For decades, the MV Agusta brand has been associated with ultra-exclusive, premium motorcycles infused with seductive Italian styling. Known primarily for its sport-oriented bikes, the Varese-based manufacturer has decided to throw their hat into the adventure arena with the limited-edition Orioli LXP, followed by the slightly less premium Enduro Veloce variant.

Back in 2021, MV Agusta first teased the design of the Enduro Veloce in the form of the Lucky Explorer 9.5 prototype at EICMA, paying homage to the iconic Lucky Explorer Cagiva Elefants that blazed the Paris-Dakar Rallies of the 1990s. Stating a goal to develop a bike with a “strong off-road character” and “class-leading technology,” MV Agusta set out to target those Adventure Riders looking for something exclusive, alluring and a bit out of the box.

What You Get

Like the more-premium LXP Orioli, MV Agusta states that the Enduro Veloce is 100% Italian, boasting a creation process that is entirely localized in Schiranna from its conception to design, development and manufacturing. At the heart of the Enduro Veloce is a 931cc DOHC triple powerplant, with a compression ratio of 13.4:1, delivering 124 horsepower and 75.2 ft-lbs of torque. This engine, unique within MV Agusta’s lineup, features a counter-rotating crankshaft that counteracts the inertia of the front wheel, reducing the effort required for directional changes. 

Paired with a cassette-style, constant mesh, six-speed gearbox, the Enduro Veloce is said to be capable of reaching a top speed of 137 mph and acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in just 3.72 seconds, which could prove useful when you’re late for that Sunday morning ride meetup.

As you’d expect from a premium-level adventure bike, the Veloce is packed with the latest electronic rider aids, including four ride modes—Urban, Touring, Off-Road, and All-Terrain—all customizable for engine braking, ABS, traction control, and power maps. The bike also features a 7″ Full HD color TFT screen with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity via the MV Ride App, which offers on-screen map navigation, trip recording, including telemetry data acquisition (such as speed, gears, lean angle, altitude), and shareable trip data.

Other electronic features include a 6-axis IMU enabling lean-angle-sensitive ABS and traction control, a telemetry gauge, launch control, max speed limiter, and the ability to set the electronics sensitivity for either smooth or knobby tires. An up/down quickshifter allows for fast, clutchless shifting, and full LED lighting rounds out the advanced features.

Exploring the chassis, you get a closed double cradle frame design with a detachable subframe, riding on a 21″/18″ tubeless-spoked wheel combo with heavy-duty Excel Takasago rims and options for either street-focused Bridgestone A41 or knobbier AX41 dual-sport tires. Suspension is fully adjustable by Sachs, with a beefy 48mm USD fork in front and a progressive link monoshock in the rear, both providing 8.3 inches of travel along with 9.1 inches of ground clearance. The seat height is adjustable between 33.5 inches in the low position and 34.3 inches in the high position. The bike is no featherweight by any means though, tipping the scale at a claimed 494-pound dry.

The braking system features superbike-style dual Brembo Stylema 320mm radial mount monobloc calipers at the front, complemented by a twin-piston caliper on a 265mm disc at the rear. Street ABS includes cornering-sensitivity while Off-Road ABS reduces intervention on the front and completely disables it at the rear.

Fuel capacity is 5.3 gallons, which offers a potential range of over 220 miles with the Veloce’s average fuel efficiency of 42 MPG. The bike is also equipped with a 450 W alternator, cruise control, a rear luggage rack, a large metal skid plate, wrap-around handguards, an up/down quickshifter, GPS mounting bar, USB-A and USB-C charging ports, and a four-year unlimited mileage warranty as standard.

First Impressions

We got an opportunity to throw a leg over the Enduro Veloce at the US press launch in Southern California with two days of pavement and off-road testing in the San Bernardino Mountains and Joshua Tree National Park area.

At first, the styling of the Enduro Veloce didn’t grab me the way other MV models have in the past like the seductive Turismo Veloce or iconic F4. There’s no elaborately-styled triple exhaust pipes or sweeping bodywork. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful bike. It’s just a bit conservative compared to the motorcycle art MV makes in other categories. But perhaps that is a sign that they are more focused on function than form for the Adventure segment.

