MV-AGUSTA BRUTALE 800 DRAGSTER (2014 - on) Review

The Brutale 800 Dragster is a very specific type of bike for a very specific purpose. Don’t expect it to go touring or suffer a daily commute.

• Latest: MV Agusta Dragster RR review

It’s a proper Sunday show-off, at home honing about streets and back lanes, using its banging midrange and sorted throttle response to boss traffic with extravagant disdain. It’s as good as its looks; if you like them, you’ll love the Dragster. Delightfully wayward…the Dragster is an unashamedly adrenaline-fuelled riot from start to finish.

On the road, the Dragster is right at home. Steering is light, precise, and flicks off the bumps and ridges with entertaining eagerness. The bike’s propensity to wheelie, even with traction control dialled in, is almost as astonishing as its stability. The oversize rear tyre limits scratching in the really tight stuff and its effect is proven by half-an-inch of unused rubber on the sides of the front tyre. And the suspension is harsh over big bumps, crashing them into the chassis. But overall the impression is of big, big grins…

MV have worked hard to sort out their initial fuelling woes. Ever since the F3 675 was launched, MVs have been criticised for hesitant and unpredictable throttle control. The new Rivale showed they’d solved the problems and, with the new settings rolled out across the range, the Dragster confirms it – the engine is an absolute belter and a joy to use in any of its four power modes. It’s a big thumbs up to MV’s electronics engineers.

MV’s new triples are still to prove their reliability, but the finish appears good.

The price is slightly high for an 800, but this is a premium Italian product.

Traction control, ABS and four riding modes come as standard.