Rode an MV F3 800 this past weekend

I love this bike! What an incredible sound. The snarling, aggressive intake honk it gives off when you really give it full beans is so addicting. I've always loved triples, ever since my Triumph T595 back in the early 2000's.

My Ducati dealer, Melillimoto in Ocala, FL, recently became an MV Agusta dealer and had a demo day this past weekend. The F3 800 was available and I took it for a 15 mile spin while others were testing the F4 RR, Brutale 1090R (which I also rode), Ducati Monster 796, Hyperstrada and 899.

The ride was pretty low speed, and after a pretty boring ride on the Brutale 1090R I decided to play tail-end Charlie so I could slingshot (there was only a lead rider and no "cleanup" rider) and catch up to the group so I could see a bit what the F3 800 was about. Well, it was Ocala and so there were no really good roads and the pace was quite mellow, so I didn't get to really take it for a spirited run through roads/corners I know well. However, I did get to take a few turns and run through the first two gears a bit and was very impressed. At around 50mph-60mph the counter-rotating crank of the 800cc triple seemed to really negate the "normal" crank inertia make the bike extremely flickable. Some of you may recall that I have the Rotobox carbon fiber wheels that are over a pound lighter than BSTs, and I still found the F3 800 to be quite easy to throw from side to side. The seating position was similar to the Panigale and I found it quite comfortable. Unfortunately, the suspension was very undersprung for my *ahem* manly build and sagged considerably, but at least it gave a very plush ride. The powerband was quite peaky in comparison to the 1199, and even though it's a longer-stroke motor compared to the F3 675 with significantly more torque, I found it to be a bit gutless (in comparison to my 1199 with Termi slips and 1-tooth down countershaft sprocket). However, the power really picks up up top after about 8,000 rpm all the way to the 13,500 limiter and it simply sounds incredible. That sound! I would buy it just for that alone, frankly.

I would love to have rode it harder and through corners I know well to get a better sense of its real character, but I did get enough of a glimpse to know that it could be very special when the suspension is optimized for me. I would love to hear it with a "racing" air filter and some type of exhaust, but I love the way the OEM exhaust looks better than any of the aftermarket stuff I've seen so far, and it was loud enough stock. Interestingly, I was following someone test riding the 899 Panigale, which looked and sounded great. But for my money, it would be hands down the F3 800 over the 899 (The F3 800 with EAS (quick shift) and ABS is $15,800).

Since I have the 1199 and am VERY pleased with it, I'm not really in the market for the F3 800, though I would be quite tickled if I owned one. However, I actually test rode the F3 800 to get a feel for it's 800cc triple because THIS is what I really want as a second bike:





MV Agusta Rivale 800 - YouTube

Sebastian, owner of Melillimoto, says one is on the water on the way to him right now...

I love triples. It's why I've kept my 955 Triumph all these dozen years. The Triumph Speed Triple RR is at/near the top of my garage add-on list.

As for MV, I'd definitely consider the 800 except for a) price, and b) dealer network/support.

How would you compare it to the Daytona 675R?

Charliem90 said:

I love triples. It's why I've kept my 955 Triumph all these dozen years. The Triumph Speed Triple RR is at/near the top of my garage add-on list.

As for MV, I'd definitely consider the 800 except for a) price, and b) dealer network/support.

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Love it, but b) kills it for me too.

Capt CF said:

Love it, but b) kills it for me too.

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c) Reliability???

Stw said:

c) Reliability???

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It's Italian. Quirkiness is part of the package.

MV's reliability is much better than it was 10 years ago. I had a 2000,2001,2006, and 2010 F4. The 2006 and 2010 had no issues whatsoever. From the forum, looks like Panigales have more issues than MVs.

Interesting. Have you ridden the 899?

Good write up. I miss Seb and family. Good people!

well, I owned an F3 before I traded it on the Pani. I had nothing but a nightmare with electrical issues. after it sat for the third time for over two months. the owner where I bought it gave me a deal I couldn't refuse on the Pani. glad I did it.

Boy I want one, IMHO the F3 800 blows the current F4 away style wise and though potent, the F4 is ancient at this point! Ergos are ...., mechanics are ok and the design is just not fresh at all.

Know I am going to get fire so bring it!

triumphchris675 said:

well, I owned an F3 before I traded it on the Pani. I had nothing but a nightmare with electrical issues. after it sat for the third time for over two months. the owner where I bought it gave me a deal I couldn't refuse on the Pani. glad I did it.

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issues that they couldent fix? Or you just got frustrated? (rightfully so)

I love the B3 800 I have. Superb motor, torquey, great sound. It's geared a bit strangely in that you're in a higher rpm than you would think would be ideal.

I'm lovin the rivale, so much more than the ducati hyper 821.

Agibbs996 said:

MV's reliability is much better than it was 10 years ago. I had a 2000,2001,2006, and 2010 F4. The 2006 and 2010 had no issues whatsoever. From the forum, looks like Panigales have more issues than MVs.

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Granted the MVA reliability has come a long way in recent years.
But DUCATI are way out in front with the 1199 despite it being cutting edge technology.
The MVA technology is still pretty much dated.

