MV Agusta Press Release:

December 26th, 1978. That day marked the genesis of one of the most fascinating and dangerous adventures ever: the Paris-Dakar. Famous rally race crossing the Sahara Desert and born from the irreverent and visionary mind of Thierry Sabine. After its founder’s death in 1986 in the middle of unforgiving Ténéré region, the race has become the test bed for outstanding performance bikes, capable of travelling the desert tracks at insane speeds.

The Elefant model in its Lucky Explorer livery is probably the most celebrated icon of that historic desert raid. From the very first sketches, the evocative power of the Elefant, dominating twice the final destination of Lac Rose in Dakar, has inspired many designers, committed to recreating, in a modern key, that magic feeling of motorcycles recognised as the emblem of the eternal struggle between the crudeness of nature and man.

Rock, sand, gasoline and courage: a bunch of crucial elements on which those epic races were based. The “void” embraced full throttle. Looking for the right track, the one that truly makes the difference between a stage victory and an out-of-time arrival at base camp. It is not just about motorbikes. It’s about a comprehensive ecosystem, which is not only made up of evocative sensations but also deserves off-road effectiveness and skill.

MORE THAN A PROJECT

MV Agusta launches the Lucky Explorer Project, a multi-faceted initiative aiming at gathering the passionate lovers of rally raid and off-road racing around Schiranna’s unforgettable legacy of epic participations and victories in the great African rallies of the golden age. That same spirit of adventure and freedom is the foundation of this ambitious teaser communication project which will be initially developed through digital communication activities followed by others in the real-life world to finally back up the launch of two new adventure bikes.

The Lucky Explorer Project is not just a cold yet smart marketing project. It represents the ultimate character of the Company to express its sentiments in the motorcycle business, revamping deeply the passion, the emotions, the values, the style, the gestures of men and bikes who made the history of racing in the desert.

It’s more than a project. The Lucky Explorer Project has been conceived to create a communication platform to support the launch of two brand new adventure bikes, creating anticipation and thrill, thus:

• Revamping the Lucky Explorer racing heritage

• Telling the story and spread the culture of the great African rallies

• Building an adventure, off-road enthusiast community

• Involving and engaging participants in online and offline actions

Lucky Explorer Project is not just about bikes, it’s about a comprehensive world of emotions, memories, values and a way of being. A long-awaited return for all the fans of Made-in-Schiranna, but also a new beginning and a leap into the future. The project will be developed on the website www.luckyexplorerproject.com and through the Instagram channel @ luckyexplorer.official, already online. Riders, personalities, clips and anecdotes, historical factory tours, vintage advertising, videos, memorabilia, new content and events will bring together a real community of enthusiasts. And Lucky Explorer ambassadors will turn up, with access to special content and exclusive previews.

The new 5.5 and 9.5 adventure bikes offer a concrete yet suggestive perspective in an increasingly crowded competitive arena, focused on riding efficiency and stylistic charm, as well as on advanced technical solutions. Both projects represent the modern interpretation of the desert race’s myth, which appealed the imagination of the Motorsport world since the mid-Eighties, conquering tons of enthusiasts in the continuous search for brand-new and thrilling adventures.

Originally, on the historic Elefant model, at centre-stage in the Dakar races, the Lucky Explorer logo was immediately recognisable, even from a distance, to the point of characterising the whole bike and emphasising its racing-oriented personality. Today, on both new models that logo blooms again thanks to the graphic and set-up winning choices.

A TRIBUTE TO THE PAST, THE FIRST STONE TO OUR FUTURE.

The 5.5 version, developed in close collaboration with our partner QJ, is a new adventure bike inspired by the heritage of the Elefant. Despite being a mid-sized bike, its appearance is that of a higher displacement travel-oriented motorcycle, capable of seducing European riders looking for a sturdy and unstoppable companion.

Such close collaboration with the partner has brought to life a truly advanced model if compared to the starting model: electronics, mechanics and chassis, in fact, have been carefully developed on the basis of detailed specifications. Electronics, for example, has been optimised to offer the perfect combination between performance and safety. The two-cylinder in-line liquid-cooled engine with double overhead camshaft distribution has also undergone specific refinement, aimed at further improving the high efficiency. The increase in displacement up to 554 cc (70.5 mm bore and 71 mm stroke), a distinctive content for this model, has the goal to further enrich the torque curve and smoothen delivery at all revs.

That is what a motorcycle with such a wide spectrum of use deserves. Distinctive design of the 5.5 version can be seen both from the superstructures and from other aesthetic crucial features, such as the bespoke optical groups. Stylistic inspiration is shared with the 9.5 model and inspired by the legendary races in the desert, not to mention others features, which allows this new born to proudly claim its technical, conceptual and aesthetic identity.