MV Agusta Brutale 800
Never mind about the money, just feel the joy…
IHAVE NEVER RIDDEN a bike that turns as fast as the Brutale. The slightest fingertip twitch sends the bike leaning with jaw-dropping immediacy. It makes the MT-09 feel like it’s turning on thick-pile and even the focused Street Triple loses its edge in comparison. It’s by far the fastest-steering bike here. It gets better. Imagine a riding position that stacks you above the wide handlebar, forward over the front wheel, plus a dash and headlight that finish so close to the headstock you can see the tip of the wheel when seated. Add that to the blinding turn-in and the Brutale pins your eyes open and takes directional commands straight from your temporal lobe. It’s like the scene in Wolf of Wall Street where Jordan Belfort goes wide-eyed snorting cocaine on his private yacht. This bike gets you blitzed. Cynics may imagine this laser-fast line cutting comes at a cost. An imbalance, a skittishness that results in horrendous head shaking. Especially as there’s no steering damper. But, no tankslappers materialise. I’m launching the MV over crests (bike leant over, handlebar askew, accelerating hard) and as the front lands the bike immediately rights itself and drives forward. That’s impressive. Doing the same on the MT-09 SP leads to violent wobbling at the handlebar. I hand over controls to editor Hugo Wilson. After an hour’s hard riding he returns astonished. ‘That’s the best MV Agusta I’ve ever ridden,’ he declares wide-eyed. ‘I rode the first F4 in 1999 and it was a big disappointment. Like a Japanese 750 sportsbike but with worse suspension, brutal riding position and bad fuelling. That’s true of every MV sportsbike I’ve ridden since. This Brutale is different.’ Steve Herbert, too, is bursting with praise after trying the MV. ‘The engine feels and sounds awesome. MVS like to let you know how busy they are and how hard they’re working, and the revvy, raspy, swarf-gargling noise is my favourite thing about this bike.’ The Brutale’s acceleration is addictive. There’s a ‘pap’ at the exhaust as you whack in another gear and the quickshifter slaps up the new ratio. ‘Sounds like an Indiana Jones whip crack,’ ventures the ever-ready Lang. It gets louder the harder you accelerate and the higher up the rev range you are. For best results, wring it to 11,000rpm in first, second, and then third gear. On a sportsbike you’d be breaking 150mph by now, but on these low-geared middleweights you’re having the same fun at 100. Triumph-loving Paul Lang doesn’t rate the design. ‘The headlight droops down over the front wheel like it’s been left to melt on a hot radiator. And the LCD dash is tiny: I can’t decipher the tiny time readout without my glasses on, and the warning lights are so dim you don’t notice them. The dash’s shoddiness reflects badly on the whole. I mean, the rpm readout hits 16,000 but the engine redlines nowhere near it. Shoddy.’ Steve Herbert agrees. ‘I’ve always liked how MVS are simultaneously spectacular and a bit bodged. Take the metal heat shield covering the rear right indicator, for example. That triple exhaust must melt the indicator’s plastic so MV have bodged it… I mean deployed a solution. Then there are other places where form is chosen over function. Those rubber switches on the left bar are a terrible idea. They’re really hard to use with gloves on, and I doubt their robustness in years to come.’ These switches allow you to cycle and edit options such as traction control, lap times and ABS. It’s nowhere near as intuitive a system as the KTM’S, but it does remember that you’ve switched the traction control off. And I can’t fault the quality of the electronic systems. Stick ABS on level 1 (least intrusive) and you can make the fantastic Pirelli Diablo Rosso III tyres squeal under the pressure of Brembo four-pots before it cuts in. Along with the engine and handling, braking is one of the MV’S huge plus points. And that’s the conflict at the heart of the Brutale: it’s a fabulous motorcycle to ride, surrounded by a glut of issues. But there’s an even bigger catch to the MV: the £12,340 asking price. That’s a stout £2140 more than the Street RS and a massive £3841 more than KTM’S 790 Duke. In anyone’s book that is expensive. Especially Paul Lang who reckons it is yet another reason why Triumph’s Street Triple RS is the best bike here. But I’m interested enough in the MV’S subliminal handling and gorgeous engine to do some digging. There’s a pre-registered 2018 Brutale in a West Midlands dealership for £11,142 on the road. Level-headed motorcyclists look away now. If you’re of a more adventurous hue, then Bike salutes you.
‘As the front lands the bike rights itself and drives forward’