Motorcycles

2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso review: Luxury touring, Italian-style

2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso review: Luxury touring, Italian-style
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: there's no excuse to buy a white one. If you're buying MV, get the red and grey
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: there's no excuse to buy a white one. If you're buying MV, get the red and grey
View 19 Images
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: 3 cylinders and 800cc of high-tech touring machine
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: 3 cylinders and 800cc of high-tech touring machine
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: organ pipe exhausts and floating rear wheel on its single sided swingarm
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: organ pipe exhausts and floating rear wheel on its single sided swingarm
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: versatile and fun
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: versatile and fun
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: far from the brand's best looking bike - but probably its most capable
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: far from the brand's best looking bike - but probably its most capable
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: there's no excuse to buy a white one. If you're buying MV, get the red and grey
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: there's no excuse to buy a white one. If you're buying MV, get the red and grey
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: programmable active suspension is outstanding
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: programmable active suspension is outstanding
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: left switchgrip with menu buttons
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: left switchgrip with menu buttons
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: engine and suspension modes include a totally custom mode that goes to lengths we haven't seen before
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: engine and suspension modes include a totally custom mode that goes to lengths we haven't seen before
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: cruise control button on the right switchgear needs to go over to the left; it's too hard to get your thumb onto.
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: cruise control button on the right switchgear needs to go over to the left; it's too hard to get your thumb onto.
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: that shock of red is the key giveaway you're looking at one of Italy's finest
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: that shock of red is the key giveaway you're looking at one of Italy's finest
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: organ pipe exhausts give a fruity note to the 800cc triple engine's midrange. And you won't be replacing them for looks!
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: organ pipe exhausts give a fruity note to the 800cc triple engine's midrange. And you won't be replacing them for looks!
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: license plate and indicators are mounted on an odd-looking rear guard
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: license plate and indicators are mounted on an odd-looking rear guard
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: no slouch in the twisties, but very comfy on the highway
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: no slouch in the twisties, but very comfy on the highway
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: passenger seat is comfy and well proportioned
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: passenger seat is comfy and well proportioned
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: not bad for a fang
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: not bad for a fang
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: active suspension reads the roads and adjusts the damping continuously. You can also draw your own curves for exactly how you'd like the forks and shock to respond to different conditions
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: active suspension reads the roads and adjusts the damping continuously. You can also draw your own curves for exactly how you'd like the forks and shock to respond to different conditions
Loz Blain: making big bikes look tiny since 1977
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Loz Blain: making big bikes look tiny since 1977
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: a practical and versatile bike from a company famed for making impractical exotica
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2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: a practical and versatile bike from a company famed for making impractical exotica
The Lusso's iPhone app allows an extraordinary degree of adjustment to the active suspension system.
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The Lusso's iPhone app allows an extraordinary degree of adjustment to the active suspension system.
View gallery - 19 images

"Emotional Touring" goes the tagline for MV Agusta's first crack at a luxury mile muncher, but it left us far less weepy than we might have expected. The Turismo Veloce Lusso is a quick, quirky and clever machine with some very nifty tricks up its sleeve.

Storied Italian brand MV Agusta is best known for its highly-strung exotica, but the focus has shifted in recent years towards bikes people will really wanna ride, with a range of bikes built around a rip-snorting 800cc triple engine that's built for serious road riding thrills.

A decade ago, the idea of an MV Agusta luxury tourer would've been crazy. But today, Donald Trump is the President of the United States, and here's the Turismo Veloce Lusso.

As far as luxury tourers go, this is very much on the Ducati Multistrada/BMW S1000XR side of things rather than, say, the BMW K1600GT side – but with a package that's lighter and more compact than any of those, if just as tall at a seat height around 850 mm. It gives up a few horsepower, with a peak of just 110, but the way the power's delivered makes it feel almost as quick and gives you an excuse to stay harder on the gas.

2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: no slouch in the twisties, but very comfy on the highway
2017 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce Lusso: no slouch in the twisties, but very comfy on the highway

There's certainly no complaints about fitment – from the multi-level traction control and ABS, through heated grips, up/down quickshifter, USB charge points and cruise control, it's got all the good stuff. There's also built-in Bluetooth connectivity that talks to your phone to let you manage media on the go.

Perhaps one of the most impressive bits is the iPhone app, which interfaces with the built-in datalogger and also lets you set up your own custom riding mode, complete with a magnificently intricate suspension adjustment tool.

The Lusso's iPhone app allows an extraordinary degree of adjustment to the active suspension system.
The Lusso's iPhone app allows an extraordinary degree of adjustment to the active suspension system.

The suspension is an active Sachs system that reads the road and adjusts itself according to the conditions and how you're riding it. But in the iPhone app, you've got the ability to draw your own curves to tell the forks and shock how to react to different inputs. Magnificent.

At AU$24,990 in Australia (US$19,298 in the USA) you're paying a decent premium over the base model Turismo Veloce for the active suspension, cruise control, standard center stand and heated grips the Lusso model gives you, but in the couple of weeks I had the thing, I made good use of all of them.

More information: MV Agusta

View gallery - 19 images
2 comments
2 comments
WayneLeviston
What a great review. Informative and entertaining. Look forward to more.
DavidRogerBrown
If considered a "sports tourer" how do you add hard bags? Photo of you making big bikes tiny is hilarious. Thanks again Loz for another entertaining article while it's spring raining outside.