Rekluse clutch or not, the main star of
the Dragster America show is the engine.
One-hundred-forty ponies is hot sauce
in anyone's language—put the Akrapovic
muffler on there and you can bump it up
to 148 horsepower—especially with a
claimed 385 pounds dry (why can't we
just have wet weights?). You've got a six-
axis IMU at your disposal as well as four
maps for the engine, eight traction con-
trol maps and wheelie control, so you can
dial in the ride how you like, but there's
no hiding the fact that this is a raucous
little powerplant that hates traffic and
much prefers to stretch its legs up
Angeles Crest.
There's a good spread of torque on
offer—par for the course being a three-
cylinder—but this is predominantly a su-
persport engine adapted for Dragster use
and should be treated as such. There's
plenty of power in the higher rev ranges
and that's where life is at its rosiest on a
Dragster. That six-speed gearbox has a
smooth action to it via the up-and-down
quickshifter, although it still lacks the
refinement that something like a Triumph
Street Triple possesses.
Switching to the chassis, you sit very
much on top of it, rather than in it, like on
the company's F3 800 supersport weap-
VOLUME ISSUE AUGUST , P99
A stiff ride can make
for some harsh
moments over the
bumps but translates
to a chassis that's
extremely focused in
the fast stuff.
AMERICA 2017 BRUTALE 800 AMERICA
