Staff bikes: MV Agusta Brutale 920 - the highest mileage 2011 model

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MCN’s 2011 Brutale is now the highest mileage specimen in the UK, and possibly the world, after clicking through 4000 miles and its first major service.

The scheduled service was carried out at MV dealer Drayton Croft in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and cost £200. The work took two hours and saw the oil and filter changed, the bike given a check over with everything given the OK.

The oil used is unusual in that all MVs use 10W60 fully synthetic oil, in this case from Motul. It certainly is thicker than the usual 10W40 or 5W40 oil used.

The oil filter is mounted up inside the sump rather than the usual canister type and needs a new crush washer each time it’s replaced.

Life with the Brutale is still a blast. I use the bike almost every day both for commuting on a 60-mile round trip to work and also for much longer journeys.

A recent trip to Somerset enabled me to see how it would handle 450 miles of UK roads in a day and let me grab a shot of the bike with Stonehenge in the background.

At some point in the near future the non-original Dunlop SportSmarts will have to be changed. They have been brilliant in all conditions but after 300 miles they began to square off a fraction.

Little things are still annoying; the infuriatingly complicated dashboard, the slippery footrests and the fact it has no clock to name just three.

A sticker on the side of the tank has also blown off and a tiny bit of black paint has come off the engine case.

Overall, I love the furious engine note, the handling, the brakes and the nakedly aggressive looks. I even managed a GPS tested 160mph at Bruntingthorpe airfield – not bad for a naked bike.

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Andy Downes

By Andy Downes

Former MCN Senior Reporter