#TurismoVeloce800

Usually when we have a shootout here at Motorcycle.com, the participants are somewhat defined for us. First, we choose a class of motorcycle, and then, we put the latest versions of those bikes in a head-to-head-competition. This time we’re doing something a little different. Each MO editor chose whatever bike they wanted to ride to Monterey, CA, for the U.S. round of World Superbike. The only caveat would be that the bike had to be capable of participating in the annual Pirelli Track Day that takes place the day after the races finish at Laguna Seca. Okay, there was one other rule that I tried to enforce, but the one editor just couldn’t bring himself to choose a bike that had OEM bags available for it.

Fast luxury touring. That is, specifically, the translation of turismo veloce lusso. Add some numbers and acronyms and you have the long model designation of the motorcycle we would be riding in northern Italy near the MV Agusta factory in Varese, the 2018 MV Agusta Turismo Veloce 800 Lusso SCS.

Full Disclosure: I already loved this bike before I ever even laid eyes on it. MV’s stunning Rivale got my heart racing and when I first heard they were considering a long-legged sport-tourer with an 800cc-Triple, I didn’t even need to hear its sublime “Turismo Veloce” naming before I knew I wanted one. Then came the aggressively voluptuous visuals followed by a long wait between the time  we shot a video of the bike’s unveiling in late 2013 and this actual first ride in spring of 2015. Many of us began to wonder if the bike had been stillborn, the victim of some budget cut or other ignoble fate. Alas, our fears were simply due to our own high expectations and MV deciding to really take their time nailing their first ever touring motorcycle. Now it’s time to see if that wait has paid off.

The stage is being set for the most important motorcycle exposition of the year, the EICMA show in Milan, Italy. EICMA is so large and so important that we’re making the trek to the Continent to give it our full coverage, including video updates from the media-only days, November 5 and 6.