Overall rating
MV Agusta are one of the few manufacturers still pandering to the discerning supersport headbanger. They stopped making their three-cylinder F3 675 a few years ago, but the 798c version keeps evolving.
Formerly the F3 800, but now just the F3 it comes in two flavours: the £14,840 entry-level F3 Rosso, or this: the new the new £19,660 F3 RR. It might look the same as it’s always done, but the engine is now Euro5 spec and it has a new exhaust, IMU, ABS system, rear wheel, colour dash and lots of MotoGP-inspired aero.
Improvements to the suspension, fuelling and electronics make the RR the most polished F3 ever and everything a modern day supersports weapon should be. It’s revvy, rapid, dramatic and handles like a firm, race-ready track weapon, although the brake feel lacks consistency.
It’s a surprisingly friendly road bike, too, with a relatively spacious riding position lots of grunt, smooth fuelling and niceties like cruise control and a colour dash. Carbon wings and shrouds are more for the track, but give the F3 a serious new look, but its taller screen is useful on motorways.
You could say the F3 RR is about 15 years too late and £15k too expensive. And you’d be right, but if you’re after the last word in balls-to-the-wall supersport exotica and have deep enough pockets the MV won’t disappoint.
⏱️ Join @Neevesy33 for #60secondswith the MV Agusta F3 RR and then read his full review here: https://t.co/KhccefTF0b pic.twitter.com/SCpxZpTVwv
— Motor Cycle News (@MCNnews) March 23, 2022
Ride quality & brakes
Wider new forged carbon fairing lowers have in-built strakes to create downforce (8kg at 149mph) and stop wheelies, without having to shut the throttle or trouble the electronics.
The new aero also puts pressure on the front wheel through high-speed corners and fast braking zones. To improve airflow further the RR comes with a wrap-around Moto2-inspired carbon front mudguard, to funnel air to cool the brake calipers and radiator and exhaust shroud.
None of this make much of a difference to the way the F3 behaves on the road and it never suffered from instability anyway, but they add to the MV’s rarefied air of specialness. Its taller new screen is useful, though, especially on motorways, where it slips through the air almost silently, compared to a tall-roader or adventure bike.
It’s Ducati 916-style tubular steel frame remains unchanged, but the cast ali section around the swingarm pivot is more rigid. The RR’s new rear wheel is 0.4kg lighter and sticky rubber comes courtesy of fast road Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa IIs. It still has fully adjustable Marzocchi forks and Sachs shock with stronger internal settings, but for nearly twenty grand you’d expect some semi-active assistance, or Öhlins stickers.
That said, it’s hard to fault the way the F3 RR handles. The ride is firm, which can have it skipping over B-road bumps, but on smoother tarmac it has all the composure and grip of a race-prepped supersport bike and the harder you push the more it digs in.
Brembos have big power and feel, but front and rear brakes have a strange notch in their lever travel before they bite. Going through the notch under gentle braking feels like there’s air in the system. They always work, but the feel never stops being disconcerting.
New pegs and seat material have the firm, grippy feel of a race bike’s, but riding position is surprisingly roomy for a race rep. It isn’t painful to ride over distance, even with such a hard seat, but if you want a comfier MV with the same performance, the more upright Super Veloce 800 is the way to go.
Engine
The motor is much as it’s been since the old F3 800 was launched nine-years-ago (a year after the F3 675) and makes the same 145bhp. Not only does the triple get the blood pumping, it’s clever, too with a crank that spins backwards, like a Panigale V4’s.
It forces the front end down under hard acceleration and stops it running wide in a corner on the throttle.
Like its 800cc sisters the F3 RR is now Euro5 friendly thanks to a host of detail changes, including titanium valves, sintered valve guides, DLC-coated tappets, new big and small ends and countershaft bearings, high-pressure injectors, a dual flow radiator, reinforced clutch basket and exhaust system.
It’s still a supersport engine at heart with deep, metallic crunchy roar. With power akin to early noughties superbike, it goes like absolute stink and thrives on giddy revs.
But unlike a highly strung 600, its power delivery flexible and perfectly suited to the road as much as the track. Better still, MV have moved even further away from the bad old days of glitchy fuelling. Its new throttle is as precise as anything BMW, Ducati or Triumph produce right now. We recorded a 47mpg average during our test.
Reliability & build quality
MV Agusta have a reputation for problems in the past, but they’re generally dependable now and have a good dealer back-up. Our online owners’ reviews for the F3 800 and similar F3 675 score well for reliability and all models also come with a three-year warranty.
Value vs rivals
Costing close to 20 grand and another £2k for the race kit the MV Agusta F3 RR isn’t cheap, whichever way you slice it. Remember when supersports bikes were half that? Its closest rival is the Ducati Panigale V2, which is £3565 cheaper and 8bhp more powerful.
Equipment
Twenty grand for a supersport bike seems insane, but the F3 RR is immaculately finished, aside from the odd exposed wiring plug (like, out of the left switchgear). It’s had an electronic overhaul, too with a new Continental cornering ABS system and upgraded IMU from Milanese firm e-Novia IMU.
There’s so much grip, we never trouble the traction control, but the new anti-wheelie is incredibly smooth and the third generation quickshifter slick and crisp. Cruise control is also standard, but rudimentary with just an on/off button on the right bar.
The RR now gets the animated 5.5in Bluetooth colour TFT used on sister models. It will link to a phone via the MVRide app to control music, calls and navigation.
Our test bike is also fitted with the £2000 race kit: a machined ali filler cap and levers, single seat cover and 8kg lighter titanium Akrapovic exhaust with a single can and uprated ECU, boosting power to 153bhp.
Model history & versions
Model history
2022: MV Agusta F3 RR released. An uprated F3 (formerly the F3 800) with carbon fibre wings, strakes and shrouds. Also has a Euro 5 spec engine, uprated electronics, suspension and rear wheel.
Other versions
MV Agusta F3 Rosso: Entry-level spec with identical engine, electronics and chassis to the RR, minus the carbon fibre.