Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128104
2001 MV Agusta 750 Brutale By ALAN C ATH CART PHOTOS BY KYOICHI NAKAMUR A Jf o w do you improve on perfec tion? That 's a cha llenge that Massimo Tamburini has so far responded to at least twice so far in his illustrious career as the world 's most deservedly and richly acclaimed motorcycle des igner - and each time he's succeeded in accepting th e diffi cult challenge of making the best bet ter still. T am b ur ini has d on e it again - no doubt abo ut it. A fte r relaun ch ing th e hist oric MV Agusta brand - Ita ly 's real two -whe e l ed F errar i , i n spit e of Ducati's pretensions to the ti tle - on behalf of his patron Cl audi o Cas tigl i oni three y ears a g o with th e accl ai m ed F4 sportbike - the Ita lian ma estro of motorcycl e art ha s no w follo wed up t h at innovative , eye c at c h in g update on h is accla imed Ducati 916 Superbik e theme of 1994 with something from the opposit e end of the biking spectrum - the MV Agus ta F4 Brutale. Bea uty and the Beast. Th ough based on the same essential chassis and cycle parts as the F4 , and with an on ly lightly modified version of th e same rad ial-valve four cylinder MV engine fitted to the sportb ike , the m e an -look ing unfa ired Bruta le streetrod was th e undoubted hi t o f Interm ot 2 0 0 0 o n i t s w orld d ebu t th ere l ast S epte mb er. Yo u didn't hav e to li k e it s ultra -distinctiv e but co nt ro v er si al Dali-esqu e head l am p, which on the B ruta le lo oks more like on e of the Spanish artist' s tradema rk melting c locks, than the Porsche 993 light which Cl audio Castig lioni had the idea of fitting to the naked F4, to appreciate that the Bru t ale takes Naked Bik e design in to a ne w direct ion , as distinct fro m, an d th orou ghl y modern compared to, the decad e -o ld Monster concep t , as the F4 is from a Honda RC30. Th at 's an im p re ssi on co n firmed when y o u sling a l eg ov er a bi k e which m an ages to combin ~ muscu lar aggress ion and inherent good look s in j u st th e same w ay as a Dodg e Viper, or a Pitts Special stunt plane . Th e chance to become the first person outside MV Agu sta Motor ( a s Cagiva is now fo rm all y known ) t o ride the B rutal e in pro duction -read y Seri e d 'Oro form , unlo cked the answ er to a quest ion many own ers luck y en o u g h t o s cram ble h i g h enough up the F4 waiting lists to get delivery of their prized red -a nd -sil ver acqui sit ion , will hav e b een ask i ng 32 M AV 16, 2 0 0 1 ' cue I e them sel ves ever since th ey saw th e Brutale for th e first time at Int erm ot 2000: Did I bu y the right b ik e? Er , v er y possibl y not - or , b etter still , why not have both? Mind you , for an yone wh o can afford t o spend the $3 0 ,000 needed to ha ve gott en their name on the waitin g list for one of the n e _ s first 300 in dividually numbered Bru tal es being built from Ma y onward t o Serie d 'Oro spec, com plete with go ld col ored m agn esium everything (when i t 's n o t m a d e f ro m ca r b o n fi ber), ra t h er t h an w ait u nt il Sep t emb er , wh en production beg ins of the m or e humble Strada version prese ntly pro - j ect ed t o cost a seemingly reasonable $ 13, 500, bu ying one of each contr ast ing MV Agusta model m ight be a very affo rda b le sol ut io n t o th e qu an dry which Signor T ambu rin i has pl aced yo u in - in which ca se yo u'll be a man to be envie d, as having the right bike for every sport in g circumstance.