2020 MV Agusta Rush 1000 

20th May 2020

Carbon clad | 208bhp | Öhlins | Brembo

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In case you didn't catch the headline, this is the 2020 MV Agusta Rush 1000 model; a limited edition fairground extravaganza aimed at the kind of crotch-itching, gum-chewing guys and gals who can never have enough speed, enough power, enough toys and enough bling; guys and gals who are also willing to pay disproportionately for the relative exclusivity of limited edition hardware.

And that's cool enough if that's you. Different strokes, etc. Eat it while it's hot. But for us, this bike—despite no doubt being exquisitely engineered—is just more ho-hum, and expensive ho-hum at that.

Don't misunderstand us, mind. We're all for progress. And we love innovation. And sex is sex. But there's a world of difference between singing because you've got a beautiful song in your heart, and singing simply because you don't know when to shut up.

The 998cc liquid-cooled, inline four motor churns out a whopping 208bhp @ at a raucous 13,000rpm. The torque is said to be an equally impressive (but not superlative) 11.9 kg-m, or 86lb-ft at 11,000rpm.

Just 300 examples are planned.

Features include eight-level traction control (c/w launch control and an anti-wheelie system), a two-way quickshifter and an Öhlins electronic suspension package. And if you want/need/demand even more speed/power/etc (and many of you naturally will), a race kit is said to be on the way.

Check this too:

Bore & stroke: 79mm x 50.9mm

Cylinder compression ratio: 13.4:1
Cooling: liquid and oil
Induction: two banks of fuel injectors (upper and lower)
Clutch: wet multi-plate
Throttle: ride-by-wire
Transmission: 6-speed
Seat height: 845mm (33 inches)
Fuel capacity: 16 litres (3.5 gallons)
Weight: 186kg (409lbs)
Wheel travel: 120mm front and rear
Front brake calipers: 2 x 320mm Brembo Stylema
Rear brake caliper: 1 x 220mm
Front wheel: 17-inch aluminium alloy; 120/70-ZR17

Rear wheel: 17-inch aluminium alloy; 200/55-ZR17

Colours are Dark Metallic Matt Grey/Mamba Red Matt Carbon/Metallic Bronze.

As for the brash, angular, cubist, Bizarro design (pick your synonym), we're less than impressed, largely because we've seen it before, generically speaking. All the manufacturers are flirting or flogging these kind of macho, drag-race inspired, CAD-crafted, red-eye roadsters. And all have been hitting the MUST OVER IMPRESS THE PUNTER AT ALL COSTS button for so long that it's left us numb.

Yes, this bike is nice and clever in a kind of slick, pedal to the metal, in-yer-face way. But here at Sump, we just don't get it anymore. It's like Pink Floyd creating yet another mind-bending, bluesy, symphony that takes us all the way to the next 0.005 degree of sonic satisfaction, but totally fails to give us the subtleness of the music we used to love, or present something surprising or original.

At ten or fifteen grand we'd probably shrug and say something like; Yeah it's okay. Giss-a-ride. But at around £30k plus or minus some pocket fluff, we just don't care. That's sacrilege, of course. Everyone's suppose to walk barefoot on razor blades for MV Agusta. But as we said, we've become increasingly jaded with the same old same old, tarted-up, big buck projectiles.

It's not that we specifically want more of this or less of that. It's more that we just want to see something ... well, else.

If you like the look of this toughster and can muscle-up thirty grand, you just might get a chance to buy one come June 2020. But we can think of dozens of motorcycles, both new and old, that we'd rather have in the shed. And anyway, a bike like this would simply be wasted on guys like us who've never seen more than 120mph on two wheels, and don't particularly want to either.

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