2014 MV AGUSTA BRUTALE 800 DRAGSTER
FIRST RIDE
P56
doxically more zestful engine
package that is finally now how
it should have been from the
beginning– though it can't have
helped that MV was Eldor's first
customer from the motorcycle
sector. But now the pickup out of
a turn is syrupy smooth, allowing
you to dial in ever more precise
amounts of throttle with no hint
of a jerk even in the full-on Sport
mode.
There's a great combination
of bottom end grunt – yet still
delivered fluidly and predictably
– and top-end performance. But
my obligatory visit to the Pirelli
test track's drag strip for some
photos in an effort to pretend
the Dragster lives up to its name,
sadly didn't yield any ET or termi-
nal speed data. Well, the timing
lights were switched off.
Anyway, you'd need drag bars
on this thing to stop it wheelieing
its way down the strip, such is its
eagerness to hoist the wheel in
the air. You'll want to make sure
you have your right foot covering
the rear brake pedal, since the
lack of crank inertia means the
front wheel doesn't always come
back to planet earth as quickly as
you might want.
Yet at the other end of the ride-
ability spectrum you can cruise
through a village at hyper-legal
speeds to avoid triggering the
speed camera, then once clear
accelerate wide open on the
Dragster from as low as 2000
rpm without any trace of trans-
mission snatch. Then when the
tachometer readout on MV's still
confusing, overly cluttered dash
(too much data, too little space
to deliver it readably – why didn't
they fit the Rivale's vastly bet-
ter all-new LCD dash?) hits the
6000 mark, the triple motor's
meaty midrange comes on song.
And even though it has the same
exhaust system as the Brutale, I
swear the Dragster utters even
It's called the Dragster, so we took
it to the drag strip.