The bike does offer plenty of nice details though like the crystal clear Full HD display, red anodized fork caps, the embossed suede seat cover, or the signature on the engine side cover from the factory worker who assembled the bike. It also comes in the iconic Rosso Ago/Argento Ago color scheme of the original F4 sport bike that resurrected the brand in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Another nice touch is the included centerstand, which is a rarity on adventure bikes these days and useful to have for repairs, maintenance or loading your gear. You also get a rear luggage rack, decently-sturdy hand guards and a skid plate that’s made of metal. A GPS holder just above the dash is in the perfect place to get a good view, and the crossbar has a serrated surface that helps keep your device clamped solidly in place. Standard USB charging ports are often barely powerful enough to keep your phone charged while using GPS apps, so it’s nice to see MV offers a USB-C type port for quick charging.

On The Road

Cruising down the highway, the Enduro Veloce offers an exceptional level of comfort, from the bar reach to the seat padding and overall seating position. The bar bend seems perfectly placed, providing a commanding feel. While the saddle does sit a bit low in the bike, even in the high position, it remained comfortable throughout nearly 500 miles of riding over two days. The peg position might feel a tad high, creating a slight knee bend for taller riders like myself at 6’2″, but it never seemed cramped. 

Rolling on the throttle, the engine produces a pleasant growl as you shift through the gears. There is a distinctive whine from the triple that sounds like it should be coming from a MotoGP bike or F1 car, and it produces delightful gurgling noises under deceleration. It’s a thing of beauty going through the gear full throttle banging gears with the quickshifter. The exhaust note is just loud enough to enjoy without being too overwhelming, though I wouldn’t mind it being a bit louder. 

MV Agusta reps emphasized they spent significant time developing a windscreen that effectively blocks wind without obstructing the rider’s view. I have to agree that the non-adjustable windscreen does an excellent job deflecting wind over the rider’s head and towards the sides without being too tall. While I found the design perfectly adequate for long-range highway riding, an adjustable windscreen might help fine-tune wind buffeting for various-sized riders. The ride was also smooth at highway speeds, despite some mild vibrations at the bars under acceleration.

One of the bike’s unique features is its counter-rotating engine, and I could definitely notice a light turn initiation feel in the twisties. Changing directions or making precise line adjustments felt easy. Getting it leaned over into turns is smooth and linear, without any hesitation or dropping in. Predictable handling and fantastic grip on asphalt, whether on smooth tires or knobbies, make this bike a joy to ride on any winding backroad.

The Enduro Veloce’s tall ground clearance also allows for aggressive lean angles, though I did scrape the optional kickstand foot from time to time. Typically, it’s the centerstand that scrapes, but it was tucked away nicely on this bike. Overall, it’s probably the best-handling adventure bike I’ve ridden on pavement with a 21″ front and 18″ rear wheelset.

In terms of power, the bike thrives on revs. Below 5000 RPMs. Initially it feels tame, but acceleration picks up quickly around 6000 RPMs and pulls hard up to the 11,000 RPM redline. Accelerating to 125+ mph happens fast, and the lean-sensitive TC effectively manages wheelspin on slick asphalt, ensuring stability and control. The rev-happy engine isn’t gutless down low though. The flat torque curve allows it to effortlessly lug along in the lower RPMs with minimal shifting required. 

The braking system is another standout feature of the Enduro Veloce. Its longish 63.4” wheelbase ensures extra stability during hard stops and the Stylema Monobloc radial mount 4-piston caliper brakes up front deliver top-grade stopping performance, as expected. The big 320 mm discs offer excellent feel for trail braking or slowing quickly on slick surfaces. The rear brake provides good feel and power on the street and the ABS system functions flawlessly as well.

When exploring the bike’s ride modes, I started in Urban to get a feel for the power character. The throttle response is soft, and power delivery is smooth, making it a good mode for relaxed riding, commuting, two-up, or in the rain. Touring mode is the aggressive option for sportier riding, offering full power and a crisp throttle response without feeling overly twitchy. Both modes allow on-the-fly adjustments for Traction Control or Engine Braking, but fine-tuning power map settings requires the bike to be stationary.

