Just curious...I am not a total novice rider, but I would not characterize myself as experienced. I have developed a lustful craving for a new F4 1000 S, but am I am curious about its learning curve. Is this a bike that I can continue to learn on safely, or is this a fast-flicking dangerous in the hands of a newbie type of motorcycle? This question applies to any MV model, not just the F4 1000.

Thanks.

- Mitch

-- Mitch Thompson (mitch-thompson@socal.rr.com), September 26, 2004

Answers

Yo! Mitch, my man. Motorcycle brother. Are you a newbie? Bikes like the MV Agusta needed a much attention & a total TLC (tender loving care, that is!). It is not a crash bike. It is not a test bike. It is not a bike you can just leave unattended. The bike, again, needed attention. It is bike with magnificent handling. It is a bike full of heritage. It is a bike with superb performance. Anybody can own this lovely bike, anyone who is willing to shell out extra bucks on just getting this bikey -- that is. A jap bike is far less sensitive as a starter bike. The MV's & other itallian bikes requires a bit more experienced rider, but i am not saying that you cannot have it as your first bike. You can learn from it as much as you could, but it may cost you (ahem!). My first bike is a Ducati916 & I had four of them eversince with different variants. Good luck!

-- AJ (adiviso@hotmail.com), September 26, 2004.

As I mentioned, I'm not a total newbie. I've had dirt bikes, and my first street bike was a Ducati 900SS. It wasn't a terribly powerful machine, but it was still loads of fun. I always felt it was a bit twitchy, especially compared to my friends' Japanese bikes. Eventually I dropped it on a wet day in the canyons, due to the combination of my inexperience and its twitchiness. My question, really, is how difficult is this to ride while building experience - should I be a seasoned veteran, or can I build my confidence in relative safety on the MV? I REALLY want one, but I want to make sure I'm not rushing in too soon... Thanks.

-- Mitch Thompson (mitch-thompson@socal.rr.com), September 26, 2004.

Mitch,

These bikes, along with any other sports bike, needs to be treated with respect or it will bite. There realy isn't anyreason though why it shouldn't be ridden quite safely by a novice, as long as it is done with caution. The thing is though that this is potentially a huge waste of the bike, and probably a hinderance to the lerning curve of the rider. Wether you get one or not is up to you, your going to be paying the bills. What I would suggest though is that you seek out some quality training. I've been riding bikes for over 20 years now and still have a lot to learn. Advanced training is becoming fairly widly available here in the UK and I would suspect in the US too. I would go for both track and road training as they both help to improve both machine control and confidence. And as experienced riders know well placed confidence is the most valuable tool in the box.

-- Mark M (m.magenis@btinternet.com), September 27, 2004.

I think the question is, how experienced are you at not dropping a motorcycle -even 0 mph tipovers.

A replacment panel is about $800 and a brake lever is about $100. I'm not sure how much are the mirrors. In a 0 mph tip over, you're very likely to scratch or break one or more of the three. There are options for the panel (ie: repaint or carbon fiber fairs) but that will usually cost at least $300.

The MV is not the easiest bike in low speed manuvering because your are leaned so far forward. It's difficult to waddle around with your head between your knees. :) Also, the MV's turning radius is very small. Also, if you're under 5'7", it makes it even harder.

So, it's really a questions of how well do you think you can keep yourself from dropping the MV.

-- Allan Gibbs (Phoenix, AZ) (agibbs996@aol.com), September 27, 2004.

the mv is just like another bike, and frankly i do not understand the hysteria of the above owners if you got a legal licence there is no reason y you should have a problem. if you drop any bike is going to hurt financially, just go for it !!!!! gianni

-- Gianni Guaglianone (gianniguaglianone@btopenworld.com), September 27, 2004.

