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/128245
2004 MV Agusta Brutale S MVIN (NOR The D is for delicious. Delicious music, that is. m erg er with Ita li an scooter gia nt Piag gio went south. In January of th is year, th e co m pany was gr ante d the Italian eq uiva lent of Chapter 11 ban k ruptcy . Bu t duri ng t he first six m on th s of 200 3 , the com pa ny has built almost 80 0 0 m oto rcy cl es between the three brands , and things are fina lly sta rting to take a positive turn afte r the factory and its workers spent most of 20 02 on a long and unwanted holiday. Two years after the bike first made waves at the Milan Motorcycle Show , the Bru t ale S - the slightl y less exclu sive and highe r-volume -produced version of the Bru t ale Serie Oro - is finally coming our way. The key d if ferences between the S and the Serie Oro are the latter's magnesium swingarm , wheels, swingarm support plates and lower triple clamps . in contrast to the S version's aluminum bits. As was the case with the F4 Serie Oro, only limited numbers of the Bru t al e Serie Oro version will be produced - in th is case 300 units tota l - but the re should be plenty of S versions to m eet consumer de ma nd . B y B LA KE C O NNE R PH OTO S B y BR IA N J . N ELSO N T here's a feeling you get from rid ing an MV Agusta -th at no othe r m arque in th e m otorcycl e world gives y o u . It st art s w ith th e excl usivity o f th e bra n d , its stor ied h er it a g e , its Ma s s im o T am b ur in i design and st yling, and it t ails off with the sounds that em anat e from th e ex hausts. It's all those things that set the MVs apart fr om everything else. Rid ing one of these Italian masterpiec es gives you the rare opportunity to snub your nose at anyone on anyth ing else . It's akin to having an origi nal Leonardo da Vinci painting on your wall instead of a lithograph of one both may be classified as art, but they are emphatically different. The MV and its Tamburini-perlned lines can show up at any bike ha ngout, and the plas tic-slabbed masses will pay their respects with long, admiring glances. J ust riding an MV in 2003 is somew hat of a miracle, considering how close the company ca me to go ing out of business. T he Cas tig lionis and their gro u p of compa nies - C ag i v a, MV Agust a and Husqvarna - came reall y cl ose to shutting down fo r good afte r a 52 JANUARY 7 ,2004 ' e y e I RID ING IMP R E S SION T he well-esta b lis hed nak ed b ike class n o w i ncludes m o d el s fr om al most e n eVIl's every maj or man ufacturer , bu t one t h in g that a l o t of them have in co m mon is that th ey d on 't alwa ys walk t h e w alk . Th ere are a few exce ptions to the rul e, but m ost of th e bikes in the cla ss are missi ng a co up le of th e e le ments t ha t m ad e t he class cool in the first place - na mely , perfo rma nce and at ti tude . T his , of cou rse , is m a in l y b ec a u se of co st issues. Fortun ate ly, that's some thing that has nev er crossed T amb ur in i' s mind. It had been two years sinc e the la st time I was lucky enoug h to throw a leg ove r an MV, and the first thing I noticed about the Brut ale is that the bike feels tiny. It 's not Suzuk i SV65 0 tiny, but its lack of weight, its reason able seat height (31.7 inch) and its narrow feel highlight the bike 's com pact architecture . The reach to the upright aluminum motocross-style bars is very comfortable, w hile the footpegs are rear -set and higher than most "standards ." Th e seat wo n 't t ak e lo ng t o wear yo u o ut, b ut t h is isn't a sport-to ur ing b ik e. Arou n d tow n, t he bi k e is ve ry agile , m aking m aneuvering in and o ut o f traffic a s na p. T he b i k e o ffe rs sharp and responsive steering yet maintains good stability from the fro nt end. On e thing that is tr ue of a l most e ve ry It al ian motorcyc le I'v e ridd en is t hat th e mi rrors a r e p u r el y an after th ou gh t. The Brut al e, however, m ight just take the ca k e for the worst of the w o rst. Yo u m i gh t b e a ble t o s ee som eth ing beh in d you w hen sitting at a stoplight, but appa rently checki ng the rear-view m ir rors isn't a high prio rity in Ita ly. D o n 't they have co p s over th ere? So bewa re , behave, and take it ea sy if you're worried about who is beh ind you on the B rut ale. In norm al commuter mode, the bike perf o rm s with aplomb. The combina tion of the flexible motor, excellent clutch, strong brakes, and betterthan -expected wind prot ection , makes the bike a great commuter. I real ize tha t commuting o n an MV seems well b elo w its intended pu r pos e, but letting the bike ga the r dust in a garag e see ms eve n worse. One th ing tha t is im med iately not ic eable on t h e Brutal e is th e b ik e ' s la c k of c ra nk sh aft i ne rti a - c rac k off t he throttl e , and th e bik e co m p ression