Looking it it leapt off the page of a Japanese manga, the 2021 MV Agusta Rush 1000 will be available in a limited production run on just 300 units. Styling on the Rush follows a very military-industrial look favoured by Japanese illustrators like Masamune Shirow and Yoshihisa Tagami, with MV Agusta’s newest naked sports sporting an almost brutal styling ethos. Decked out in flat black with flashes of yellow, carbon-fibre adorns the Rush 1000, used as engine covers, exhaust heat shield, under set cowl, frame and rear wheel covers, along with the air intake and air box cover. Lighting takes cues from the MV Agusta Superveloce 800, using a round LED headlight and similarly shaped circular LED tail light.

Coming with a Euro 5 compliant liquid-cooled, inline-four displacing 988 cc, MV Agusta claims the Rush gets 208 hp at 13,000 rpm, with 212 hp at 13,800 rpm after installation of the Rush race kit, while torque is 116.5 Nm at 11,000 rpm. Engine internals include titanium connecting rods with a radial valve arrangement, lighter crankshaft and redesigned combustion chamber. The engine is fed by dual-injectors in the 50 mm throttle bodies, four lower injectors by Mikuni and four upper injectors by Magneti Marelli for increased fuel flow at high engine speeds, with engine management using an Elder Nemo 2.1 control unit controlled by Mikuni ride-by-wire throttle.

 

Standard on the six-speed gearbox is an electronic up-and-down quickshifter with the clutch actuated by a Brembo radial pump with back torque limiter to prevent rear wheel hop on hard downshifting. Final drive use a chain and the Rush 1000 weighs in at 186 kg dry – 184 kg with the race kit – while fuel is carried in a 16-litre tank. A full suite of riding aids is installed in the Rush 1000, including torque control with four settings and traction control having eight, as well as wheelie control. Continental MK100 ABS with cornering ABS keeps things under control during hard braking and comes with rear wheel lift mitigation.

Braking is done with Brembo road-going best, Stylema four-piston radial-mount callipers clamping 320 mm brake disc with Brembo radial master cylinder. At the back, a 220 mm diameter brake disc is grabbed by a two-piston Brembo calliper and PS13 brake pump. Ohlins provides suspension on the Rush 1000, with the front end propped up by NIX EC 43 mm diameter forks with full-adjustable electronic suspension while the rear uses an Ohlins EC TTX monoshock, also full-adjustable electronically. Completing the suspension fitment is an electronic Ohlins steering damper, with both manual and automatic adjustment modes.

 

A full-colour 5.5-inch TFT-LCD screen is found in the cockpit, displaying all the necessary information and provide Bluetooth connectivity to the rider’s smartphone. Also included is GPS functionality, integrated navigation on-screen, MV Agusta’s MV Ride app and satellite tracking (for Europe). Each 2021 MV Agusta Rush 1000 will also come with a race kit, packed in an exclusive wooden box. Inside the box is included SC dual exhaust with race ECU, covers for the passenger seat, exhaust and instrumentation as well as a CNC machined fuel cap.

Brake and clutch lever guards complement the race kits CNC machined brake and clutch levers and a matching motorcycle cover is provided. There is also a pair of auxiliary riding lights and a set of special pattern brake discs included in the kit. Also available is a matching AGV Pista GP helmet.