MV Agusta Superveloce 800 S 2022 — Specifications

At what point does a motorcycle cease to be a simple vehicle and become a work of art on wheels? Ask the team in Varese, and they will tell you the MV Agusta Superveloce 800 S. Here, we are no longer talking about a simple neo-retro bike, but an aesthetic statement costing close to €24,000. The mechanical heart, a 798 cc three-cylinder engine screaming to 13,250 rpm, delivers 147 horsepower and 88 Nm of torque. Figures that, on paper, place it in the realm of sharp sportbikes, but this Italian’s soul lies elsewhere.

The S version plays the card of ostentatious elegance. Forget the carbon fiber and aggressive stickers, make way for a pearlescent white paint scheme, gold spoked wheels, and a brown Alcantara seat. It’s a café racer dressed for the gala, an Italian ice cream as visually sweet as it is dry in its intentions. Compared to a Triumph Street Triple RS, which is much more down-to-earth, or even a Ducati SuperSport, the Superveloce 800 S fully embraces its role as a capricious diva. It is supplied with a racing kit including an Arrow exhaust and a solo cowl, trinkets that do not fundamentally change its character, but participate in the ritual.

Underneath the aesthetics, the bike has evolved to Euro5 standards. The frame gains rigidity, the electronics are enriched with an inertial sensor for more intelligent traction control and anti-wheelie, and ABS now comes from Continental. The Marzocchi fork and Sachs shock remain adjustable, the Brembo radial 4-piston calipers bite on 320 mm discs. With 173 kg dry weight, it promises certain agility, even if its 120 mm ground clearance and 830 mm seat height make it rather an exclusive machine.

Who rides this MV Agusta Superveloce 800 S? Certainly not the novice or the touring rider seeking comfort. The passenger is sacrificed, the riding position is aggressive, and the reliability is not that of a Japanese bike. It is the motorcycle of the demanding collector, the rider who places aesthetic emotion and singularity above all else. It will not offer you the versatility of a Yamaha MT-09, nor the track ferocity of an Aprilia RS 660. It will offer you something rarer: the feeling of riding a mechanical sculpture in motion, with all the compromises that implies. You either love it or hate it, but you won’t forget it.