“Beauty is a form of genius,” said Oscar Wilde, “Higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation. It cannot be questioned. It has divine right of sovereignty. It makes princes of those who have it.”
Let’s face it, beauty is why men want to marry Margot Robbie. And women, Chris Hemsworth. Likewise, it’s why pretty much every gearhead extent would give their left leg for a Ferrari — any Ferrari, despite their protests about, say, the 308 — and why every motorcyclist, regardless of whether they were riding Harley or Honda, did the whole Oh-my-God-what-is-that doubletake as I rode by on MV’s Superveloce S. Beauty, as England’s greatest 19th century playwright — hey, it’s my story and I’ll laud whom I want — opined, beauty needs no explanation; it just is.
The problem, of course, is that beauty is only the insinuation of performance, not its promise. We exhalt Ferrari because the speed its profile promises Maranello’s pistons deliver. Ms. Robbie got into films because of how she looks; she’s a movie star because of how she acts. DeTomaso Panteras and Sienna Miller are neither because they never managed to deliver what their faces so dramatically promised. The question, then, at least for motorcyclists tempted by iconic shapes, is where does the Superveloce S fit in the art-versus-performance spectrum.
That the Superveloce is beautiful is without question. MV can wax lyrical all they want about this being an homage to Giacomo Agostini and that its mechanics harken back to the 500 triples that won so many GP500 — the precursor to MotoGP — championships in the ‘60s. On the other hand, if beauty needs explanation, then it is plainly not beautiful. So, whether the Superveloce actually does evoke memories of MVs past matters not a whit. It matters simply whether it is pleasing to the eye. What’s most ironic about all this, however, is that rendering the Superveloce so iconic didn’t take a whole lot of effort; other than the front fairing and that wisp of a rear tail section, it’s pretty much an F3 in Agostini clothing. Even the gas tank is shared.
So, with the question of its good looks dispensed with, the question that remains is whether it’s a good motorcycle and, for that, the answer is very much “it depends.”
That “it depends” is very much guided how far you ride, where you ride (actually, more like how fast you ride) and, probably most important, how limber/old you are. If you are, for instance, young, pre-naturally-flexible, spend a lot of time at high-speed on the open road, or, if old and arthritic, only ride as far as the latest motorcycling waterhole, then the Superveloce is wonderful motorcycle indeed, the performance its bodywork promises fully delivered. If you’re ancient — which does help afford the Superveloce S’s $31,598 MSRP — and want something to take you on sporting excursions into the boonies, well then, like so many things beautiful, there is a pitfall.
The Superveloce S does — as I will explain in a minute — many things well, but comfort isn’t necessarily one of them. Oh, I too have read reviews that say the riding position is somewhat comfortable. I can only assume that the authors of such an opinion are either 18-years-old, practice Pilates every day or possess a flexibility that I can only dream about.
Said riding position, even by middleweight sportbike standards these days, is pretty extreme. Indeed, while riding it through traffic in suburban Montreal, I couldn’t help think that the Superveloce’s designer, Adrian Morton, tried to emulate another Italian icon, Ducati’s famed 916. Like that most beautiful of Dukes, the bars are quite low, the seat has you jammed up quite forward and you’re literally sitting over the front wheel. Great for racing round Mosport — or strafing Mulholland Boulevard — but my Lord, is it tough on old joints and decrepit muscles. The good news is that when I went fast enough — Honestly officer, anything less than 150 sends my shoulder into spasms — the wind blast took the weight off protesting shoulder and wimpy wrists. It could not alleviate, however, that this old, calcified neck could not bend back nearly far enough to keep helmet visor parallel to terra firma without strain. Throw in a seat that gives planks a bad name and you need to be sure that you and your ass fit Superveloce riding position.
