You people who always look at price just crack me up. It's not about money and it's not about performance, because the number of people who can actually put any of the current sportbikes anywhere near close to their limits are few. So it's about what speaks to people, be it japanese, italian or whatever. I'm not rich but I've had 2 F4s in the past and it had nothing to do with money or flash. simply it was the bike that appealed to me. you guys need to stop hating simply because you can't afford or understand something. The F4 are great bikes and if you'd stop focusing on the price tag then you'd maybe have a chance to see that. Oh just incase you missed it, the reason the price is higher is because the F4s are for the most handmade instead of mass produced.
What’s new annotations:Engine
Although it shares the same 998cc capacity and 76 x 55mm bore and stroke as the old F4 1000, it’s all-change for the new radial valve inline-four-cylinder F4 motor. Producing a claimed 186.3bhp@12,900rpm the engine has lighter crankcases and a redesigned crankshaft which is 2kg-heavier and has 47% more inertia (developed during the 2008 Italian superbike championship). The heavier crank, which has lighter conrods, allows MV to do away with a separate balance shaft.
Inlet tracts are shorter for extra high rpm performance. New 30mm titanium inlet valves (25mm steel exhaust valves) are stronger and lighter. The oil pump, deeper sump, cooling system and generator have all been honed and tweaked for improved performance.
Exhaust
One of the most noticeable changes to the F4 is its new four-into-one exhaust system. It has four removable square-section end cans inside of the infamous old ‘organ pipe’ circular ones.
Electronics and rider aids
Electronic variable inlet trumpets, seen for the first time on the old ultra-exotic F4 Tamburini (and before the R1/R6/RSV4) helps give optimum power through the rev range. A Magnetti Marelli 7BM ECU controls the engine map in each gear via a gear selection switch, the eight fuel injectors, inlet trumpets, exhaust valve, the two-way switchable power maps (Sport and Rain) and the eight-stage traction control system. New 49mm Mikuni throttle bodies with eight injectors are fed by a bigger airbox.
How do you like yours - black, red/silver, or silver?
Clutch and gearbox
The F4 gets a new extractable cassette-type gearbox and a mechanical slipper clutch to reduce wheel-hop when braking hard and downshifting into corners.
Frame
The F4 still has the same distinctive trellis steel/cast ali mix frame, but it’s narrower, shorter, lighter and stiffer in all the right places. Weight distribution is moved forward (now 52% front, 48% rear). The new rear subframe is also lighter than before.
Swingarm
Extended by 20mm for more rear wheel grip, the distinctive single-sided swingarm is also 1.2kg lighter. The swingarm pivot and suspension linkages have also been redesigned.
Forks
New fully-adjustable 50mm Marzocchi forks have a quick release system for the front spindle.
Rear shock
Fully adjustable Sachs rear shock with adjustable ride height.
Brakes and wheels
Front: Twin 320mm discs with Brembo monobloc four-piston calipers and Nissin radial master-cylinder. Rear: 220mm disc with Nissin four-piston caliper. New cast wheels are 1.2kg-lighter.
Bodywork
The new, sleeker, redesigned bodywork weighs 4.9kg-less than the old F4. A shorter plastic fuel tank weighs 1.25kg-less than before, the fairing 3kg-less and the screen 300 grams. The new xenon headlight weighs 1.5kg-less.
Instruments and controls.
The old dash is replaced by a new slimline multi-function LCD item with a huge screen and shows all the usual data like speed, revs and also shows gear position, a lap timer and traction control level. Clip-on bars have been raised and positioned wider for more comfort and control.
If you've never ridden a F4 then it'll be hard to understand why the extra costs. Sure, there may be lighter more powerful machines but these bikes talk to you. They have a visceral character about them that tell you you're on something special. It's not for someone that can't afford more than one or two bikes. These are for someone with money fountaining out of their pockets. Unfortunately I don't, but T do have a very trusting rich racing buddy.
