrong. But it is also true that MNC expected a more rigorous rear end.

Perfect for rolling on a secondary network (limited, let us remember, at 90 km / h …), the new MV also shows some limits on the motorway. The bubble in particular, even raised to the maximum – with one hand and despite the fixing bar of our GPS! – does not protect the shoulders or the head.

In addition, if the vibrations that appear in the buttocks at around 6,000 rpm go almost unnoticed when working on small roads, they are more annoying when traveling on expressways where the Turismo Veloce is precisely stuck at 130 km / h at this speed.

Too bad, because the other points of support (hands and feet) are immune to any crackling. In addition, the cruise control fitted as standard is super easy to use and allows you to fine-tune your speed to the nearest km / h.

Finally, during the passage – obligatory, really ?! – on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, Site realizes that the buttocks are a little more tired than expected, although we have taken good care to wedge ourselves against the ball of the passenger seat, where the rider seat has a width remarkable but lacks a little consistency.

The eardrums are also a little fed up, because for a "GT", the Turismo Veloce makes too much noise. Well connected with the shiny old cars or Italian supercars crossed on the seaside, the MV Agusta lacks velvety and discretion..

Stationed at a red light and at a standstill, Site attracts the attention of a lovely blonde at the wheel of her convertible. But it is not the charm that acts, rather the noise of the clutch – in an oil bath, however – too noisy for his eyes, ears, as well as ours.

Our friendly neighbor doesn’t know it, but she can consider herself happy: she is not on the exhaust side! Not too disturbing for the rider installed on the bike, the bawling of the pot when accelerating is more so for onlookers.

The noises which emanate from the depths of the Tre Pistoni "benefit" however to everyone, including the biker. Some looks even betray a slight concern about the reliability of the mill … MV Agusta is however calm: the maintenance intervals of the Turismo Veloce are 15,000 km. Reassured ?

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