And what about the rear hub issue in the MV's?
That's a biggie.
Also the throttle control/fueling.

There's a guy down on the Gold Coast that's gone to the trouble of re-engineering the rear hub in order to fix the issue. I think his name is Mitch?
It's been going on for years on the MV's, and they haven't fixed it yet as far as I know.

IMO, at least the rear hub is solid in the DUCATI's, and everything else is either sorted out pretty well, and/or not repeated in newer models.

I would like to see an honest comparison/shoot out between the 899 and the 800 F3
That would be very interesting

996racer said:

Boy I want one, IMHO the F3 800 blows the current F4 away style wise and though potent, the F4 is ancient at this point! Ergos are ...., mechanics are ok and the design is just not fresh at all.

Know I am going to get fire so bring it!

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Fair and reasonable comments

the rear hub design on the older MVs (it's since been redesigned, but can't recall from what model year forward) had an issue if it was overtorqued, it caused premature failure of the hub (this is a potential problem on all single sided swingers) but on the mv it was particularly susceptible.

To be fair, MV is a tiny company, they only sold around 7k bikes worldwide last year, with a goal of 10k for this year.

I will say, MV is stepping things, tho certainly they don't have the R&D money that ducati has, and MVs still tend to be "buggy" the first few years. Still they've come a long way. Fueling seems to be the main issue and the F3s have had lots of map updates. The other problem was the gear selector indicator on the dash would change back and forth from 5 to 6. They've recently released a fix, finally, that sorts that issue.

Brad said:

Granted the MVA reliability has come a long way in recent years.
But DUCATI are way out in front with the 1199 despite it being cutting edge technology.
The MVA technology is still pretty much dated.

And what about the rear hub issue in the MV's?
That's a biggie.
Also the throttle control/fueling.

There's a guy down on the Gold Coast that's gone to the trouble of re-engineering the rear hub in order to fix the issue. I think his name is Mitch?
It's been going on for years on the MV's, and they haven't fixed it yet as far as I know.

IMO, at least the rear hub is solid in the DUCATI's, and everything else is either sorted out pretty well, and/or not repeated in newer models.

I would like to see an honest comparison/shoot out between the 899 and the 800 F3
That would be very interesting

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That Rivale looks awesome. Sounds good as well. I wonder what would be a better purchase, the hypermotard or the Rivale?

zvez said:

I love the B3 800 I have. Superb motor, torquey, great sound. It's geared a bit strangely in that you're in a higher rpm than you would think would be ideal.

I'm lovin the rivale, so much more than the ducati hyper 821.

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Still liking it? Was wondering how it had been working for you since I saw it last Sept. in Murphy.

Charlie, I really like it. fueling is a lot better than my streetfighter ever was, so it's a lot better for commuting. But my fav ride is the multistrada.

U going to Mt Airy this year? Maybe better weather this go around!

Charliem90 said:

Still liking it? Was wondering how it had been working for you since I saw it last Sept. in Murphy.

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I threw a leg over a F3 @ IMS last year and loved it, along with the looks of the bike. If I were in the market for a second bike right now, I'd gamble on the F3 800. Of course it would need to be completely resprung for my weight, probably revalved, and why the hell not throw on BSTs while I'm at it?

Denver Rick said:

How would you compare it to the Daytona 675R?

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Wish I could comment, but I've never ridden a 675R. I wanted one very badly when it first debuted and here very good things. Here is a professional comparison test of the 675R vs. F3 800 vs. GSX-R 750:

2014 Super Middleweight Sportbike Spec Shootout

Agibbs996 said:

MV's reliability is much better than it was 10 years ago. I had a 2000,2001,2006, and 2010 F4. The 2006 and 2010 had no issues whatsoever. From the forum, looks like Panigales have more issues than MVs.

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+1
I put 21,000+ miles on a 2007 MV Agusta F4 1000R and it was FLAWLESS, except for leaking fork seals at 21,500 miles - and I would consider that to be expected. The F4 put my 2012 1199 into the "joke" context in comparison of flaws. Granted, the F4 was basically refined over nearly a decade before a significant upgrade while the 1199 was a ground-up new design - but as was said Ducati has so much more resources than tiny MV and it really shouldn't have had as many recalls and "issues" in its debut.

And I was not kind to the MV either:

On-Board Video of MV Agusta F4 1000R at Daytona International Speedway - YouTube

SOULRIDER said:

Interesting. Have you ridden the 899?

Good write up. I miss Seb and family. Good people!

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I actually didn't even care to test ride the 899 that day, even though I could have. It was good looking and impressively loud when I was following it. Sounded just like the big brother and looked the same as well. Those BPF forks are very nice also and likely much better than the Marzocchi base 1199 ones. The DSS looks very cheap though in person. As was commented on the 899 thread, I personally have no use for it. I've ridden (and raced some) for 23 years and while I do enjoy pushing a smaller bike closer to its limits than restraining a big one due to mine, the 1199 is just fine for me. With the upgrades (Bitubo ECH-29 Gas Fork Cartridges, Bitubo XXF61 Shock, Bitubo damper, Rotobox CF wheels, Termi slips and map), the base 899 would just be too much of a step back, IMHO. If you want less power, simply short shift, simple as that.