MV Agusta's middleweight adventure bike project appears to be put on hold, meaning the Lucky Explorer 5.5 won't be hitting the market anytime soon.

This development was disclosed by the British publication MCN, which interviewed MV's CEO Timur Sardarov about the company's plans in light of their deepening collaboration with KTM. Sardarov informed MCN that the MV Agusta Lucky Explorer 5.5's research and development is currently "temporarily halted" as they navigate their new partnership with the Austrian company.

This pause shouldn't be surprising. As previously reported in May, Stefan Pierer, the head of Pierer AG (the conglomerate that encompasses KTM), expressed reservations about the Lucky Explorer project.

As it stands, MV Agusta is reportedly preparing to introduce the Lucky Explorer 9.5 to the market in the near future, featuring three different variants, while the fate of the 5.5 model seems uncertain.

What's behind this decision? The Lucky Explorer 5.5 was originally intended to be a middleweight adventure bike with a parallel twin engine produced in China. KTM had also recently abandoned plans for a budget-friendly 500-class adventure bike with a parallel twin engine, citing profit margins, evolving global economic conditions, and, naturally, MV Agusta's new role as a long-term partner with KTM as the key factors influencing this decision.

#Adventure