The best Brutale yet
‘The Brutale has grown up, and it’s glorious’
MV make beautiful bikes, but sometimes it’s the finer points that let them down. Fuelling has been an issue in the past and annoying niggles have taken the shine off a wonderful-looking machine. But the new Brutale 800 is refined and classy. Radically revamped and now Euro4 compliant the Brutale is a joy to behold and a joy to ride!
There’s no arguing the new Brutale 800 is stunning. It’s still the jaw-dropping poster bike the original model was 15 years ago. This is the first bike to come from MV Agusta to meet the tight new Euro 4 legislation, but while there’s been a fair bit of mechanical jiggery-pokery, thankfully they’ve not had to make many cosmetic sacrifices. The attention to detail is lovely, from tasty touches like the stitching on the seat right down to the beautifully sculpted single-sided swingarm. The all-new trellis frame stands out as bold but simultaneously delicate and intricate. The triple-exit exhausts sound as good as they look, and help the new Brutale deliver the wow factor – you’re going to smile every time you open the garage door and gaze upon this beast lurking within. And who doesn’t want that? But all this design and passion comes at a price, £10,499 to be precise. In comparison, the Brutale’s closest rival, Ducati’s Monster 821, costs a somewhat less salty £9150. Strip away the Italian chic and Yamaha’s MT-09 delivers similar performance for a mere £7349. In my eyes the MV easily wins the beauty contest, although you have to dig deep to pay for it - but you wouldn’t expect to take a stunning Italian socialite to your local chippy for dinner. Thankfully you can see where your hard-earned cash has gone with the new Brutale, and it’s not just the pretty bits. Four rider modes come as standard, as does eight-stage traction control, switchable engine braking, ABS, Brembo brakes, a fully adjustable 43mm Marzocchi fork and fully adjustable Sachs shock – it’s an impressive package straight out of the crate. MV have also changed the clocks and mode buttons to make it more user-friendly, which addresses a serious gripe with the previous model. For some the price is justified simply by the MV logo on the sculpted fuel tank; owning an MV puts you in an exclusive club. Although it may look pretty similar to the old model, MV have actually made considerable changes, and left no part untouched. The chassis highlights include the chassis being lengthened, the single-sided swingarm getting 20mm longer, and more relaxed steering geometry. This has been done to improve the stability, calm down the handling and make it more user-friendly. The LED lights are new, the clocks and mode buttons are all new, but sadly they are not the same as the very clever clocks on the more expensive Turismo Veloce. The rider modes remain, as does the eight-stage traction control, but they’ve obviously been recalibrated to work with the new motor and chassis. There’s a clever quickshifter/ auto blipper as standard, which can be switched off if you prefer changing gears conventionally with the clutch. They’ve also worked their magic on the lovely 800 triple. Power is down 9bhp to 116bhp, but the pay-off is more torque over a wider part of the rev range. It now makes 90% of its torque at only 3800rpm and the curve is much smoother through to 8000rpm, again aimed at making the Brutale easier to ride on the road.
‘The low-down fuelling roughness of the old bike has all but vanished on the new bike’
There’s really no need to scream the triple to the red line, unless you want to listen to the addictively charismatic exhaust tone and pop between clutchless gear changes via the quickshifter. There’s no need to jump up and down the gearbox incessantly, as there’s so much torque. The low-down fuelling roughness, which was the Achilles’ heel of the old bike, has all but vanished with the new 800. The fuelling is on par with anything from Japan, in fact I’d go so far as to say that it’s better than some. It’s a little aggressive in sports mode, but nearly perfect in the normal riding mode, while the rain mode restricts power to 80bhp. The modes can be changed on the move and are far easier to navigate than before via the clocks and mode buttons. For the first 40 miles of switchback roads, all bathed in glorious Spanish sunshine, I rode the new Brutale like a race bike. I was up and down the gearbox, enjoying the thrills
Lookinggood
In terms of style and presence, few nakeds can rival the Brutale. The distinctive design has been carried over from the last model, with a similarly styled but all-new LED headlight. The rear light is also an LED item now housed in a new seat cowl, all attached to a new sub-frame.
It’s a spring thing
There’s a fully adjustable 43mm Marzocchi USD fork up front with 125mm of travel, and a Sachs fully adjustable unit on the back; both are quality items with a plush feel. The factory suspension settings have been tweaked in order to cope with the 2016 bike’s extra 8kg. THE LONG VIEW
What about the value?
At £10,499 the Brutale is on the expensive side, £1349 more than Ducati’s Monster 821 and a few hundred more than Triumph’s new £10,200 Speed Triple S.
Performance
MV claim a top speed of 147.2mph, it isn’t artificially restricted.
Comfort
Reasonably good for a naked, but the seat is on the firm side. LED running light is an attractive new addition Dash packs info but warning lights are hard to read Tank logo is something the Japanese can’t replicate Fully adjustable Sachs shock is plush as standard
of the peak performance and playing with the clutchless gear changes like a child with a new toy. Yes you can ride the new 800 on the limit, the exhaust sounds intoxicating, but you soon realise there's really no need. Short shifting is far more rewarding than it ever was, using the massive spread of torque between 4000-8000rpm. Alternatively just stay in fifth gear and surf the torque, carrying as much corner speed as you dare, having fun without scaring yourself, and knowing in the back of your mind that you have a wealth of rider aids to help you. The traction control can be easily changed on the move, or even deactivated with the throttle open. Even on the most intrusive level (eight) it allows you to wheelie at will, and is subtle and refined when it does kick in. It's even more impressive when you consider that it's not monitoring lean angle or pitch like some of the latest IMU-equipped sportsbikes. Like the traction control, the ABS can also be de-activated, but it's so impressive I'm unsure why you'd ever want to, with the possible exception of track riding. It's not too intrusive, gives you that extra security and backs up the really strong Brembo stoppers. There's also a slipper clutch as standard, and adjustable engine braking. The lovely suspension and chassis allows the Brutale to have a split personality, it's no longer a one-trick pony like the original. On one hand the set-up is compliant enough to take minor road imperfections in its stride without jolting you out of the seat, feeling plusher and more forgiving than the previous model. Yet on the other hand, it has loads of ground clearance and the Pirelli Diablo Rosso 3 rubber gives you the confidence to drop the Brutale on to your knee with ease. It's only when you begin to really push on that you start to want to play with the suspension a little, but these very minor modifications can easily be made via the fully adjustable suspension, and the vast majority of riders would never feel the need in normal road use. I mention the high-speed handling because, unlike much of its competition, the Brutale wouldn't be out of place on track, even on standard tyres and set-up in the fast group. On the road the new Brutale took on the more mundane town work with ease. Again the low-down fuelling proves almost faultless, as good as any other fly-by-wire bike on the market. The narrow seat meant that I was just about flat-footed at a standstill despite my 5ft 6in stature - impressively accommodating for such a focused naked. However, that slim perch isn't the most comfortable over long distances, and you'll feel the solid edges of the seat on your inside thigh with both feet on the ground. But its lightness, ease of use, excellent fuelling and ABS aren't intended for dashing between red traffic lights every 300 meters. This is a bike that needs to be let off the leash on sinuous ribbons of tarmac.