Cw First Ride Mv Agusta Brutale 800 Dragster

CW FIRST RIDE MV AGUSTA BRUTALE 800 DRAGSTER

IGNITION

FIRST RIDE

Brutally refashioned

Bruno dePrato

WHEN PICTURES of the Dragster first circulated, the bike's styling and fatter-than-usual rear tire made me think the new machine was philosophically similar to the Ducati Diavel.

Not so.

The MV Agusta Dragster is essentially a restyled Brutale, but the mechanical soul of the standard bike remains. Even the gear ratios are unchanged.

Still, that fat 200/50ZR-17 rear Pirelli Diablo Rosso II does, by its sheer width, represent a significant alteration to the chassis’ character. Of note, Chief Project Engineer Marco Cassinelli insisted that the Dragster also be

homologated with the standard Brutale 8oo’s 180/55 rear.

The rest of the hybrid steeltrellis/machined aluminum chassis is unchanged. Vital Dragster measurements include a wheelbase of 54.3 inches working with a 24-degree rake and 3.7-inch trail.

The 43mm inverted Marzocchi fork and Sachs shock are fully adjustable. Brembo triple disc brakes were characteristically fantastic.

After repeated complaints about the earlier MVICS (Motor & Vehicle Integrated Controls) ride-by-wire throttle control and engine-management system, MV

updated hardware and software to ensure the four throttle modes and eight-level traction control (which can be switched off) delivered its best. And at Le Castellet (the Paul Ricard circuit in France) rain followed by wind and a cold, drying track meant conditions were not ideal, making it a good test for the reworked system.

MV Agusta’s 798CC triple, with a claimed 125 hp and 60 poundfeet of torque (same as in the Brutale 800 and Rivale 800), delivers rapid acceleration (power wheelies, anyone?) with great flexibility across the rev band. Throttle response was indeed excellent and appears to finally have been fixed.

Chassis stability was superb, even at the 140-plus mph achieved at the end of the two straights we used, and performance during hard braking for the sharp turn at the end of the front straight was absolutely impeccable. Razor-sharp steering and good front-end feedback were especially appreciated in a very fast fifth-gear bend taken at full throttle. One slow left turn gave an odd feeling that we fixed by increasing rear tire pressure by 3 psi. It will be interesting to see how the bike handles with the narrower 180mm rear Pirelli.

MV Agusta’s 2014 Dragster is a fashionable variation of the Brutale 800, even if it does represent a departure from the marque’s historical pure sporting tradition. Now it’s time for Gianni Castiglioni and his R&D engineers to use the versatile Brutale chassis as the basis for a lightweight, half-faired sportbike along the lines of Ducati’s classic 900 Supersport. CTU

SPECS

MV AGUSTA BRUTALE

800 DRAGSTER

PRICE: $14,798 ENGINE: dohc inline-3 DISPLACEMENT: 798cc SEAT HEIGHT: 31.9 in. FUEL CAPACITY: 4.4 gal. CLAIMED WET WEIGHT:

368 lb.