| May 9, 2024
MV Agusta has been teasing the world with talk of a new adventure bike for several years, but the on-again, off-again nature of a mystery bike called the Lucky Explorer, in its first showing at EICMA in 2021, and the uncertainty of whether or not MV Agusta would actually have the capital to invest in such an endeavor, left many of us yawning like a fat Italian who just ate too much pasta.
By Keith Dowdle
However, just over the Alps, a little company in Austria was watching what was happening and decided to step in yet again to bring new life to a company that didn’t seem to have a clear path to success. Not the types to sit around and wait, the executives at Pierer Mobility took control of MV earlier this year, two years ahead of their original plan, and moved ahead with the project, rebadging the bike as the Enduro Veloce, or fast enduro. And fast it is.
Arriving at the global press intro in Cagliari, Italy, on the island of Sardinia, we really didn’t know what to expect. An all-new bike from a very recently reorganized management team, Austrians and Italians thrown together to work as one. Were we walking into a hornets’ nest, or would we experience la dolce vita? Fortunately, motorcycle enthusiasts are motorcycle enthusiasts no matter where they come from, and it was quickly apparent that these people were all moto enthusiasts. Whether Italian or Austrian, the team that built this new machine simply loves motorcycles, and it shows through with this bike.
When you see any MV Agusta for the first time, the beauty, quality of the craftsmanship, and attention to detail grab your attention, especially with the new Enduro Veloce, and crashing waves.
While the Lucky Explorer name is gone from the side of the tank, that badging is still present on parts of the bike, as is the 9.5 stamp on the side of the motor, which harkens back to yet another early naming convention for this bike called the LXP, in which there was originally a 9.5 and a 5.5, signifying units carrying a 931cc or 550cc motor, respectively. By the way, the LXP Orioli (the 9.5 Lucky Explorer), is currently available in very limited numbers with a Lucky Explorer paint livery and lots of trick parts. Every bike is signed by the four-time Dakar winner Edi Orioli himself—who actually raced bikes branded Cagiva, but that’s a whole ’nother story in and of itself.
When you see any MV Agusta for the first time, the beauty, quality of the craftsmanship, and attention to detail really get your attention—and the Enduro Veloce is no different. Sporting the traditional Ago red and silver paint (a nod to Giacomo Agostini), the Enduro Veloce is instantly recognizable as an MV Agusta in these classic colors. The bike is absolutely beautiful, and while it rides on a very off-road-oriented 21/18-inch front and rear wheel configuration, the thought of throwing such a beautiful machine down the trail on an adventure ride seems ridiculous to me. That said, MV is touting this bike to be just as capable as its new cousin, the KTM 890 Adventure R Rally. Yep, that’s right, not just any KTM 890. The Rally version was specifically noted as a competitor for the EV. (Other direct competitors, as noted by the MV team, include the Ducati Multistrada Pikes Peak, BMW R 1300 GS, and Honda Africa Twin.)
MV touts the Enduro Veloce as just as capable as its new cousin, the KTM 890 Adventure R Rally.
To be fair, this new bike comes equipped with very capable, fully adjustable front and rear suspension and enough travel—8.27 inches front and rear, and ground clearance of nine inches—to make it at least comparable to the 890 Rally. The 48mm Sachs front fork has adjustable settings for spring preload, compression, and rebound damping—and the rear rides on a twin-sided aluminum swingarm with a progressive link and a Sachs fully adjustable shock, which includes a hand-adjustable spring preload knob, accessible while sitting on the bike, along with compression and rebound damping.
The suspension worked flawlessly on the road during the press intro, and while we didn’t get a chance to ride the bike off-road with any aggression, it was evident in even the small amount of off-road riding we did that this bike is capable of doing whatever a deep-pocket owner wants to throw its way. Did I mention the $22,998 price tag? That, and the fact that the bike is just beautiful to look at, make it highly unlikely that anyone will be riding the Moab Hard Enduro on this thing. But it is nice to know that you can access the most remote campsites after what will surely be an exhilarating road trip.
