MV-AGUSTA F3 675 (2012 - 2021) Review

The MV Agusta F3 675 has all the makings of a class-leading supersports machine. It’s much more powerful than its rivals, is lighter and has a host of electronic rider aids, from riding modes, to electronic engine braking control, variable power maps and traction control.

• Related: Best 600cc sports bikes
• Related: Bikes lost to Euro5 emissions rules

It has a counter-rotating crankshaft, like the factory Yamaha YZR-M1 MotoGP racer, is one of the best looking motorcycle creations ever and its three-cylinder motor has a rasping engine note to die for.

But it’s flawed. Hard as it is to believe, the power delivery is rough, with holes, dips and stutters throughout the rev-range. The 109bhp Suzuki GSX-R600 is faster, does the quarter-mile quicker and stops sooner, which goes to show how a smooth bike is always a fast one.

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MV Agusta F3 675 discontinued for 2021

The three-cylinder MV Agusta F3 675 has been discontinued for 2021 – hammering yet another nail into the cramped, peaky, focussed supersport 600 class’ coffin.

Unable to meet the stringent demands of Euro5, the three-cylinder smokeshow, which has been in production since 2012, has been dropped from the line-up – leaving the 798cc F3 800 and F3 800 RC as the Varese firm’s only sporting options.

Disappearing from MV’s website without any fuss, the £13,180 F3 675 (2020 pricing) stuffed a rasping 675cc 12v DOHC inline triple - complete with counter-rotating crank - into a trellis chassis. Keeping everything in check was a modern suite of electronics, wrapped inside a beautiful set of MV F4-aping fairings.

The Italian track star was one of the final machines available in the 'traditional' supersport 600 sector, with Yamaha switching to a track-only R6 for 2021 and Kawasaki stating the ZX-6R would not be updated for Euro5, after a 25-year production run, back in late 2020.

Whether MV will revive the bike later down the line remains to be seen, but for now this is the last chance you have to get your hands on one. Keep an eye out for deals on remaining stock, as dealers attempt to clear showroom space ahead of their 2021 line-ups.

Tubular steel trellis frame, with varying thickness tubes for rigidity and flex and an aluminium alloy single-sided swingarm. The wheelbase is just 1380mm, the Daytona 675’s is 1395mm. Dry weight is 173kg – the Triumph’s wet weight is 185kg. 43mm Marzocchi forks and a Sachs rear shock are both fully adjustable.

Forged aluminium alloy wheels are shod with Pirelli Dialo Rosso Corsa rubber: 120/70 x 70 front, 180/55 x 17 rear. It's Pirelli’s top-level road tyre giving good grip, feel and warm-up times in all conditions. The rear tyre has a slick edge for increased grip and a sticky SC2 compound.

The treaded centre is a harder compound for durability. The F3 is very light and feels every inch a proper racing machine. It’s stable in fast corners, the brakes are some of the best in the business and it’s comfortable for such a petite-looking bike. The faster the terrain, the more the F3 likes it, but like the engine, the chassis isn’t suited to normal riding. It has a very harsh set-up, which crashes and kicks its bars over bumps. A supersport bike like this doesn’t need traction control, so it’s best to just turn the system off.

Inline-three-cylinder 675cc, with counter-rotating crankshaft, titanium inlet and exhaust valves and a ride-by-wire throttle system. The engine has the smallest overall dimensions of any of its supersports rivals. Breathing through Mikuni 50mm throttle bodies, it’s the most powerful too, producing 128bhp at the crank and 118bhp at the rear wheel, at a heady 14,400rpm.

The engine weighs just 52kg and has an 'over-square' 79 x 45.9mm bore and stroke. The Triumph Daytona 675’s is 74mm x 52.3mm. The F3 has Sport, Normal, Rain and Custom riding modes. Within each of the first three modes there are predetermined levels of throttle sensitively, engine torque, engine braking, engine responsiveness and an rpm limit. The custom mode lets you dial in these parameters specifically to suit you.

Ride the F3 at high revs on-track or a super-fast road and it’s glorious – it has lots of power and a good throttle connection, but at normal speeds the fuelling and throttle response is terrible. You have to slip the clutch and dial in big revs through town to keep it running, like an old two-stroke and the power doesn’t come in predictably accelerating out of corners. On top of all that, the electronic engine braking control opens the throttle butterflies into corners to stop the F3 backing-in, but in reality it makes the bike accelerate alarmingly when you’ve got the throttle shut.

There’s no question it’s beautifully-built and well-finished. Many current MV owners complain of spare parts supply, let’s hope it will be different for the F3.

If it wasn’t for the poor running issues, which we’ve experienced on a number of different F3s, MV’s new creation would be fantastic value for money – there’s definitely a great bike lurking in there, beneath the problems. As it is, it would need work from a specialist to get running properly, which isn’t what you’d expect from a new bike. 

During the F3's lifespan it faced plenty of four-cylinder 600cc super sport rivals, however there was only one other three-cylinder option - the Triumph Daytona 675. 

This is the most highly-spec’d supersports bike you can buy, with its electronics, fully-adjustable suspension and Brembo brakes. It’s true exotica, without the over-the-top price tag.