MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800

VLJ, I’ve ridden the Daytona 675 a number of times and now this F3. Both nice machines, but the MV has a lot more tuned intake/exhaust sound (that I love to hear), it spins up much faster (appropriate for a sport bike, I think) and it has styling that looks good from every angle (character is appearance also). The bike comes off a lot edgier than the Triumph, which some will praise and others will fault, but I love it. It reminds me of the Ducati 748R I owned for several years – a racebike for the street. MV keeps adding new and improved bikes. Great job! The new dash looks fine! Try to ignore all these super critical commenters. They must be miserable to be so angry and critical of almost anything posted here. This is such a great time of the year. Lots of new and exciting new bikes! Enjoy the show. We live in such a great time.The “only 36 MV dealers in the US” comment is valid, but as the owner of a first-year F3 I can say the bike has been reliable so far and has so much more character (in a good way) than any Japanese bike or even the Triumph triples. I’m not so enthralled, however, with the styling – too “adventure bike” for my tastes and inseam (34″ seat height!).What is thing but a Weestrom in fancy duds? Set them side by side, they have the same lines and the same function.It’s funny how when the Italians copy the Japanese, they make the bike look alot better and jump the price. When the Japanese mimic the Europeans, they make the bike look a whole heck of alot uglier, but lower the price.And this rule almost never varies. It’s like a law of nature. Must be cultural differences between the two societies on how they view and value copying and mimicking.This is a “Watershed” moment, for me at least. This is exactly what I’ve been asking for low these many years. Upright Ergos, Very Capable SportBike handling & weight, all in a package with decent touring accuterments; wind protection & hard bags.The closest thing was the BMW F800 GT, but I wouldn’t spend that kind of $$$ on a buzzy twin. The next was the KTM SM-T but it had the tallish suspension, which I don’t need/want.I think its a beautiful sexy Italian designed bike but its also got all the limitations that being an Aprilia has, namely; snatchy EFI, questionable long-term reliability and limited dealer network.So I’m still waiting for Yamaha FJR 09 or the Triumph 800 cc motor to get the Daytona Treatment and then be assembled into this format, or a Speed Triple with the wind protection and bags and better seat . Yes, I love triples. Have you ridden one?There would simply be no comparing this to the 600-700 lb tourers, even those with 150+ HP because you’ve got 200+ lbs of bike to drag around.I hope its a sales success and that the other manufacturers follow suit. I hope this is the dawn of a brand new sector of bikes; The lightweight, midsized, upright ergo’d tourer with long distance serious sport riding as the target.OK, looks totally righteous, but… It’s 43 degrees out and raining. It will be raining all day. I need to ride 600 miles that day, then ride another 500 the next, and another 700 the day after that, then back home on the last day, a 300 mile jaunt. I do not like wearing sox or underwear on successive days. I will need to see someone at a nice restaurant on day 2 and will need to have a decent shirt, slacks and shoes ready to wear, possibly a sport coat. I’ll be spending at least half my time on big slabs, on cruise control, and where I can I’ll be riding rather less sedately on secondary roads, but I have a schedule to keep. Now, will the MV be able to cover this? I’m not so sure. Until it can, it’s better designated a SST rather than GT. My 2008 K1200gt (sofa strapped to surplus shuttle booster) does GT quite well. Not so sure I’d dump it for the MV.