That now aside, the good news is that other than corporal considerations, the Superveloce is a gem. Unadulterated gem, in fact. The engine, for instance, is the perfect meld of twin-cylinder torque — at least for 798-cc — and four-cylinder verve. There’s 147 horsepower readily at hand if you should decide to spin it to 13,000 rpm, but there is more than passable — again, for a middleweight — torque as low as 4,000 rpm. It’s smooth, makes oh-so-delicious vroom noises and once past 9,000 rpm seems to grow another set of titanium intake and exhaust valves if not quite another full complete piston. Throw in a most excellent quickshifter system — smooth both up and down the gears — for a truly engaging powertrain equal to any.
Indeed, this is my favourite middleweight engine of all time… except for the retuned-for-more-torque version of the same 798-cc triple fitted to MV’s Turismo Veloce. And, if MV forums be any guide, you needn’t worry about Italian reliability woes. Not only are the current models seemingly more than passably durable but MV has a record of responding quickly to owner’s mechanical complaints. Indeed, my only complaint is that the throttle is not very responsive right off idle. This doesn’t seem to be a case of fuel-mixture fluffiness resulting from overly lean EFI settings but rather a deliberate attempt by MV Agusta — by tuning the EFI-by-wire — to incorporate some form of electronic ‘throttle tamer’ to slow the movement of the throttle butterflies a low speed. Ironically, this attempt to make the throttle smoother ended up causing both I and Costa Mouzouris — another very experienced road tester for Driving.ca — to stall the MV occasionally taking off from a stop.
What MV has not in any way futzed with is the power of the Brembo brakes. Equipped with the latest in Brembo Stylema four-pot calipers squeezing 320-mm discs up front, just brushing the radial master cylinder’s adjustable brake lever generates clamping force lesser sporting bikes can dream about. Of course, it helps that the Superveloce S weighs only 173 kilograms.
Unfortunately, our short test did not allow for any racetrack shenanigans — which the MV so richly deserves — which means I cannot tell you what it feels like at the limit of adhesion. What I can tell you is that the Superveloce is incredibly stable. Indeed, in terms of high-speed stability, it once again emulates that most famous of Ducati’s, the 916. Completely imperturbable, whether on smooth roads or bumping, the MV’s nonchalance at speed is made all the more incredible since its steering is raked but 23.5 degrees and there’s only 99-milliemtres of trail. Perhaps the Fancy Dan spoked wheels — traditionally spoked wheels are heavier than mags — add more gyroscopic precession. It might be the superb calibration of the 43-mm USD Marzocchi front fork or the Sachs single rear shock (both adjustable for rebound and compression damping as well as preload). Maybe the huge Pirelli Diablo Corsa Rosso 4s — 120/70ZR17 up front and 180/55ZR17 in the rear — have something to do with it. What is certain is that the S is much calmer at speed than comparable middleweights.
As for the available tech, the MV excellent but not start of the art displays and computer gizmos. The 5.5-inch TFT screen, for instance, is bright enough to be read even is direct sunlight. On the other hand, there’s no fuel gauge; juts a warning light. Continental’s six-axis MK100 Cornering ABS lets the anti-lock brakes optimize stopping power in curves as well as tailor traction control when leaned over. Cruise control, an anti-wheelie function and a launch control system round out the safety and performance nannies. There is also, would you care about such things, wireless phone connectivity.
None of which is the reason you’re going to head to an MV Agusta dealer looking for a middleweight sportbike. Yes, the performance is more than stellar. MV’s build quality is also much improved. And, if anecdotal evidence can be believed, the dealership experience is improving now that the company is under the KTM umbrella. Nonetheless, the main reason you’ll spend $31,598 for Superveloce S is because, as my favourite poet might have said were he a modern motorcyclist, an MV Agusta makes princes of those who ride them. Not since I first laid eyes on Laverda’s RGS1000 way back in 1981 have I seen a more beautiful motorcycle.
Sign up for our newsletter Blind-Spot Monitor and follow our social channels on X, Tiktok and LinkedIn to stay up to date on the latest automotive news, reviews, car culture, and vehicle shopping advice.