After one of the most protracted and drawn-out teaser campaigns since Ducati started 'leaking' info on its new Panigale, MV have finally released the full specification on the F3 675 - and it promises to be a cracker.
The inline triple 675cc engine features a counter-rotating crankshaft, something that has only been seen on MotoGP bikes before. The theory goes that if the crank is rotating in a counter-clockwise direction (when looking at the right-hand side of the bike) as opposed to a clockwise direction it improves the bike's handling, as the centrifugal forces of the spinning crank are not making the bike 'run on' into a corner and are instead helping to balance it under braking and corner entry. According to MV it also helps improve acceleration and fast direction changes. Or something like that; it works in GPs so there must be fact behind the theory!
Aside from spinning in the wrong direction, the motor has a wide 79mm bore with a super-short 45.9mm stroke, allowing it to rev to a dizzy 15,000rpm (the highest revs seen on a triple) and produce 125bhp at 14,500rpm and 71Nm of torque at 10,500rpm. And it comes with an electronics package to match with four pre-set power modes and the ability to add a fifth that can be personalised, a ride-by-wire throttle and eight levels of traction control, the first time TC has featured on a supersport bike.
The chassis uses a combination of steel tubes and aluminum side plates with fully adjustable suspension and a remarkably light 173kg claimed weight. With a price tag of £9999 the F3 will go head to head with the similarly priced Triumph 675R.
There's more - Brutale's on the way, too
MV is also set to pull the wraps off its Brutale 675 in the next few days. It will have the same basic specification as the F3, although to keep it to its £7999 price it may well have to sacrifice a few of the more trick components and power is reduced to 115bhp.
If you really want to see what it looks like then check out this teaser video, just don't moan that we have ruined the surprise like telling you Bruce Willis is dead in 'Sixth Sense'...