I also consider myself a relatively inexperienced rider even though my previous two bikes were a YZF 750 followed by a Ducati 748 and I can honestly say that the F4 (in my case a 750) is the best handling bike (at speed) that I have owned. Following a three year stint away from bikes after selling my Duke I recently treated myself to an F4 750 and immediately felt more at home on it than any of my previous bikes. It really is a joy to ride at speed and inspires confidence. I agree that at slow speeds it is not easy due to the stretched out position and height but that is a small price to pay. As soon as you jump on, turn it on, engage first, slip the clutch and pull away you'll feel like you've been riding it for months!! Buy one (750 or 1000) forget everything else and just enjoy!!!! (just be carfeul with the thousand and it's extra horses!).

-- Takis Markatos (loms-ltd@ntlworld.com), September 27, 2004.

The MV was my first true sports bike after owning numerous Hondas and BMW’s. I started off with the F4S which I have owned for several years and recently purchased a F4-1000. I must admit that early on I did loose it in a corner riding the F4S, in spite of all my self control and years of riding it was hard (for me) not to get carried away and ended up riding past my ability. The MV is a wonderfully responsive and fast bike so its hard not to push the limits now and again. In retrospect I am glad I served my sports bike apprenticeship on the F4S before buying the F4-1000. So, as others have stated, its all up to you and how good your self control is, definitely get some track training when ever you can its well worth it. – Ride safe….

-- Mr Slippy (NoSpamThanks@yahoo.com), September 27, 2004.

Well I have to agree with all of the responses to some degree. To answer your question, yes the bike is doable without a great deal of experience. The first thing that will probably happen after your first ride is that you are likely to shake with excitement. This is a side affect that they never tell you about. You will absolutely have to maintain your ego or you will end up in serious trouble. You will probably find the throttle a little twichy in some of the mid range, but otherwise predicatble. Stability is a virtue, but have it properly set up for you, and not by the local yahoo. There are pretty dynamic changes that can easily be made in minutes so it is really important to get it somewhat set up from the beginning. I would stronly urge you to get some schooling, which is available in many places. Sport bike schools, advanced saftey schools, riding schools of any type, race schools, anything really. If you can't find something close, get on a couple of track days and work with the people running the track day. Most of the time they are more than willing to give assistance. ANy money you spend getting educated on good riding techniques will not only save you down the road, but will also help you to ride at new levels! The MV is not the fastest or does it have the latest brand name components, but any of us that ride them know that the more time you spend on them, the more you discover how rewarding they can be. It does not make a good stunt bike, but if you can out ride the limits of this bike then you are much more man then me! If you really want one, by all means have it!

-- Cali-Kane (mvagusta@sbcglobal.net), September 29, 2004.

The answer depends, I think, on how experienced you are. If you've been riding for a year or less, I think you'd be better off with a standard like the sv650 or perhaps a japanese 600 sportbike. You will feel more comfortable exploring its and your capabilities. (I concur in the suggestion that you get some training. Probably the best plan is to go to a riding school and then reevaluate what you want.) It is certainly possible to start out on any bike, but your comfort level and self-confidence may be different -- and your progress as a rider will be affected. As a generalization, which may not apply to you, when someone asks "Is XYZ too much bike for me?" ... The answer is "Probably." I suppose that there is a counter-argument: i.e. that starting out on a really powerful bike will quickly teach you the importance of smooth and fluid inputs (brakes, throttle, etc.) One hopes that the lessons won't be learned the hard way. Good luck and safe riding.

-- doug greenig (dgreenig@yahoo.com), October 01, 2004.

Realistically, it is easy to kill yourself on any bike, especially the powerful superbikes. The real issue is if you are comfortable with you degree of riding experience in terms of basic bike handling. If you always ride to your capacity rather than what the bike will do, then you will be as safe as on a smaller machine. The one advantage of an MV is that they handle so well, that little mistakes are recoverable. Stupidity, on the other hand is not. If you are unlikely to ride the bike near its capacity, maybe start on a F4 750??

-- Dr Paul Rutherford (prdpsr@homemail.com.au), October 01, 2004.