#Rivale800

Looking to tap into the lightweight touring segment, MV Agusta unveiled the Stradale 800 this week at EICMA. Resembling the sporty and athletic Rivale, the Stradale 800 takes that platform and modifies it for a slightly more touring-oriented ride.

I’ve formed a love/hate relationship with the MV Agusta Rivale. In its element, which, let’s be clear, is tight and twisty ribbons of asphalt, it is an absolutely sublime machine, ready to attack a corner with precision and honk a wheelie on its way out, its three-cylinder wail filling your ear holes with pure auditory bliss.

MV Agusta is on a bit of a roll, most recently with the introduction of the F3 800, a third variation of the company’s three-cylinder platform we reviewed recently. Production has quadrupled over the past four years, jumping from just 2,000 bikes up to 8,000 in 2012. And 2013 production is up 27% thus far.