MV-AGUSTA F4 1000 (2004 - 2012) Review

Giving this 5, it's not the most comfortable but for the riding style it's unbeatable - a cross-country thrash from Wales to Norfolk with only stops for petrol was easy and no John Wayne effects either.

What can you say here, almost 1BHP per Kg? That's a statement all by itself. Up past 8000 rpm the fun goes up almost as fast as the fuel costs.

What can I say? It's a prima donna and if you treat it bad it's gonna leave you for dead... treat it well and things go much smoother. That includes setting it up for your own size - this is the bike that is the most sensitive to such things that I've ridden in nearly 50 years...

If you treat it hard, you'll reap the rewards of higher maintenance as with any bike... in general though, always keep an eye on oil and coolant, and that chain goes slack very fast.There have been other (legendary) issues with these (research is your friend here) but I think mine has been sorted so should be good for a few more grins.

Get a hugger, get a tank protector, get a tail tidy. Ditch the rear pegs - you won;t want a pillion anyway. I love that everything suspension-wise is available to change/set/adjust. Changing maps on the fly is cool too.

Great handling, ride quality is good - the forks give the best feeling of any bike I've ridden. Brakes work well enough too but modern bikes do have better brakes.

Heaps of power, super smooth and lovely sound. My bike has the famous RG3 Arrow exhausts and to be honest I hoped there would be more sound, there's only just enough. This bike doesn't seem to gulp the fuel either, which was a nice surprise. This bike has some kind of engine braking management system which takes a little to get used to but does make a lovely noise as it does its thing.

These bikes are typically very reliable, but you'll need deep pockets if they do brake. Parts cost a fortune, and many mechanics aren't all that interested in working on them, even though they're fairly simple machines and you don't really need much specialist knowledge.

Great value for money because (fingers crossed) they should hold their value fairly well now.

Brilliant forks, underseat organ pipe exhaust, beautiful single sided swingarm, unique star pattern wheels, steel and alloy plate frame, and gorgeous parts and details everywhere you look. The shape around the nose area and headlight is probably my favourite view of the bike. The clocks are fairly comprehensive for its day with lap timer and two trip meters, but that's about all you'd expect from something like this in the early 00s!

The bike is at its best, where it was clearly intended to be ridden, on fast undulating A and B roads, an absolute nightmare in town but it was never intended to be anything else. Numb knees and a super heated bum after half an hour, perhaps down to 66 years and rearsets, but I can manage an hour. Its a mono posto so no pillions, why would you want to!!!

Outrageous and addictive power delivery, I also ride a BMW R1100s boxer Cup and an Nc30, so not a lot to compare really. Does run quite hot though, but I find it reasonably torquey low down, but once up around the 7000 rpm mark it's fantastic.

Very well built in my view, no problems in 3years, some stories about regarding certain unreliability but I've never encountered any. The bike has done 23000 miles.

That's parts, oils etc. as I do my own maintenance in the main.

My favourite features are the performance, brakes (although non standard) appearance and exclusivity. I wouldn't recommend fitting panniers but a venturer rack and tail pack and small tank bag is fine. With regard to tyres I run Pirelli Diablos, good grip and fair longevity. Can't comment on any bad tyres as I've only run these.

Suprisingly torquey and the noise is intoxicating. I find myself accelerating/changing gears just to hear it.

It is beautiful. Sometimes I just stand in the garage looking at it. Some quality issues are a disappointment but nothing that can't be sorted..

The MV is a track-oriented bike, i like that because i make short rides or track days.

Power delivery is nice, it`s got a smooth release, of course because of the traction control also.

gas-leakkage because of a broken inlet rubber. Components supplie from Italy could improve, it took 6 weeks in total (incl. repair). It`s a beautiful built machine, the first owner even spent some money on some carbon-fiber parts, hugger, front fender, protection near the foot pegs. Detail is gorgeous, you can watch for hours and still see new details.

not known yet, estimation. servicing at 6000 and 15000. fuel economy is average, but acceptable.

Very good built, with lots of detail. Finish is excellent. The carbonfibre hugger/front fender are really good-looking. If any money left (right) ......

Ride quality is very good considering the bike is clearly more track orientated than its competitors set-up wise. The bike is stiff in general but the suspension and braking components can't be faulted. The brakes are by far the best on any bike I've ridden, you will never need more than 2 fingers on the lever and 95% of the time one finger is enough. Also, the bike is very spacious, I'm 6'2" and my bike has rear sets which lower the pegs - with this modification I find the bike comfier than most others ergonomically. The bike is tall but this suits me. The bars are fairly low but this is to be expected from a sporty bike and feels perfect on anything under 1+ hour rides.

Feels the fastest bike I've ever ridden. Lots of power all the way through the rev range and surprisingly torquey too. The throttle is very smooth and predictable all the way from idle to red line. It took me a few rides to really open it up as the power at high revs is almost frightening until you get used to it. The exhaust note is very nice for a factory fitted system. Also the gearbox and clutch feels perfect.

So far I've not had any faults with my bike, although I had to install a new battery recently which was much harder than it should have been. This was due to the recall on the subframe which placed a large bracket in the way of the battery. It took about an hour of fairly fiddly work to replace the battery which should really only take 10 minutes at most. Besides this problem I think the engineering on the bike looks generally well thought out, also the components are all very high quality and the general fit and finish of metals and paint looks superior to Japanese bikes.

My bike hasn't been in for a service yet, but I think the purchase price is reasonable when you consider that these bikes hold their resale value very well, and to me they are much more interesting than Japanese equivalent while still maintaining exceptional performance and reliability. I had to score slightly low in this department as fuel economy isn't the best and things like tyres, brake pads etc. on this class of bike are never going to be cheap.

Seems to have a lot of equipment for a sports bike, everything you'd expect with the exception perhaps of ABS brakes which would be comforting when riding in wet weather. The traction control and other features seem to work faultlessly and I really like the clear and large digital display. There are also many small details such as the Mv Agusta specific Nissin master cylinder reservoirs and other such details that make the bike feel very special. This bike doesn't feel like is has had any corners cut during design and build.