VOL. 51 ISSUE 14 APRIL 8, 2014 P51
of the Brutale 800," he reveals.
"Giovanni Castiglioni wanted a
bike that stood between that and
the four-cylinder 1100 Brutale, as
a step up from the stock Brutale
800, with even more attitude and
a still more aggressive look. The
Dragster is the result."
To produce it, Gillen & Co. took
the stock macro-middleweight
Brutale 800 and made only mini-
mal changes to produce a quite
different-looking bike that's also
surprisingly distinctive to ride -
not least because of that massive
rear tire.
The Dragster has the same
essential hardware comprising
engine, chassis, brakes (now
with switchable ABS as stock),
suspension, exhaust, fuel tank,
dashboard, front wheel and
electronics as the Brutale 800
(whose optional EAS powershift-
er is included as stock here), with
the most notable changes being
that stubby seat and the five-
piece subframe it's mounted on.
Well, that and the headlight (it's
different than the Brutale's), rear
wheel and tire, and the handlebar
plus upper triple clamp. But most
importantly of all, it's the chassis
and engine settings.
For as part of its ongoing quest
with electronics partner Eldor to
iron out the flawed mapping on
its early triples, MV Agusta has
built on the significant improve-
ments wrought on the Rivale
800 that entered production six
months ago. Thus the Dragster's
rideability has been improved in
all four ride-by-wire/RBW riding
modes – Normal, Sport, Rain
and Custom.
"We've not only produced a
different engine map, but also
evolved an entirely different elec-
tronics strategy, especially on the
ride-by-wire throttle," says Gillen.
"We're aiming at enhanced pro-
gressivity of the throttle response,
via two factors at opposite ends
of the rideability spectrum which
are normally very hard to tie to-
gether – a more direct connec-
tion between the throttle and the
rear tire, and at the same time
making it more progressive for a
sweeter pickup.
"When you're trying to optimize
drive it's easy to make it too jerky
off a closed throttle, because
you're trying to follow very closely
