MV Agusta F4S

When 'Feen' called to tell me he had something "really hot" for AMCN to test, little did I know what lay in store. Feen's version of "really hot" was the recently-arrived MV Agusta F4S Evo2, all $28,990 of it.

However, it turned out that the real version of "really hot" was a heatwave that saw me at Queensland Raceway on the very day that Brisbane set an all-time record for power consumption as people headed indoors and cranked their air-cons up to redline.

The reason? Why just a mere 38¡ C in Queensland's capital, but a scorching 46¡ at the Ipswich venue. I could've fried an egg on the MV's frame rails - or photographer Mark Horsburgh's head for that matter.

"I'm wilting - can't you ride any faster so we can get back inside," he complained. Maybe he should've tried aiming his Canon while wearing full leathers? Fair dinkum, I reckon I drank 10 litres of water, and I still didn't have a pee for two days.

NICE LOB
'Feen' is Paul Feeney, of naturally enough the Paul Feeney Group, national distributor for MVs Down Under. And the up-spec Evo2 had only just lobbed in Oz.

He'd suggested sending the bike down to Horror HQ in Melbourne, but with the inmates on their two-week Christmas break and nobody at home, and me heading north for hols, two plus two obviously equalled F4.

"Hey Feen, how about I sample some Queensland roads over the Chrissy break, and you can send the F4 south to the other guys after that?"

It was a done deal. Looked like my regular Brissy loop of Mount Glorious, Lake Somerset and Mount Mee could be supplemented by the back roads to Noosa via the Glasshouse Mountains and Mapleton. Plus there was Mount Tamborine and Canungra to revisit in the Gold Coast hinterland. All up I added over 1000km to the Evo2's odometer during that week - the most enjoyable weight-loss program I've ever undertaken!

THE GO SHOW?
Changes to the Evo2 are minimal, but address some of the concerns with the first model - a need for more mid-range and some extra top-end mumbo to give some 'go' to accompany the indisputable 'show'.

If this isn't the world's best-looking motorcycle, then the Pope isn't Catholic.

My first impression was that there had indeed been a boost to the mid-range, noticable by a willingness around 5500rpm when the Evo2 kicks up its heels and develops greater urgency to its demeanour, pulling cleanly all the way through to the 13,000 sign-off.

All is not what it seems though, and the 'kick' is in some part due to a weaker delivery between 4000-5500, which in turn accentuates the urge from there onwards.

Swings and roundabouts I guess, and I can't say that the missing ponies down low were an inconvenience. It's a zone that you accelerate through readily in normal sporting use anyway. Besides, if you've regularly got the F4 below 5500rpm, sell it and buy its distant cousin instead, a Cagiva Navigator.

BETTER BRAKES
The extra power above this zone has been achieved by slightly increasing the compression, changing to Mahle pistons, and altering the fuel-injection mapping.

There is also a revised Nissin brake package on the Evo2, with a small cutaway in the new master-cylinder to allow air to escape. Incidentally, Nissin, via MV, is making the brake upgrade available to all current MV owners.

The remainder of the chassis remains unaltered, which is to say that means a mix of good and bad. The seat is still a pain in the arse - literally. After living with the MV daily for a full week I was walking like a rodeo reject who'd 'swallowed' the pommel.

Additionally, there's quite a reach to the bars over the sexily-scuplted tank, and a lot of weight on your wrists.

As pointed out in AMCN's previous test of a F4 (Vol 50 No 7), static weight balance is okay at 52/48% front bias (fully fuelled), but with a 77kg, 180cm rider in situ it's 48/52% - exactly the opposite to Ducati's 996.

That's not a problem in most road situations, or even at rideday pace on the track, but when things heat up the MV's front end can become a little vague.

Having said that, the quick steering, fantastic turn-in, superb brakes (power and feel), firm suspension and copious ground clearance make for an effective track tool and backroads scratcher par excellence.

MEASURABLE BENEFITS?
Have the engine changes reaped any measurable benefits? Our Evo2 testbike pumped out 122.6ps at the rear wheel, up 10.6ps over our previous F4S testbike. As MV claims 10.8ps more power for the Evo2 in its PR blurb, then so far so good.

However, our Evo2 testbike had the optional CRC-developed exhaust system and chip fitted, all $2900 worth. Whether this substantially increases the ponies over the standard system I can't say (well, not until we get our hands on a stocker), but I do know that the CRC Arrow-built system gives a tastier bark to the note (although still within European limits).

While talking dyno figures, the first run in Brisbane's oppressive heatwave conditions on the Startline Motorcycles dyno registered around 119ps. Trying again a week later in Melbourne on the PTR dyno when the four-cylinder powerplant could ingest air that wasn't super-heated recorded 122.6ps.

My laps at Queensland Raceway backed up this discrepancy, with the F4 'struggling' high up in the revs along the front and back straights as it gasped for some cooler and denser intake air compared to its stronger feel in the cooler hills the days before. Mind you, I was wilting more than the bike...

However, I was also witness to a dyno chart that showed an impressive 128ps is on offer at the rear wheel with a high-speed fan to replicate ram-air force feeding. Take your pick. Irrespective of the option you take, in the form tested here the Evo2 has around 10 more ponies than its predecessor - but still around 5ps less than Suzuki's GSX-R750, a bike some $10K-plus cheaper and faster around a racetrack.

DECIDING FACTOR
Not that peak power is likely to be the deciding factor in MV ownership. The F4S is much more than that, much more.

We commented on it in AMCN's Exotic Showdown back in Vol 50 No 7, where we compared the F4S with Aprilia's RSV1000R, Ducati's 996SPS and Honda's VTR1000 SP-1.

Back then the MV was the least powerful of the quartet, the least comfortable, and the slowest around Phillip Island with a best laptime of 1:48.89 (4.36sec off the SPS, 2.79sec off the RSV-R and 2.36sec off the SP-1) - but it was by far the best looker.

However, the F4S had the highest speed through the 400m speed trap (217.44kmh), was second quickest over 400m (11.20sec), and was only 4kmh off the 996SPS's top speed of 255kmh entering Phillip Island's Turn One.

The Evo2 version has overcome the power deficiency with its extra 10ps, and would now shoot to the top of that quartet on the dyno. Whether that will allow it to close the gaps elsewhere will require another comparo though.

SMILE FACTOR
However, the F4 oozes quality touches, attention to detail and a 'smile factor' that arguably leaves the others in its wake.

I couldn't live with an F4 every day, although I'd certainly like one in my garage. That way, while my butt cheeks recovered from my last ride I'd still have something nice to entice me out to the garage.

If pride of ownership is where you place your priorities, then the MV is the sort of bike that can catch you out in the heat of the moment. It certainly did to me...