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/291759
2014 MV AGUSTA BRUTALE 800 DRAGSTER FIRST RIDE P58 F3 800 as an option, however). Still it means you have yet more reason to blip the throttle on downshifts, and glory in the me- chanical aria of that triple motor. With the wedged-in riding stance that has you sitting quite far forward, you might expect the rear wheel to lift and start street sweeping the tarmac when you lean hard on the brakes. But that didn't happen to me, even with- out working the rear brake first to offset the weight transfer. And when I did once persuade the ABS to cut in at the Pirelli test track it just chattered to itself for a brief moment before resuming normal service, and its RLM anti- lift rear wheel strategy was proba- bly another reason the Dragster's so stable under hard braking. Okay – what about that design statement of a rear tire? Well, there's no getting away from the fact that it does heavy up the Dragster's steering quite con- siderably. But the fat tire does definitely also make the Dragster understeer exiting slow turns, as the oversize rear Diablo Rosso II overwhelms its front partner, sitting the bike up when you get back on the gas, rather than hold a line. There's not much you can do about this except to back off the throttle slightly – but at least when you accelerate again there's a smooth pickup, not the jerky response of old that would test the TC to make sure it didn't spin the wheel. Its pointlessness is emphasized by the half inch of unused rubber on each side of the front tire tread. Look, this fashion-led fad is essentially a flaw, and MV's engi- neers know that - but if the boss says his customers want the "Look," then let's give it to them, and the three-fold increase in Dragster production to meet pro- jected demand says he's right. The fact they'll have to pay a significant premium to do so over the $11,998 Brutale 800 – hardly itself exactly anonymous looking – goes with the territory. Whether the $2800 extra cost of owning a $14,798 Dragster is worth the money – especially when the Brutale now has ABS as stock and the improved electronics package as well – is a moot point. But there's no getting away from the fact that this is another great-looking MV Agusta model, which this time around is as fun to ride as it is to look at. CN 1. The Dragster gets a 43mm Marzocchi fork and Brembo brakes. 2. The MV's dash. We were hoping for more. 3. The Brutale 800 Dragster gets MV's 798cc triple – the same one that's found in the Brutale 800. 4. The seat is minimalist, to say the least. 5. The bar-end mirrors fold in for squeezing through tight places. 1 2 3 4 5