MV-AGUSTA RUSH 1000 (2020 - on) Review

If you’re after the ultimate in money-no-object, super naked indulgence, welcome to the MV Agusta Rush 1000. Based heavily on the Italian firm’s Brutale 1000RR it’s fast, loud, flamboyant and if you want one of the 300 being made it will cost you £32,280. Just think of the metal you could have in your dream garage for that…

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As a road bike it’s no better to ride than a super naked costing half the price, but that isn’t the point of exotica like this. It’s all about the exhaust spitting drama, the luxury, promise of monstrous speed and a sense of occasion from the moment you wheel it out of the garage. It does all those things beautifully, but best of all it also rides like a proper, well-sorted motorcycle that’s as happy to cruise as it is to tear up a backroad.

It's a machine of two halves. For the most part you’ll only ever experience its calm, friendly side because the meat of its power is so far away from what’s usable in the real world but poke it with a stick and be prepared for the ultimate rush.

With its stiff tubular steel trellis frame, single sided swingarm and electronic Öhlins suspension the Rush 1000 uses the same rolling chassis as the Brutale 1000RR. It also boasts an impressive, mouth-watering collection of exotic parts and let’s face it, divisive styling, but does it actually work as a fully functioning motorcycle? The good news, if you’re reaching for your wallet, is yes. 

It’s a delight at pottering speeds and comfortable for short trips…until its hard seat eventually takes its toll, but there’s lots of legroom and the bars aren’t set too wrist-crunchingly low.

Ride quality is as sumptuous as you’d expect from a bike sitting on top shelf suspension, tyres and lightweight wheels when the road is flat, but with such a stiff chassis it can be a handful over bumps, even with the electronic Öhlins softened-off. And while those Brembos have the potential to literally take your breath away they’re progressive and friendly.

It’s a wickedly quick motorcycle and while you can’t get anywhere near enjoying its straight-line performance on the road, you can revel in its lust for lean. Fitted with clip-ons to move your weight over the front wheel (rather than straight bars that pull you back, like most super nakeds) and blessed with high spec forks, tyres and perfect chassis balance the Rush has exquisite feel, grip and stability charging into corners.

And precisely because there isn’t too much torque to worry about and lots electronic assistance (if you need it) it’s safe and easy to take liberties with the throttle – reassuring on your £32k pride and joy.

The Rush 1000 has the same 205bhp F4 superbike-based inline four-cylinder motor as the Brutale 1000RR with titanium conrods and new valve guides, cams, piston rings, crank airbox and ECU. 

For a machine with so much power on tap our Rush 1000 test bike (139/300 from MV’s UK importer Krazy Horse) is a far cry from the recalcitrant ride-by-wire models of old, so regardless of your experience you’ll find it easy to get on with. Power is delivered seamlessly, the gearbox crisp, but for a superbike engine it’s pretty gutless at anything below 7-8000rpm. It might make 209bhp up top with the race kit exhaust and ECU fitted, but there’s no variable valve timing or fancy firing orders to fill in the gaps down low.

But that can be viewed as a good thing. The Rush 1000 never intimidates or scrabbles for grip and even when you’re going slow the exhaust, quickshifter and autoblipper are still music to the ears, making all the right pops, bangs and crackles. It only does 31mpg, not that most owners will worry at such thirst.

You quickly get used to the way the MV goes serenely about its business and it’s only when you need to overtake and have to stamp down a gear…or four, you realise how little grunt there is. In fact, the only time the Rush lives up to its name is when you hold the throttle to the stop and when you do, be prepared for the ferocious acceleration of a superbike and the brain-drilling roar of a race engine.

Build quality, fit, finish and attention to detail are everything you’d expect on a bike costing this much and on our brand-new test bike everything works perfectly. But what about long term?

Well, MV Agusta have improved reliability since welcoming their new Russian owners and with UK importer Krazy Horse now fully up and running, spares supply shouldn’t be a problem. The whole MV range also comes with a three-year warranty and two years roadside assistance.

Whichever way you slice it the Rush 1000 is eye-wateringly expensive to buy and run. In terms of pure performance, it’s no better than its super naked rivals and lacks their real-world grunt, but if you’ve got this amount to spend on a bike and don’t won’t want something run of the mill or mass-produced the MV will scratch your itch.

It’s the same riot of heavily sculpted and detailed luxury as the Brutale 1000RR with swathes of carbon fibre and machined ali parts, semi-active Öhlins forks and rear shock, Brembo Stylema calipers, Pirelli Super Corsa SP tyres, MotoGP-style wings and a hand stitched Alcantara-style twin pad seat. It also has cornering traction control (eight levels) and ABS, anti-wheelie, cruise and launch control, four rider modes and a colour dash that links to your phone.

The Rush 1000 takes the decadence a step further. Your extra £4800 gets you a round instead of teardrop-shaped headlight with cornering LEDs that fan out around the headlight like a peacock. They strobe when the ignition is switched on and illuminate one by one as the bike leans over. 

It also has a revised Superveloce-like carbon tail section with a bottom-of-a-beer can rear light and a satin grey paintjob with red Batmobile flecks. It wears a spoked wheel up front and its forged ali rear is fitted with a carbon 'hub cap' fixed to the rear wheel spokes. Does it affect stability in sidewinds? No.

You also get a race kit SC Project titanium exhaust and revised fuel mapping, which is a work of art and sounds suitably naughty. The Italian firm also creates the pipes for Marquez’s Honda.