SO WHAT DOES MR. BRUCE WAYNE RIDE?

No he was not the most favorite superhero of our childhood. No he does not possess supernatural powers. And no he is not your everyday tom, dick and harry rotting in a mediocre apartment brooding over a miserable news reporter career.Our man here prefers to live in the shadows rather than in the broad daylight. This very character I’m talking about is mostly fan-worshipped by the members of the young adult age group. College lads consider this legendary superhero their idol. From being a style statement to being printed on Bags, shoes, belts, bracelets, hats, skateboards and…phew!! (What not?), this guy can be found everywhere these days, as superhero fandom has become a trend in the current scenario of teen-life. After all this build-up, most of you guys would have already guessed him. Yes! I’m talking about THE BATMAN.

“What does the Batman have to do with automobiles?” If that is what’s running on your mind, then I daresay you hardly know anything about Batman. Right when the first comic came featuring Batman in the 1960’s, he has been strongly associated with highly customized automobiles that includes bikes, cars, aircrafts, helicopters, gliders, buggies, tanks etc.,. This week, we swing a leg over the motorcycle that is used by Batman’s daylight alias – Mr. Bruce Wayne. Hardcore superbike fans would have guessed the bike already. If you’re not of them, then here it goes: In the movie “The Dark Knight” (2008), Bruce Wayne takes out his MV Agusta F4 1078 to meet Melvin White at 1502, Randolph Apartments (oh yeah! I’m a fanatic of the trilogy), as directed by his butler Alfred. So this little (!?!) motorcycle here is the subject of our column this week. Let me be honest. There are two reasons why I chose this bike for the column. 1. It is much ignored when it comes to Batman’s vehicles – mostly overshadowed by the batpod, the bat, the tumbler and the like. I thought I could bring this bike out to the limelight. 2. Simply because I love this machine.

The MV Agusta marque which is not so familiar with people, is like the Lamborghini of two wheels. And by people, I mean people who are not into motorcycles. In other words, almost all men could identify a Yamaha R1, but that is not the case with the MV Agusta. So to begin with, MV Agusta is an Italian motorcycle manufacturing company founded in 1945, at the end of the Second World War. The MV in the brand name stands for “Meccanica Verghera”. It was originally an Aviation oriented company called “Agusta” which was actually founded in 1923.Verghera is a little town near Milan in Cascina Costa, Italy. The company initially started out by manufacturing small-displacement Café Racer style motorcycles which faced a downside in the 1960s. So MV started producing bigger capacity motorcycles - 250cc, a 350cc twin, leading on to a 600 cc four-cylinder that evolved into a 750 cc. The food chain was topped by the flagship model, the F4 series, which helped in the resurrection of the brand after a major economic blow in 1998. Our subject this week, the MV Agusta F4 1078, is a part of this series. On the technical side, the heart of the machine is a liquid cooled inline four cylinder, with twin overhead camshafts (DOHC), 16 radial valves, electronic multipoint injection and induction discharge electronic ignition. The specialty of this core is that it was derived of the FERRARI FORMULA ONE engine of 1990 – 1992. The F4’s characteristic radial valve tech was the element that was borrowed from Ferrari’s engineers, which make them distinct and unique in the sense that it is the only radial valved motorcycle currently in production.

 THE BEAUTY QUEEN:

          If you are ready to shell out 30 odd lakhs from your bank account, you can afford one of the most beautiful motorcycles in the world. Yes! The F4 is regarded as one of the most beautiful motorcycles ever to be produced on the planet. (The very motto of MV is Motorcycle Art. Whom are you kidding?). All credits go in the way of the bike’s designer, Massimo Tamburini. This man from CGV (Cagiva Research Centre) is also the one behind the iconic Ducati 916’s design. (What more could you possibly expect in a design portfolio?) The F4 has a certain unique design feature – the four pipe undertail exhaust. Adding to long list are the single sided swingarm, large front forks and the traditional red and silver livery, native to MV. The F4 is also one of the very few production bikes to have hemispherical chamber 4 valves per engine. The F4 series consisted of the following models:

1. ·         F4 750
2. ·         F4 750 Serie Oro
3. ·         F4 750S
4. ·         F4 750 SPR and F4 750 SR
5. ·         F4 1000
6. ·         F4 1000 AGO (named MV’s rider Giancomo Agostini)
7. ·         F4 1000 S
8. ·         F4 1000 Tamburini (named after F4’s designer)
9. ·         F4 1000 R
10. ·         F4 1000R CRC Gold limited edition
11. ·         F4 1000 Senna (named after the legendary F1 driver Ayrton Senna)
12. ·         F4 Veltro (Strada – for road and Pista – for race)
13. ·         F4 1000 R 312 (the top speed – 312 kmph)
14. ·         F4 CC (named after Claudio Castiglioni, the Managing Director of MV in 2006)
15. ·         F41078 RR 312(Oh yes! That’s what Mr. Wayne rides)
16. ·         F4 R
17. ·         F4 RR

RIDE AND HANDLING:

            Ofcourse, I don’t own an MV to tell you how exactly it feels to ride. But I can give you an idea on how it could possibly be. As far as the F4 is concerned, it is a liter class sport bike which, beyond any doubts, could prove to be a death wish for most of us novice riders. Even to those riders accustomed to riding superbikes for years, the MV could be a hard bet. It is not your usual Japanese liter class superbike. Unlike the japs, the guys at MV, have maxed out the capacity of these engines and made them killer machines. To put it in perspective, it’s like a six year old taking a Rottweiler dog out for a walk.

            Something that is very evident from the looks is that, the F4’s ergonomics are very cramped, which means the bike will punish your body, especially your wrists and knees. This hard ride quality cannot be entirely accredited to the super stiff suspensions. In fact, they are fully adjustable. It is the super-rigid chassis that is responsible for this unforgiving hard ride that the F4 offers. Build quality is top notch as you get Marzocchi fully adjustable forks, Brembo monobloc brake calipers, slipper clutch and a Sachs rear shock as standard. Even with all these under the hood, the MV fails to hold itself up against its rivals from Ducati, Aprilia and even the Japanese trinity.

VERDICT:

            After the company was bought by Harley Davidson, the Italian manufacturer’s reliability issues with the full-on engine and gearbox faults have reduced to a great extent.Another great drawback of the F4 is its pricing at 17000 pounds, which converts to around 30+ lakhs in Indian Rupees. For a little over a half of the F4’s price, you can get a Yamaha R1(with a MotoGP derived engine) in India. For a couple of lakhs lesser then the F4’s price point, you can even get the more exotic Ducati 1198S with traction control.You are blessed with a lot of power and sex appeal for the bucks you shed, but the MV seems a little less value for money.Never the less, it a worthy choice for our superhero alias, Mr. Bruce Wayne.

-         -Nova