Dear MV Addicts,

The meeting was great and speaking with my friend Roberto who is working in the factory, he let me know the following infos : -F5 is near finished and will appear in Milan Show in September. -Brutale S will also appear over there and will cost in Italy 26'000'000 Italian Lires.In the meeting they have shown 2 bikes, one static and the other is owned and ridden by Castiglioni's son,both bikes were bright black. The motor of the Brutale instead is capacity of 749cc is totaly new (valves, camshafts, crankshaft 1.2kg less, pistons, fuel injection, geartrain etc). But the most interesting thing is that the inlet manifolds ports and exhaust header are fitted with something like a wing inside. These wings are patented by CRC (Cagiva Research Center)and create a separate flow, hence on the low revs even with a little volume of gaz the motor is more powerful (+7hp on the mid-range without loss of power in the high revs). Brutale's motor is more torquey and as powerful as the old F4 (127 hp) but at 12700 rpm instead 13300. The sound is more rumbling than the f4... Brutale is also fitted now with oil cooler and a new oil filter -Piaggio has realy bought 25% of MV Agusta motor (thanks for the money) -Return to races with MV not until 2003, but for battling in the front has me said Roberto. -Rocco Sifredi has crashed his F4 Oro, but that perhaps you don't care.

In the chapter of the old bikes, I've seen and heard the 500 six cyclinders...GREAT!!! what a sound !! but the fours inline weren't not bad at all. Read and Ago seems to be still runing fast (there was a little circuit were they ran).

Bests Regards

Laurent-Swizerland

-- Laurent GABERELL (laurent.gaberell@urbanet.ch), June 20, 2001

Answers

Laurent,

Was there any news regarding the building of the "Senna" model ? I've had one on order since September, 2000.

-- Francis Duguid (francis.duguid@bt.com), June 20, 2001.

Sorry Francis,

I've forgotten to ask about this bike and a friend of me has also ordered one...But I e-mail often with Roberto and I can ask about the Senna. I understand that's a long time to wait...

Bests regards

Laurent-Swizerland

NB: one Senna was shown at the meeting (OK you can say that they show it everytime... I know...)

-- Laurent GABERELL (laurent.gaberell@urbanet.ch), June 20, 2001.

I too have had a Senna on order to be the perfect compliment in my garage next to my 2000 F4S, and RC-51 Superbike.

The wait for my F4S was almost 1.5 years.

I expected the Senna would be shorter because the line was already set up and moving......

Please do let us know who the Senna is coming. It's quite possibly the most stunning example of art and technology I've ever seen......but waiting 3 years is out of the question for alot of us. Especially with the 900cc bike coming out.

Although I'm too concerned. If the bikes that we're ordered in September of 2000 aren't built and shipped yet, it makes sense that the bikes (900cc) ordered in September of 2001 won't be here until sometime in 2002.

Not a great turnaround rate. I'm amazed that a company like MV Agusta, who could sell every single bike they build would make their customers wait like this......and to top it off, simply ignore questions regarding the whereabouts of our bikes.

But oh well. I'm still waiting, $25,000 in my pockets.....

-- Jeremy (jriga@mac.com), June 21, 2001.

Thanks Laurent for the update. Any indication of styling changes for the F5? There was an artist's rendering in one of the popular U.S. motorcycle magazines and it looked more like a Cagiva Raptor than the present F4!

-- Chris Eden (biospeck@mindspring.com), June 22, 2001.

Design is a very subjective thing and you can't imagine and being near reality as easy as for mecanical descriptions or if you are able to doing that you will be a very good designer. If you're broad minded enough, the pictures shown in magazines are good indicator for what could be a bike in the future. Like for other things the reality is often slightly different just because of industrial purposes and reality of the users.Just wach these pictures, for exemple note that windscreen are almost under the fork yoke, the guys are doing that for the look of their pictures, but you can't afford to built a bike like this....!!!! I'm not Cagiva employee but I know that Cagiva's designs are made in Crimson design Center and MV design are made in CRC in San Marino, I doubt they choose to mix the designs, and in my eyes it's only Cagiva's spirit misunderstanding from the journalist. And why not wait and being amazed when the real bike will be out ? For the pleasure of the design, is to see and touch the real things not see pictures.But the best is when the creature is strait on the road....

BR

Laurent-Swizerland

-- Laurent GABERELL (laurent.gaberell@urbanet.ch), June 22, 2001.

Laurent, Any word on when the factory will begin shipping F4 bikes that meet the California-US exhaust emission requirements? We've been waiting forever, for rules that are (unfortunately) an exception to the US standards for emission. Thanks, Brian

-- Brian (bgaret@home.com), June 27, 2001.

Dear Brian, I'm not the guy who decide of the laws but this sound like importer- words-they-don't-wont-loose-their-customers.And because they speak to their customers as to a monkey they will loosing a lot. In my mind but I can do a mistake (rules change sometimes)Regulations for Swizerland and California are the same and, take my word for it, my bike has standard exhaust system (I live in Swizerland). European rules are becoming even harder than Cal. and Swiss rules. For exemple, Triumph put a brand new motor in the Tiger and the Daytona not because Cal. rules but because EC rules and now Swizerland for 2002 is going to take the same EC 04 rules for the future because they are harder than ever. It seems that your importer is not transparent. I like MV/Cagiva products, but customers have to be satisfied and in Italy they work for but with the back informations of some private importers it seems very hard to work....

BR

Laurent-Swizerland

-- Laurent GABERELL (laurent.gaberell@urbanet.ch), June 28, 2001.