2014 MV AGUSTA BRUTALE 800 DRAGSTER
FIRST RIDE
P50
rear end to its trademark triple-
stack exhausts and beyond.
Let's just say that MV's styling
guru Adrian Morton and his col-
leagues certainly fulfilled compa-
ny owner Giovanni Castiglioni's
instructions to deliver an extreme
Naked bike that's still practical
and rideable.
He wanted a bike that looks
cool yet aggressive, as a high
performance status symbol that'll
get you noticed anywhere. And it
does.
We found that out while rid-
ing the Dragster through the
hills and towns surrounding MV
Agusta's lakeside Varese factory,
where even for local bike tifosi
accustomed to seeing the latest
and greatest from Italy's trophy
marque, the Dragster proved in-
stant eye candy.
"It looks ready to pick a fight
just standing still!" exclaimed
Ducati Monster owner Mario
Fiorani, who'd made a U-turn to
come back and check out the
Dragster as I grappled with ad-
justing the handlebar location
– there's a choice of three dif-
ferent positions offering a 40mm
range of three-way adjustment
front and back for the handlebar
now mounted on top of the triple
clamp to give a more upright but
still sporty stance (there's also a
7-degree radial adjustment). It's
all adjustable with a 10mm allen/
hex key that's in the bike's toolkit
– and, trust us, that's all that will
fit under the seat.
No matter because this isn't
a bike you'll be riding long and
far, but a modern-day café racer
made for short fangs from one
hangout to another, a stunter of a
sportbike with plenty of attitude.
It's the kind of bike that Roland
Sands would have made if you'd
given him an MV Brutale to work
with – and when it comes to the
art of the extreme, there is no
finer compliment.
In fact, it turns out the Dragster
was pretty much an afterthought,
as MV's U.S.-born Platform Di-
rector, Brian Gillen, explains.
"We began the project just
18 months ago, after the launch
The look of the 800 Dragster
is definitely extreme. Like it or
loathe it, it does turn heads.