City riding proved to be quite effortless for a bike of this size. Riding stoplight to stoplight, lane splitting often, the bike never felt tippy. It handles tight spaces confidently at slow speeds with good balance helping you avoid any accidental mirror contact. Despite riding in temps that rose into the 90s F, the bike’s heat dissipation was excellent. I didn’t notice any warmth coming from the engine around my legs, and even when placing my hand near the side panels and engine vent openings, there was minimal temperature difference. Whatever heat management magic the engineers applied, it works brilliantly.

Fuel range was better than expected too from a fire breathing 900cc+ bike. During a day of hard riding on twisty backroads and a few highway sections, I was surprised to see the trip monitor display 51.9 mpg. On the second day, with a mix of street and dirt riding, including some thick sand sections, the bike still achieved 48.5 mpg. With its 5.3-gallon fuel tank, this efficiency makes it a great option for longer rides.

Also available on the HD display was a unique gauge that displayed telemetry data. While you are riding you can see a dynamic display of your G-forces, lean angle, acceleration, braking, and other information. It was pretty cool tech that had me glancing down at it far too often than I should have though. An entertaining novelty but also a potential distraction. Luckily, the display has the ability to record all that data for later download over Bluetooth and analysis on the free MVRide app. You can see the tracks you rode on a map with all the metrics, plus pictures taken during your trip can be added to create galleries. Unfortunately, the app seemed to be a bit buggy and I could never get it to download my rides with the limited time we had to play with it. 

Another trick electronic feature enabled through the display is launch control. This lets you perform lightning-quick dragstrip launches like a pro. Just push the launch button on the right handlebar, then follow the exact instructions displayed on the dash. The front lift control and traction control work together to modulate the full power of the engine for a super fast take off in a safe way. Unfortunately, just when I was getting the hang of the procedure, the feature stopped working. Turns out the bike only lets you use it three times consecutively before it stops working for a time out period. This ensures you aren’t over working your clutch and other components too much. It’s definitely a fun feature to play with if you’ve got a safe open area to do acceleration runs.

Speed control is another unique piece of gadgetry that is interesting to play with on this bike. You can set your max speed and the bike will not go over it. This is especially useful when riding through towns on a highway with speed traps. You can just set it and forget it without having to constantly keep an eye on your speedo. It could also be useful on the highway when you are in a bit of traffic that makes using cruise control inconvenient. I did try the cruise control out as well and it worked intuitively as expected. 

On The Trail

During the off-road day we saw a mixture of rutted technical climbs, fairly deep sand, and opportunities to get both wheels of this Italian rocket off the ground. In fact, the trails ended up being a lot spicier than expected for a $20k+ Italian motorcycle press launch—a good sign of confidence from the brand.

Sitting in the saddle, you immediately feel a bit pushed back and down in the bike, which is typical for many adventure tourers in this cc range but not ideal for getting your weight over the front wheel for optimized traction. It has a fairly slim and long tank though, so you can grip it with your knees without them feeling splayed. There is a small step up to the passenger seat, but the pilot’s saddle is long enough to give you ample room to shift your weight back and forth. A taller, flat enduro-style seat would be a nice option, but honestly, not a requirement for a bike that will likely spend a lot of time on the road. With its long wheelbase and extra room for the pilot, the Veloce is a good option to consider for two-up travel.

When standing up on the pegs, you can comfortably achieve the attack position for aggressive off-road riding. it feels like you are on a proper off-road bike, not a tourer. The height of the bars is just right, the pegs are positioned perfectly under you, allowing for an ideal body position to get your weight over the front wheel. The windshield is smallish and positioned far forward, so it doesn’t get in the way unless you are totally out of control.

