MV Agusta F3

A flawed masterpiece – I have been riding Ducatis for a while and got a 2016 F3 RC 800 a year ago. This is a real change to the Ducatis and an absolute blast to ride. The handling is amazing and the ergonomics perfect for a smaller person and really quite comfortable for this style of bike. Getting it out on the open road is a revelation. I can't give it five stars… Read more

though because it has issues, quite a few of them that have either occurred to me or are well known. I'll go through the main ones:

- It needs a steering damper. It has a very short wheelbase which gives it the nimble handling but does cause head shake under power. I would not trust one at speed without a damper. This is an easy fix though - buy an ohlins kit and factor it into the price you will pay. -Mirrors. They are sort of functional and you can get a bit of a rear view but you will be doing a lot of chicken wing moves. This is not uncommon though, my real issue is their design. They have a bolt setup which means you think they are adjustable and you move the actual mirror around a bit. Don't do this though as it will loosen the fixing bolt and eventually it will fall off and you cant get to the nut to put it back on. My right side one also vibrates a lot. -Sprag clutch. This is a well documented issue which means you can easily be left stranded and the bike won't start. Ive done 5000km and thankfully haven't had this problem - yet. -Electronics. The electronics are generally a bit wonky and all sorts of things can go wrong. I have had the exhaust valve malfunction come up just recently and am hoping it is a once off. -Parts availability - if stuff has to come from Italy you could be in for a wait but I have been able to get what i need eventually. Prices are very high though. - Suspension is just OK. If you are particularly light or heavy you will probably need to sort it.

After all that you would think it's a crap bike but they are so amazing to ride and imho look so good that I am prepared to put up with these issues. You might also hear about throttle issues but they appear to be sorted from 2016 as I am quite happy with mine (I stick to normal mode). Its an absolutely fantastic bike but would not recommend it if it will be your only bike. Its a perfect second or track bike.

2017 F3 RC Lemon – Purchased my F3 800 RC February 2018 Great looking bike ran superbly until first service. My bike had a factory recall on the engine. The engine head and was changed for a new double spring euro4 version. The bike has been back to the MV dealers 6 times now over the past 14 months. First the bike would not idle when it came back, totally… Read more

erratic between 1000- 2200 rpm Went back 3 times and got slightly better but would not start hot which got worse. Finally the spagg clutch broke and it was towed to another dealer. 3 weeks later after replacing the sprang clutch and a new lithium ion battery at my expense and the bike still would not run satisfactory. MV Italy finally approved a replacement manifold gasket and it now runs OK. Then three weeks latter it begins to have electronic problems Malfunctioning errors Exhaust valve closing The servo on the exhaust flap needed to be replaced and the wiring to the horn had snapped another common problem? So in summary I have owned the bike for 18 months and it has spent over 12 weeks in the dealers workshop. I have owned at least 20 bikes of many different brands over 35 years and I would have to say it is the worst bike by a long way. As for MV they have made no attempt to contact me, this whole process has been a huge cost to me as every time there is always extra costs that MV does not cover, Its a complete lemon