MV Agusta Rush 1000

What is the MV Agusta Rush 1000?

The original MV Agusta Rush 1000 is a 998 cc four-cylinder naked bike first shown in 2019 and put into production in 2020. MV Agusta described a 300-unit run in May 2020, with production due to begin in June and the first bikes leaving Varese by the end of that month. Adam Child’s 2020 road test even noted the numbered plate beside the ignition switch: one of 300, right there on the bike.

The Rush is based on the Brutale 1000 RR, but it isn’t simply the same bike in louder clothes. MV Agusta’s launch announcement says the Rush took its electronic Öhlins suspension, trellis frame, Brembo Stylema callipers and Bosch 9 Plus Race ABS from the RR, then gave the Rush its own headlight unit, spoked front wheel, minimalist rear subframe and passenger seat, and side-exit exhausts.

The Rush Army, Rush Mamba and Rush Titanio that followed are later editions with a revised specification.

The 998 cc four-cylinder engine

The 2020 Rush uses a 998 cc inline-four with a 79 mm bore, 50.9 mm stroke and 13.4:1 compression. Its DOHC cylinder head uses radial titanium valves, while MV Agusta also specified titanium connecting rods and a lightened crankshaft.

Standard output is 153.0 kW (208 hp) at 13,000 rpm at the crankshaft, with 116.5 Nm at 11,000 rpm. Engine management is MV Agusta's MVICS system, with eight injectors, an Eldor EM2.0 ECU, Mikuni ride-by-wire throttles, ion-sensing ignition coils, and detonation and misfire control.

Rider aids include four torque maps, eight-level traction control, and wheelie control (Front Lift Control) that uses an inertial platform.

Cassette gearbox and Racing Kit

The transmission is a cassette-style six-speed constant-mesh unit with MV EAS 2.1 up-and-down electronic shifting. Primary drive is 48/82 and final drive is 16/41, with gear pairs of 14/37, 16/33, 18/31, 20/30, 22/29 and 21/25.

The wet multi-disc clutch uses a back-torque-limiting arrangement with Brembo radial hydraulic actuation.

The Racing Kit was optional. It comprised a titanium exhaust with twin silencers under a carbon-fibre cover, an ECU with its own engine map, and a carbon-fibre passenger-seat cover. With the kit fitted, MV Agusta quoted 156.0 kW (212 hp) at 13,600 rpm, against 208 hp for the standard motorcycle.

The standard bike's side-exit exhaust ends in four outlets; the kit's system has two.

Chassis, Öhlins suspension and Brembo brakes

A chrome-molybdenum steel tubular trellis frame is paired with aluminium swingarm-pivot plates and an aluminium single-sided swingarm. The pivot height is adjustable.

Öhlins supplies a 43 mm NIX EC fork with TiN treatment and 120 mm of travel, plus an EC TTX rear shock with 120 mm of rear-wheel travel. Compression and rebound damping are electronically controlled, and an Öhlins EC steering damper offers automatic and manual adjustment.

Braking is by twin 320 mm front discs with Brembo Stylema radial monobloc four-piston calipers and a 220 mm rear disc with a two-piston Brembo caliper. ABS is Bosch 9 Plus, with a Race mode and rear-wheel lift-up mitigation.

Wheels, tyres and drag-racing bodywork

The visual contrast between the wheels is part of the original Rush specification: a 3.50 × 17 aluminium-alloy spoked front wheel and a 6.00 × 17 forged-aluminium rear wheel hidden behind a carbon-fibre cover.

The Rush was fitted with Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa V3 tyres, 120/70 ZR17 front and 200/55 ZR17 rear.

MV Agusta described the rear-wheel cover as a solution inspired by drag racing and intended to reduce the coefficient of drag. The announcement gave no figure for the reduction.

The side panels, tank panels, air scoops, tail pieces and airbox are carbon fibre; the fuel tank and the lateral covers are thermoplastic.

Electronics and rider aids

The 2020 equipment list includes a 5-inch colour TFT display, cruise control, Bluetooth, GPS, MV Ride App integration, Launch Control and an immobiliser. The app supports navigation mirroring and remote adjustment of engine, suspension and rider-aid settings.

The headlight, indicators and tail light are LED. Both 2020 road tests describe the round headlight as having a cornering function; Cathcart describes extra LEDs lighting in turn as the bike leans.

Dimensions, Euro 4 and what 186 kg means

Wheelbase is 1,415 mm, overall length 2,080 mm and width 805 mm. Seat height is 845 mm, minimum ground clearance 141 mm and trail 97 mm. Fuel capacity is 16 litres.

MV Agusta gives the 2020 Rush a dry weight of 186 kg, or 184 kg with the Racing Kit. The 205.5 kg on MV Agusta's current Rush page is a different measure, mass in running order without fuel, for a later specification, so the two can't be compared directly.

The 2020 Rush meets Euro 4, with combined fuel consumption of 6.7 L/100 km and CO2 emissions of 153 g/km.

MV Agusta quotes a maximum speed of over 300 km/h and states that the top speed was attained on a closed course.

What a 2020 Rush felt like on road and track

Alan Cathcart's test, published in December 2020, covered open roads north of Varese and the Vairano test track. He found the riding position unexpectedly comfortable, with the rider sitting in the motorcycle rather than perched on it, and the steering direct and responsive. He rated the Brembo Stylema brakes progressive and predictable, and the two-way quickshifter especially well set up.

On ride quality the two 2020 tests disagree. Cathcart found the electronic Öhlins suspension compliant over cobbles in its softer road settings, and composed over the Vairano bumps in Race mode. Adam Child, testing for MCNews on roads north of Varese, found the ride harsh over cobbles, potholes and speed humps even in the softest Rain mode, with a thin seat making it worse, and said he would soften the settings if the bike were his.

How the original Rush differs from later Rush editions

MV Agusta's own history of the Rush tells its editions apart by colour: the original's grey, bronze and red in 2019, the Rush Army's dark grey and yellow in 2021, the Rush Mamba's Rosso Mamba 2.0 in 2023, and the Titanio, announced for 2026, in black with silver and blue accents.

The specification changed along the way. MV Agusta's 2024 technical sheet lists an Eldor Nemo 2.1 ECU in place of the EM2.0, Euro 5 in place of Euro 4 and a 15/41 final drive in place of 16/41, and its parts catalogue treats 2019–20, 2021–22 and 2023–24 Rushes as separate fitments. The figures on MV Agusta's current Rush pages therefore describe a later motorcycle.

Buying an original Rush today

MV Agusta's UK range no longer lists the original Rush. Under Rush it shows the Mamba Limited Edition and the Titanio, marked as coming soon. The Mamba's page is still titled Rush 1000 and shows a later specification, a price from £44,000 and a dealer-contact form. None of that tells you whether an original 2020 Rush can still be bought new, or what one costs — the £44,000 belongs to the current motorcycle, not this one.

For an original Rush, first confirm it is a 2020 bike rather than a later edition, then check its service and recall history, which exhaust and engine map are fitted, and parts and service support.

For another MV Agusta naked-bike route, the 2026 Brutale 800 takes a very different 798 cc three-cylinder approach.

For the related four-cylinder route, the Superveloce 1000 Serie Oro uses closely related 998 cc four-cylinder architecture in a fully faired limited-production motorcycle.

The MV Agusta triples-and-fours feature carries the broader comparison across the F3 RR, Brutale 800, Superveloce 1000 Serie Oro and original Rush 1000.