As for off-road protection, MV gives it a decent metal skid plate that wraps around the sides and bottom of the engine. The metal is fairly thick too, making it durable for your typical adventure bike terrain. The handguards are adequately sized for protecting your hands from wind and tree branches, but the thin plastic backbone won’t withstand a hard tip-over. The muffler comes with a decent guard, but the mirrors and turn signals look more street-oriented. Our test bikes were equipped with optional crash bars which provide some extra protection for the bodywork, although the tubing wasn’t as stout as most aftermarket options. The foot pegs are good sized with serrated edges offering adequate grip and support, and they appear to be built strong too.

With any bike that makes more than 100 horsepower, it’s smart to start with Traction Control ‘on’ to get a feel for things. I spent the first 20 minutes riding in off-road mode with traction control on level 3 to get a feel for the power delivery. Grabbing a handful of throttle with these settings, the power comes on softly and there is little to no noticeable tire spin. The intervention was too heavy though for my taste, so I dropped TC down to 1. This allowed for some mild kick-out while still keeping the bike’s power under control. The intervention wasn’t consistent though. Occasionally, it would catch the TC by surprise and whip out the rear tire for a second on a loose section, while other times, I’d try to slide it for ‘The Gram’ and it wouldn’t cooperate. If you are just cruising at a good pace, it works well in TC level 1, but if you are heavy on the throttle, the sputtering is almost constant as it fights to keep the high-revving Triple under control.

After playing around with the more aggressive settings in the All-Terrain mode, I preferred riding it with TC off and keeping it in Off-Road mode for a softer throttle response and reduced intervention in loose terrain. Being a Triple, there isn’t a lot of pop down in the low RPMs to lighten up the front over obstacles like you have on a twin. A long first gear also reduces that braaaapy feel in the low end. When riding aggressively, it likes to live in the higher revs. Unfortunately, the higher the revs, the more the rear tire loses traction on patches of sand or loose rocks. It’s a bit like trying to break a wild stallion—sometimes you’re just along for the ride holding on hoping it comes back under control. Riding this bike off-road without any TC definitely takes some skills.

For more casual riding, the TC works well to keep things in control. Keeping it in the lower revs, there’s plenty of torque and good tractability to make your way up loose hills or through sand and rock sections. If you are light on the throttle, you won’t notice much intervention.

At one point, we encountered a choppy, loose hill climb covered with a maze of ruts that helped demonstrate the Jeckyll & Hyde nature of the bike. Our ride leader, Pike’s Peak champ Chris Filmore, was first up to show the pro way to do it–heavy on the gas. The bike kicked violently, dropping in and out of deep ruts, with the rear tire fighting for traction and making mini rooster tails. Chris made quick work of the hill, disappearing around the corner. It looked pretty sketchy for us journalists left to fend for ourselves, and lucky me, I was next in line.

I decided to take a more cautious approach not wanting to bang up the beautiful Italian machine. I figured I’d keep the revs low and go straight up the middle, focusing on maximizing traction. The Veloce tractored up to the top of the hill at a casual pace, cutting across several deep cross-ruts drama free, and the rear tire had minimal slip even with TC off. “Wow that was easy,” I remember thinking. Not sure if those behind me chose hill climb method A or B but everyone seemed to make it up ok.

As fatigue began to set in at the end of the day, I was starting to appreciate the low-end torque of the Triple off-road and decided to keep the revs down and TC at level 1. With these settings there was a fair bit of intervention, but I could maintain a decent pace and keep things more chill — less taxing on the brain, not having to constantly correct or worry about making a costly mistake. I think that’s where this bike likes to be off-road and where most riders who will buy this bike are likely to keep it. When you want to let it rip for short stints, you can always turn TC off and throw it in the more aggressive fuel map setting for a quick adrenaline rush. On a smooth dirt road, it can be a lot of fun roosting it around every turn.

While the power delivery of the triple could be a handful, the chassis offered a lot of control in the rough stuff. Overall, the Veloce has a balanced feel and seems much lighter than its 494-pound dry weight might suggest. At a stop, it can be leaned over side to side pretty far (about 25 degrees according to telemetry data) before you start feeling like it wants to keep going with gravity, indicating they’ve done a good job of centralizing mass. It handles more like a bike in the 800cc range than something in the 1000cc range. 

