Technology of the MV Agusta F4

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Technology of the MV Agusta F4
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Technology of the MV Agusta F4

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The technology of the new MV Agusta F4

Things can go terribly wrong. Redesigning a design icon means bringing opposites together. Of course, the new one should look young and fresh. Different and completely independent, of course. But somehow also like the old woman.

Stefan Kaschel, Eva Breutel

December 17, 2009

The real culprit is called tamburini. As almost always when it comes to great motorcycle design from Italy. Massimo Tamburini: brilliant designer and motorcyclist with body and soul. The Ducati 916 first took shape in his mind, and a few years later he surprised everyone with it MV Agusta F4. Both milestones, super sports dreams come true. But both are also suitable for turning into a nightmare. For those who have to put their successors on their wheels.

Pierre Terblanche can tell you a thing or two about it. His Ducati 999 never met the high formal demands that many placed on the successor to the 916. Now it was up to the British Adrian Morton to give the F4 a new, dignified appearance.

Really not an easy task. Whereby Morton certainly played two, no three facts into the hands. On the one hand, that in the course of the past eleven years since the debut of the original F4, the technical requirements have fundamentally changed, opening up completely new scope for designers (see box on page 14). Second, that Morton was allowed to work and learn for many years under Massimo Tamburini at the Cagiva Research Center in San Marino. And third, that the new F4 also bears Tambourini’s signature to a certain extent, because the first drafts for revision were made three years ago. At a point in time that was well before the MV takeover by Harley-Davidson and the subsequent break between Tamburini and MV Agusta.

Should it be because the new F4 is so similar to the old one? Maybe in part. Much more important was certainly MV Agusta’s strategic decision that the new F4 must also be recognizable as an F4 at first glance (see interview on page 17). Characteristic features such as the shape of the headlight or the typical four-pipe exhaust system therefore had to be retained.

Anyone who thinks that not much has changed should take a closer look. The new F4 1000 R is only the same when viewed in isolation. A direct comparison (it is worth taking a look at page 16) reveals astonishing differences. The most important: The new F4 looks lighter, more delicate and dynamic – and therefore simply contemporary. This is particularly evident on the tank and rear end. The basic layout was retained, and yet no one would claim the changes were marginal.

On the contrary. The new F4 rear shows impressively that the era of underseat exhaust systems is far from over. In the age of almost cubic exhaust monstrosities in the 1000 field, the four typical F4 pipes nestle smoothly against the purged rear section and, in combination with the filigree star design of the rear wheel rim, ensure a new lightness that was not so common to the predecessor. The same applies to the tank section: shorter, flatter, but in the characteristic F4 layout. In addition to the millennium touch, the somewhat old-fashioned seating position, which stretched the upper body far over the tank, should have given way to contemporary ergonomics.

A line that continues with the cladding. The F4 looks more crouched, but by no means chubby or compressed. On the contrary, despite all the dynamism, it has remained an elegant appearance, whose proportions seem absolutely harmonious, whose lines are made from one piece. That and the traditional color scheme in simple red and silver are what make the new F4 an exception.

Whether this also applies to their performance remains to be seen. Every millimeter of the motorcycle has been planned, they emphasize in Varese. Everything put to the test. The F4 has not only become significantly lighter, but also more aerodynamic, a total of four centimeters narrower and with more effective air outlets, which also benefit the temperature balance of the four-cylinder.

It remains to be seen whether all of this is sufficient to stand up to the Japanese – and recently also Bavarian – competition on the road and on the slopes. Technically, the new F4 appears to be well equipped, its design is convincing, and its status is unchallenged. That’s a pound to grow with. Especially in times when the fronts are also shifting in terms of price. The F4 will cost 18,500 euros. That is no longer far removed from the Japanese-Bavarian price level. For comparison: the first 750 F4 S was calculated at over 32,000 marks.

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