Launch: MV Agusta Brutale 800

MV Agusta are currently launching their stunning new 800 Brutale in Spain – and MCN Senior Road Tester Adam ‘Chad’ Child has a full days riding ahead on the stunning roads around Malaga and Ronda.

The Brutale has been a big success story for MV for over 15 years, from the aggressive first version through to the higly refined, but no less nutty, current line-up. While the dramatic mouth-watering sportsbikes in the MV family have been the dream poster bikes, the Brutale has, for many, been the more realistic choice, and it’s MV’s top seller. Over the years MV have attempted to make the Brutale more user friendly, but have retained its sporty edge and stunning looks.

For 2016 they’ve extended the frame, to give a longer wheelbase and there’s a new subframe, carried over from the Turismo Veloce. Comfort has increased with a new seat and the fuel tank gets an extra three litres of capacity, the LED headlight is also new.  A new dashboard makes scrolling through the three rider modes and eight stage traction control far easier and there’s a new quick-shifter which works both up and down changes.

The distinctive triple exhaust is all new and now complies with tight Euro4 regulations. The 800 inline triple has also been tweaked, which again was mainly to comply with Euro4. This does mean power is down slightly, by 9bhp to 116bhp, but peak torque is up, which should – in theory at least – make the bike more usable than ever.

The first batch of bikes will be arriving in the UK shortly, with prices starting at £10,499. Full test report here soon, and in MCN on February 10.