Most of the terrain we tackled was wide jeep trails, so we didn’t get to test it on tighter double or single-track trails. However, it’s easy to keep the bike balanced and upright moving slowly over obstacles. Perhaps it’s that counter-rotating crank or just a low center of gravity, but the weight wasn’t a problem at slower speeds. 

One oddity I noticed at slow speeds is the bike feels like it wants to take off from idle, which caught me by surprise a few times. At first I assumed it was a mechanism to raise the idle and avoid stalling but I was told it’s due to the abundance of torque. On a steep hill, you can let out the clutch smoothly, with no throttle, and it will ride up the hill without stalling.  Another strange electronics issue I had was with the Quickshfter. It switched butter smooth while seated, but when riding standing up, the engagement became clunky when wearing adventure boots. Perhaps it just needs a shift lever adjustment though to remedy that. 

At faster speeds, the long wheelbase keeps the bike nice and stable. As long as you aren’t ripping on the throttle, it easily maintains a straight course through choppy terrain. Some big bikes tend to drift and push on rough trails, requiring you to point in a general direction and let it float around. But the Veloce has the ability to keep a clean line and responds to precise steering inputs in the loose stuff. That is as long as you let the chassis do the work and don’t upset it with a fistful of throttle.

Along with that athletic handling, there’s good bump absorption too. The Sachs componentry is plush in the rocks and has good absorption for the big bumps, jumps, and drop-offs, with a progressively stiffer feel as you get deeper into the stroke.  This is what good suspension feels like.  

I tried running it into every ditch I could find and launched it a few feet off the ground when I could to test the limits of the suspension. There’s good hold-up at both ends for the 8.3 inches of travel it offers and it uses every millimeter available to the fullest. The fork never let out a clunk and the few times I did bottom out the rear shock, it was a very soft bottom. The centerstand also seems tucked well away and I didn’t feel it pop down or scrape on anything.

While I didn’t play with the settings, the damping felt spot-on for both compression and rebound straight out of the box, helping keep the tires glued to the ground for the most part. Sometimes the suspension was so smooth that you didn’t even realize you were airborne until you saw the photo. Stability was good with no wallowing, heavy diving, or aggressive kickback. To me, the suspension felt much better than a Norden 901 and similar to a DesertX. The bike also reminded me of the old KTM 1090 Adventure R – another long, lean, athletic, fast-revving liter-class ADV with good suspension.

Bringing the Veloce to a stop in the dirt was not a problem with the big Brembo Stylema Monobloc radial mount front brakes. The same precise feel on the road and powerful stopping force translate well offroad, without being too sensitive or grabby. There was no way to turn ABS off completely at the front, but I never felt the need to as the ABS felt highly accurate in the off-road setting. We had several steepish descents on soft terrain and the brakes slowed the machine down without any weird chatter or hopping. The rear brake, aided by the long wheelbase, has great feel and modulation with ABS off, without a tendency to want to lockup. The excellent braking definitely came in handy during a surprise encounter with ‘Mr. Ranger’ on a blind turn going a bit faster than I should have.

As far as durability, the Veloce fared better than many sporty adventure bikes from Italy I’ve ridden in the past. I was lucky enough to not have any get offs during our test, but there were a few dirt samples taken in our group. The crash bars did their job and protected the bike for the most part from any significant damage. I did see a handguard frame snap but no broken clutch lever. 

Bottom Line

Overall, the Enduro Veloce exceeded my expectations with its off-road prowess while still delivering a sportbike-like experience on the tarmac. Despite its estimated weight of around 530 pounds wet, which is roughly 30 pounds heavier than its primary competition, MV Agusta has done a great job of hiding the mass while riding it. However, you’ll definitely feel every ounce when you need to pick it up after a drop.

I couldn’t help but think how much better the bike could be if it went on a diet. When I asked the MV team about where the weight comes from, I was told they may have overbuilt some things like the rear subframe to ensure it’s sturdy enough for two-up travel. There may be some extra insulation and ducting that went into the heat dissipation system as well. They also admitted that there are probably some unnecessary parts tucked away in the engine compartment that were aesthetically pleasing to engineers but could probably be removed. MV seems to be fully aware that some buyers may be scared off by the spec sheet and according to them, shedding weight will be a priority in future iterations.