The seven-inch HD TFT is a joy to look at.
Exhilaration would be a good word to summarize the entire Enduro Veloce riding experience. From the moment you fire up the compact, lightweight 931cc inline triple with its double overhead cams lifting 12 valves and pushing out 124 horsepower, the sound alone brings an instantaneous smile to your face. Get used to it, because the smile just gets bigger as you engage launch control, put the bike in gear, hold the throttle wide open, and release the clutch. The front wheel lifts just enough to make you feel like a hero as you accelerate off the line, and if you’re not smiling after that, then you need your pulse checked. The seven-inch HD TFT screen walks you through the steps of this very cool and fun launch-control procedure.
Your thumbs will be kept busy on the Enduro Veloce.
Shifting up and down through the gears with the perfectly tuned quickshifter, this bike is a blast to ride on the road. While you’d think that the big 21-inch wheel out front might have negative effects on the handling, the counter-rotating crankshaft in the torquey new MV motor almost eliminates the gyroscopic force of the front wheel, and you soon realize that you can ride hard into turns while trail braking with the Brembo Stylema front brakes. The bike stays planted and stable all the way to the exit of the turn. The brakes are as smooth and consistent as you would expect from these top-quality components, and the advanced electronics with a six-axis IMU helps to keep everything under control whether braking in a straight line or while leaned over in a turn. Accelerating out of the corners and shifting up through the gears with the traction control set to your liking, a little slide for me, the motor barks out a beautiful symphony of sound, and your smile starts to hurt because it won’t go away.
Pushing this bike hard through the twisties is thrilling, but the great thing about this new MV motor is that you don’t have to ride it like a crazed lunatic to enjoy it truly. Eighty-five percent of the torque is available at just 3000 rpm, and you have four torque control maps to choose from. This makes it a perfect third-gear bike, meaning that you can literally put the bike in third gear, ride all day, never shift, and it’ll never complain. But why would you? With enough traction control settings and ride modes to satisfy a NASA astronaut, this bike can cater to whatever kind of riding suits your style or the mood of the moment.
The new motor is incredible, but time will tell if it’s reliable. We bet it will be.
There are a total of eight on-the-fly traction control settings for the standard Bridgestone Battlax A41 street tires, which are nested on gorgeous Excel Takasago tubeless rims laced to billet CNC hubs. In addition, there are effectively another eight TC settings for the homologated Bridgestone AX41 knobby tires. This bike is, again, very similar to a KTM 890 in that you can continuously adjust the TC up or down via the backlit switch controls with your left hand. The Enduro Veloce features two engine brake settings and four ride modes—Touring, Urban, Off-Road, and Custom All-Terrain. This last one—a fully customizable mode that stays put and allows for TC and ABS to be fully disabled even after you switch the bike off and back on again—makes me want to kiss the Italian engineer that flipped the bird to the lawyers and left the owner to decide how and when he or she wants the electronics to change. Cornering ABS with Rear Wheel Lift Mitigation (RLM), means that you can brake hard into corners and the rear end remains stable and under control. And yes, you read that right, the electronics on this bike are adaptable to the types of tires you’re running. Very cool.
The seven-inch TFT HD display is fully customizable and can display whatever and however you like it. In addition to the typical Bluetooth connectivity, the EV also has Wi-Fi connectivity (for future firmware updates from MV) and includes programmable mapping by way of the MV Ride app. Your desired settings can be entered into the app while you’re planning the route sitting on your sofa, or wherever you may be, and then, when you’re ready to ride, the app downloads your desired settings to the bike’s computer. You can also share these settings with other Enduro Veloce riders. Of course, the app also provides turn-by-turn routing and phone and music controls, among other convenient features.
Exhilaration would be a good word to summarize the entire Enduro Veloce riding experience.
