2014 MV Agusta F3 800 AGO Review

The MV Agusta F3 is proving to be a top contender in the 2014 Supersport World Series, confirming beyond doubt that its chassis handles great and that its 675cc three-cylinder engine is as powerful as the best 600cc fours from Japan. A three beating the fours represents the epitome of the success for MV Agusta, whose winningest bike was the 350/500 triple ridden to multiple titles by Giacomo Agostini.

Now, MV Agusta is mixing its past with its present and creating the F3 800 Ago, a hot and capable street-legal machine that is the perfect combination of light weight and heavy punch. This new MV Agusta F3 800 Ago sports a beautiful Red, White and Green Italian tricolor paint scheme, with a flash of gold profiling the white, central section and duplicating the color of the wheels and of the frame. Forged OZ wheels, together with carbon-fiber fenders and billet-aluminum pegs and foot levers, help reduce the weight of the bike by about five pounds.

The engine of the new Ago is the F3 800's triple, with a claimed 148 horsepower, and its electronics suite has been refined to standard of the Brutale 800 Dragster. Although this electronics suite isn't yet as efficient as the Aprilia and the Ducati packages, it's a vast improvement over that found in the first batch of F3 800s.

As a reminder, MV Agusta's MVICS system offers three throttle-response modes and eight traction control programs. All told, the bike has excellent performance potential, and Mino has signed the tank of every bike. MV Agusta is producing only 300 F3 800 Agos, and each will be sold with a certificate of authenticity signed by Agostini, the 15-time world champion. European deliveries of the new MV Agusta F3 Ago start in May. Price: $24,598, which is on par with a BMW S1000RR-based HP4 in Competition trim or a Ducati 1199 Panigale S.