Review: MV Agusta F4

Not so long ago, Kinetic announced their partnership with MV Agusta to serve as their sole distributor for the Indian market. We’ve had a chance to sample the Brutale a few months ago and were blown away by it. This left us wondering what the F4 must be like, at full chat.

Luckily, the day to find out has arrived. Unfortunately, the day also happens to be soaked in torrential rain. It’s turning out to be a bit of an anti-climax, tiptoeing out of the garage and concentrating to keep the bike upright, rather than reveling in its awesome performance.

But then, the F4 is a motorcycle that you are happy enough to simply sit and stare at. It is magnificently detailed and painstakingly put together with a lot of care. An aerodynamic scoop rests below the headlamp and is accentuated by a couple of LEDs, and then there are scoops even in the wing mirrors to allow air to pass over the F4 smoothly, apart from making it look ultra cool.

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There are exhaust vents even in the tail section to smoothen airflow past the neatly crafted tail lamp as well. And, of course, you can simply not get enough of the quad-pipe exhaust tucked under the seat. Apart from being distinctive and easily recognizable from a mile away, it also makes a noise that will make you go weak in your knees.

Hold the clutch in and thumb the starter for the 998cc, four-cylinder motor to come to life. It settles into a rather mechanical-sounding idle as I fiddle with the starter button again, this time to change the ride mode to something more suitable – ‘Rain’. Traction control is pre-set for maximum control and ABS to prevent the wheels from locking up as best as it can. Throttle responses are fairly muted till about 4500rpm, after which it flows at a brisk pace till roughly 10,000 revs. The exhaust note keeps getting better as the revs build up.

I am dying to wring the right grip to hear the exhaust roar, but I need to wait. Thankfully, the rain lets up for a while and a narrow dry line appears in the middle of the road. It’s time to jab the starter button again, now to set power delivery to ‘Normal’. Throttle response improves and it is far more immediate now. It gathers speed at a brisk pace till about 10,000rpm and then goes diabolical past it.

The final bit of the rev range passes in a blur and before I know it, its time to shift up through the gearbox. No clutch required though, the quickshifter has that bit sorted. Triple digit speeds appear in no time and I have to shift up through the smooth six-speed gearbox.Before I know it, the F4 is moving at a pace that is too quick for a rain-soaked road. The noise that accompanies it amplifies the sensation, but I have to back off.

As good as this motorcycle looks, it has all the wizardry to tick the right boxes, too. It gets full-bodied 195 horses along with 111Nm of torque to set the 191kg motorcycle in motion. If you do basic math, you realize that’s a lot of power pushing along very little weight, which means pretty incredible acceleration. Read, less than three seconds to 100kph on dry, grippy tarmac.