I’m 5′9″, and while sitting on the adjustable 33.46- to 34.25-inch seat, my feet were firmly on the ground with the seat in the low position. Underway, the wind protection behind the aerodynamically tested fairing and windscreen provided a nice pocket from the wind, and I didn’t experience any helmet buffeting at all, even as speeds crept to a little over 90 mph during the press intro. While seated, you do feel as though you’re sitting in the bike rather than on it, but in saying that, it doesn’t feel top-heavy at all—even when the 5.28-gallon fuel tank is full. As I moved from sitting to standing, the feel was natural, and the position of the bars, controls, and footpegs was comfortable. The bike is equipped with cruise control that can be deactivated by rolling the throttle forward, which MV is promoting as a new and unique safety feature, although I prefer a light tap on the brakes just because that’s what I’m used to, but some riders might like the roll-off feature. You can still squeeze the clutch or tap the brakes to disengage the CC, whichever you prefer.
Manufacturing and management for MV will remain in Italy.
Every new Enduro Veloce is hand-built at the MV factory in Varese, Italy, and is ridden and tested by an associate prior to delivery. The new motor is incredible, but time will tell if it’s reliable. The rest of the bike is assembled with the highest-quality components available, and MV is willing to stand behind the package with a four-year unlimited mileage warranty. New dealer locations are being added, and you’re likely to see this new model, along with other MV Agusta models, at a KTM dealer near you very soon. The executives at the press intro assured us that MV Agusta will be the premium brand for Pierer Mobility AG and customers of the brand can expect to be treated as such. The manufacturing and management for MV will remain in Italy, and all bikes will continue to be hand-built and tested. Because of that, production numbers will be somewhat limited, when compared to other brands, and you certainly won’t see an Enduro Veloce on every street corner. The timing of the press intro seemed a bit odd to us after we were told that the bike is not scheduled for arrival in the USA until the fall of this year, but even with that late arrival, those units will be designated as 2024-year models.
So, is it worth the wait? Well, if I had deep pockets and were looking for a unique, super fun-to-ride new motorcycle, I’d throw down $23k for this bike—because for those who are lucky enough to get one, la dolce vita is just one launch control sequence away.CN
VIDEO | 2024 MV Agusta Enduro Veloce First Ride
2024 MV Agusta Enduro Veloce Specifications
| MSRP |
$22,998 |
| Engine |
Liquid-cooled, inline-triple |
| Displacement |
931cc |
| Valvetrain |
DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder |
| Bore x Stroke |
81.0 x 60.2mm |
| Compression Ratio |
13.4:1 |
| Transmission/Final Drive |
6-speed, chain-driven |
| Horsepower (Claimed) |
124 hp at 10,000 rpm |
| Torque (Claimed) |
75.2 lb.-ft. at 7000 rpm |
| Fuel System |
Fuel injection w/ 47mm Mikuni throttle bodies, ride-by-wire |
| Clutch |
Wet, multiplate; hydraulic actuation |
| Frame |
High-tensile steel double cradle |
| Front Suspension |
48mm Sachs USD fork, fully adjustable |
| Rear Suspension |
Sachs monoshock, fully adjustable |
| Front-Wheel Travel |
8.3 in. |
| Rear-Wheel Travel |
8.3 in. |
| Front Brake |
Brembo 4-piston Stylema calipers, dual 320mm discs w/ ABS |
| Rear Brake |
2-piston caliper, 265mm disc w/ ABS |
| Wheels, Front/Rear |
Spoked, tubeless; 21 x 2.15 in. / 18 x 4.0 in. |
| Tires, Front/Rear |
Bridgestone Battlax A41 (optional AX41); 90/90-21 / 150/70-18 |
| Rake/Trail |
27.0° / 4.6 in. |
| Wheelbase |
63.4 in. |
| Ground Clearance |
9.1 in. |
| Seat Height |
33.5/34.3 in. |
| Fuel Capacity |
5.3 gal. |
| Weight (Dry, claimed) |
494 lb |
