Normally, the goal here on RSBFS is to feature rare, unusual, or quirky sport motorcycles and we generally try to stick to machines in good, stock condition or bikes that have been tastefully modified. But today’s MV Agusta F4-1000 track bike is exactly the kind of thing I’d love to put together myself, if I had money and was feeling particularly brave. In this case, a perfectly good piece of nearly useless motorcycle jewelry appears to have been built to tackle the tarmac as an expensive and very fast trackday bauble. Honestly, I’m not sure which racing classes it’d be eligible to compete in and an F4 would obviously be far more costly to campaign than a GSX-R1000 without offering any real performance advantage, but that doesn’t mean someone shouldn’t take the plunge.
The adulation that surrounded the original F4’s introduction faded to polite applause once riders got to test it back-to-back against competing machines costing half as much: during the development of the exotic, radial-valved 750cc machine, the world lost interest in the class and literbikes had taken center stage, leaving MV hopelessly outclassed. Those bikes were much faster than the F4, at least in a straight line, weighed the same, handled almost as well, and cost less. MV Agusta left the beautiful looks alone, but addressed the lack of performance in stunning form when the F4-1000 was introduced a few years later. It was still more expensive than the Japanese literbikes and wasn’t really any faster, but at least those bullies couldn’t kick sand in its face anymore and it offered up a rawer, more committed experience for experienced riders.
Basically, the perfect choice for a track day monster!
From the original eBay listing: MV Agusta F4-1000 Track Bike
I am second owner, first owner is US servicemen, he bought this bike brand new from Pro-Italia and used for couple track days then deployed out of US, so he have to sale to me, this bike never register in DMV, I have all the papers word will including on this sale.
- Please pick Option 1 or 2 only after you win my auction
- 1:Red Marchesini Forged $2000 with Dunlop Ntec 211 tires cost $325 set
- 2: Silver Marchesini Forged cost $2000 with Dunlop Ntet 212 tires cost $375 set
All the parts below will come with the bike:
- Marzocchi 2009 RR312 Fork $850
- Brembo M50 Calipers $550
- Brembo clutch and 17mm brake master including both Reservoir $400
- Ohlins TTX rear shock $1000
- STM Slipper Clutch $1200
- upgrade to shorai battery $190
- upgrade Eprom $50
- FBF rearset $375
- FBF Exhaust $850
- Power Commander PC3 $375
- Power Commander Quick Shifter $275
- Power Commander LCD $ 250
- Arrow mid Exhaust $345
- X-bike Fairing stay $325
- Catalyst Composites track fairing $900 painted Professional $350
- Brembo Rotors $300
- Carbon Swingarm cover $250
- Carbon hugger $175
- 520 DID Chain front and rear sprocket covert $375
- Set of Muzzy Aluminum Fan $160
- Fresh Engine Ice Coolant
- Top and Bottom Radiator guard $120
- Quick Release Gas Cap SSR brand $120
- Just Oil Change Motul 300v 15w50
- Zero gravity clear painted red $90
Total parts I paid over $11k, I am sure missing couple more items.
While I do appreciate the seller listing all of the parts that went into the build, it always does seem a bit tacky to include the pricing. With that $8,500 starting bid, I’m sure he’s hoping to make a good chunk of that back, but he’s missing that important lesson discussed here on the site and in the comments section ad nauseam: throwing $11,000 in parts at a motorcycle will have very little impact on its value, other than to possibly make it more likely to sell than another machine in similar condition. And as these bikes become more and more collectible, all those expensive custom parts can actually make it less likely to sell… That’s certainly becoming true for early 916s.
Here’s the other thing: aside from actual, professionally-prepped racebikes, track day motorcycles generally sell for a good bit less than their road-legal counterparts. The reasons are pretty simple: the market for track-only bikes is much smaller, they’re guaranteed to have been thrashed, since that’s basically the whole point of the exercise, and quite possibly have been crashed a few times. Track day junkies are expecting to crash at some point, and crashes mean repairs. A simple low-side in a slow corner doesn’t necessarily mean an end your day or weekend, assuming you can throw a new clutch or brake lever and clip-on bar onto the bike, or borrow a spare rearset peg or shift lever. A bag full of spares and a package of zip ties can quickly get you back on track, once you clean all the grass out from behind your fairings…
And in spite of the obvious quality of the parts and preparation that have gone into this motorcycle, the reality is that you can buy a decent, road-legal F4 for what he likely wants for this, and the bits on those aren’t exactly of poor quality to begin with. This is obviously a very high-quality motorcycle, but I think the seller may have a hard time finding a buyer at that price.
-tad