MV Agusta R 312

Supersonic!

You may be wondering why MV decided to give a 998cc in line four-cylinder motorcycle the designation of '312'. I was too. Until I learned that is the bike's claimed top speed. Yep, 312km/h. 'That should get some serious sports bike-nut attention - and me to work on time' was my thinking on discovering that little tidbit.

Unfortunately the chances of us determining on the Great Ocean Road whether or not the claim holds true were abso-nil. What we do know though, is that the bike is blisteringly fast and in all the right places. Like, really, really fast. Mind-blowing, oh-my-god, full nine yards, outrageously fast.

And that's what this thing is all about. It's not often we get a bike that holds huge surprises. This one is an exception. Both Spannerman and I got off the bike following our first stints, gazed into the middle distance and said "F*$# me dead!" Or words to that effect. It's life-changing at speed, trust me.

You see, it's a pure sports bike, it makes no bones about it. There are no compromises for rider comfort, the seating position is extreme, the pegs are high and things get decidedly toasty on the inner thigh. But, you forgive all that when you get some degree of mastery over the animal power on offer from just about anywhere in the rev range.

This is a wolf in wolf's clothing. If you are looking for forgiving suspension and touring niceties, well, in the words' of that great midday motorcyclist, Dr Phil, 'what were you thinking?'

Okay, it's wickedly fast. It's not all beer and skittles though. At 192kg dry, the bike has to be considered porky. While to old schoolers that might sound a little ridiculous, it has to be looked upon as a frenetic, narrow-focussed race rep. In that light, it is 26kg, yep 26kg, heavier than a GSX-R1000 K6. In an era when sportsbike grams are shaved like good parmesan from every known which-where, 26kg makes the MV a candidate for the one of those fat shows on the telly. Imagine then, how fast the 312's successor will be if its designer sends it on a run every morning and pizza is taken from the menu. It would be untouchable, that engine is so good. It's as simple as that.

TECH SCHOOL
So what lifts this bike above the technological pack? Well for starters it uses the platform supplied by the already eminently competent F4 1000 R as its basis, with a few significant tweaks. This delivers it of nine extra horses over the root bike.

The main differences between the F4 1000 R and F4 R 312 engines are as follows:

The intakes shortened by 10mm, there are 48mm throttle bodies, new 30mm titanium valves, new stronger intake valve springs and new profile intake and exhaust cams.

This has made the spread of power broader, with more go available from just about any point on the redline-free tacho.

The suspension is stiff for road going, but the 50mm carbon nitride Marzocchi forks feature 13 compression and 22 rebound settings, while down the back there's a fully adjustable Sachs shock. This has both high and low-speed compression adjustability. I'm pretty sure that all this adjustability could turn the thing into a swine if handled wrongly, but it does give you the chance to get the 312 set up perfectly for your size and riding intentions. It really is as close to full-on race-spec suspension as you will ever need. Further race-based good gear can be found in the form of a transversely fitted Ohlins steering damper in case the whole plot gets a little feisty on exit.

Brakes are fabbo Brembo radially-mounted, four-piston calipers snatching twin 320mm rotors up front and another four-piston caliper and 210mm rotor sternwards. These are as good as stopping gets, audibly 'fizzing' as you pull the lever in. The front suspension is damped so well, so precisely that ridiculously energetic handfuls of braking power are sent reliably to the front contact patch, offering stoppie-potential aplenty. Perfect.

SO, SHOULD YOU?
The bike demands rider involvement. On my first ride, I admit to feeling a little intimidated. All that go, all that Italian testosterone. It seemed to be sneering at my early half-lean attempts at pushing on. It asked for muscle. Once I'd arrived at the conclusion that I was actually in charge and stared the thing down, it was transformed into a compliant, if still somewhat menacing companion. A bit like The Phantom's 'Devil' - loyal and brutally competent if you are the master, snarly and belligerent if you can't cope. It's Italian, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

It's not just me that reckons this thing is close to the ultimate sports weapon. You see the bike took out the Best Motorcycle gong at the prestigious MASTER BIKE competition held at Jerez last year.

The riders included 18 specialist journalists and world-renowned riders like Randy Mamola, Jürgen Fuchs and Stefan Chambon. Yep, I'm in esteemed company calling the R 312 a goodie.

A FINE PEDIGREE...
There are few marques that can claim the sort of sporting success of MV Agusta. Here's a short history of one of motorcycling's finest.

MV Agusta was born in the last, dark months of the Post-Second World War period when it became necessary to prepare for "after".

It was built with the intention of saving the jobs of "Costruzioni Aeronautiche Giovanni Agusta" workers (the MV brand did not exist at the time) and of supplying Italy, during the period of reconstruction, with a means of transport that was simple and economic.

Count Giovanni Agusta put his cue in the rack in 1927 with the company solidly established in the world of aviation and in the hands of his missus, Countess Giuseppina and his first born son Domenico.

Motorcycle production began in 1945 when "Meccanica Verghera" was officially set up, giving Count Domenico the chance to do what he really wanted to - build motorcycles.

He set about tossing all his efforts into two wheeled machines, signing the best riders of the fifties and sixties; Carlo Ubbiali, Tarquinio Provini, John Surtees, Gary Hocking, Mike Hailwood, Giacomo Agostini and Phil Read to showcase the MV brand on the world's racetracks.

MV Agusta went on to win 75 World Brand and Rider championships, 207 Grands Prix and had 3,027 victories in various other disciplines. It also established itself in mass production, producing models that were technically and stylistically innovative.

MV Agusta did not survive the death of Count Domenico in 1971 but after over twenty years absence, under the guidance of the Castiglioni brothers and with the technical, stylistic and design "know how" of CRC - Cagiva Research Centre, managed by Massimo Tamburini, it returned in 1997 with the launch of a new model, the MV F4 750 It was an instant winner and the current R 312 owes much of its innovation and style to that bike..

PARDON?