For me, the weight wasn’t the bike’s biggest drawback though. While the Triple motor really sings on the street, managing its power off-road can be challenging. It can be fun for a while to hang it out there but eventually it wears on you and you begin making mistakes. Sure you’ve got Traction Control to help with that but it intervenes constantly, which can become an annoyance if you ride with an aggressive style. If you are content cruising along in the lower revs, it’s a great handling big bike with good bump absorption.

For those looking for something different in the market, the Veloce stands out with a lot of character and unique features like the launch control, speed limiter, excellent heat dissipation, telemetry meter, serrated GPS bar, and of course the Triple powerplant. There’s plenty of useful standard features too like the centerstand, hand guards, metal skid plate, cruise control, and more. Although with an MSRP starting at $21,998, I would have liked to see heated grips be included as well. And while the fully-adjustable Sachs suspension was great for off-road riders, many in the target market coming from more of a street background might expect an electronic semi-active suspension.

The Enduro Veloce wasn’t without a few quirks. For instance, you need to have the bike running to change modes, which can be inconvenient when trying to dial in all your settings just sitting there idling. I also found it unintuitive to push the ‘starter’ button to change modes while the engine is on. While the HD TFT screen is sharp, the text was too small at times for my old eyes to quickly see what’s going on at a glance. Quickshifting proved difficult while standing and I could never get the MV Ride App to work correctly on my phone either. Oh, and that turn signal button is also hard to find. But as far as being a bike that gets you excited about turning the key in the morning, it hit the mark in that regard. 

As a premium Euro offering with a 21” front wheel, the Veloce’s closest competitors include bikes like the Ducati DesertX, Triumph Tiger 900 and Husqvarna Norden 901 Expedition. And while the Veloce may not be as capable off-road as those bikes, it’s not far off and offers superior performance in the twisties.

MV Agusta plans on bringing about 1000 units to North America over the next two years, ensuring you’ll likely be the only one in your neighborhood with one in the garage. The primary target market for the Enduro Veloce appears to be those who are already fans of the MV brand, interested in dabbling in the ever-growing Adventure segment. The idea from a marketing perspective seems to be that if they are going to purchase an Adventure Bike anyway, why not give them one from a brand they already know and love. But is it good enough for existing adventure bike riders to switch to a new, unproven model?

I think it’s a highly-attractive motorcycle that a lot of adventure riders will fall in love with. It’s also a capable machine that offers plenty of logical reasons why you might need one in the garage. I can see it appealing to fans of the Moto Guzzi Stelvio or Ducati Multistrada looking for something with great street performance, exclusivity, and Italian flair, along with improved off-road capability. For those concerned about reliability, it comes with a 4-year warranty as well. As far as maintenance, it requires oil changes every 9,300 miles and valve checks every 18,600 miles.

Ultimately with these exotic Italian bikes, it’s all about whether it moves you, inspires you, and makes you want to ride it. It’s not just a machine, it’s an experience. MV Agusta has been a master of producing motorcycles that do just that for decades, and the new Enduro Veloce is no different.

Gear We Used

Jacket: REV’IT! Component 2 H2O
Pants: REV’IT! Continent
Boots: REV’IT! Discovery GTX
Gloves: REV’IT! Dirt 3
Helmet: Arai XD-4

MV Agusta Enduro Veloce Specs

Photos By Kevin Wing

Author: Rob Dabney

Rob Dabney started a lifelong obsession with motorcycles at the age of 15 when he purchased his first bike – a 1982 Honda MB5. Through his 20’s and 30’s he competed in off-road desert races, including the Baja 250, 500 and 1000. Eventually, his proclivity for exploration led him to dual sport and adventure riding. Rob’s never-ending quest to discover what’s around the next bend has taken him on Adventures in Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and throughout the American West. As a moto journalist, he enjoys inspiring others to seek adventure across horizons both near and far.