MV Agusta boss Giovanni Castiglioni has revealed the
firm will unveil a new version of the Turismo Veloce 800 shortly. He gave away
precious little details other than that it will have an ‘innovative clutch
system’.
The current Turismo has a slipper clutch, so it’s
possible MV will just add a slip-and-assist clutch, which controls engine
braking better. And it increases the clamping of the clutch plates under load,
allowing lighter clutch springs and a lighter lever feel. That’s not very MV
though and it’s thought they are looking at another option.
An auto-clutch, made by Rekluse, could come as
standard on the new MV. The clutch lever remains, so you still have fine
control, but you don’t need it to start and stop. It engages and dis-engages
automatically with the increase and decrease in revs. These systems make
stalling virtually impossible and could make two-up town-centre wobbles a thing
of the past. We also expect an engine revamp with an increase in power from the
Veloce’s current 110 bhp to closer to 125 bhp.
Electronically, the current model was well ahead of
the pack when it was first launched in 2015 but the others have caught up, so
MV wants to move things on again. The current bike also has Bosch’s ABS 9+
system, which is ABS with rear wheel lift control but it’s not lean sensitive,
so we expect MV to add cornering ABS to the updated model. The current model
also has a full-colour TFT dash and Bluetooth connectivity, but we expect MV
will join KTM and BMW by offering maps via a sat-nav in the dash.
One thing we don’t think will have changed will be
the price. It’s expected to remain at around £ 16,000 and to be on sale before
the end of 2018
