2010 MV Agusta Brutale 1090
Motorcycle art, as MV Agusta has branded itself, is a generally accepted description of the models produced by the Italian manufacturer. Our question is if a bike as attractive as the Brutale R 1090 performs as well as it profiles.
One hundred forty-two claimed horsepower and 82.5 claimed ft-lbs of torque accelerating a claimed dry weight of 404 lbs implies a formidable opponent to any sportbike regardless its state of dress. On the dyno, our Brutale screamed out 126.7 hp and 74.1 ft-lbs of torque, nearly 10 ponies more than Kawasaki’s Z1000. With its massive 6.0-gallon tank full, the MV scales in around 470 lbs, about 10 pounds less than Kawi’s Z.
We’re here to find out if the naked Brutale’s combination of those figures and its hunky good looks are deserving of its $16,500 asking price?
Handling factors into this equation, as does included technologies such as the Brutale’s traction-control system. What we found with the Brutale while in our possession is, like most modern motorcycles of comparable design, the Brutale is in the hunt with its competitors making the buying decision a choice among nuances, individual preferences and intangibles.
Nuances
After drying out his creamed pants, Troy found the Brutale to be a neutral handler but was overall unimpressed by its ordinary inline-Four engine configuration.
Naked bikes bare all. There’s no hiding unsightly wiring harnesses or sloppy welds behind a veil of plastic bodywork. It’s here, exposed for all to see, where MV’s attention to detail speaks volumes about the company’s craftsmanship. Sans the bodywork of its F4 counterpart, the Brutale displays just how compact a package MV created.
Tolerances — from the few millimeters separating the dual, staggered mufflers from the rear tire, to the gap between radiator and splayed exhaust headers — are breathlessly tight for a production motorcycle. The testa rossa (red head) valve cover, tapered exhaust headers and organic way in which the exhaust clings beneath the engine is industrial beauty beyond that of the common two-wheeler.
“What a looker! It's sooo gorgeous,” squeals fellow editor, Troy Siahaan, as if he were a teenage girl standing in line at a Justin Bieber autograph signing.
It’s these refinements, in conjunction with the Brutale’s overall styling, that justify its artwork connotation. Scrutinizing the Brutale’s omitted subtleties, however, reveals a few questionable choices on MV’s behalf. First and foremost is the lack of compression damping adjustment on the rear shock (an included feature on the $19,000 RR Brutale). A $16,500 sportbike with no compression adjustability seems to us a tactless way of lowering the price perception of the Brutale.
As tightly as MV may have routed the Brutale’s header pipes, the lovely stacked twin exits manage to force a rider’s right ankle out of comfortable positioning — an obvious form over function decision made by MV designers because MV test riders must have noted the encumbrance. We certainly did.
Says chieftan editor Kevin Duke, “Those sexy, slash-cut outlets dramatically cut into the placement of a rider’s right foot, especially when carrying weight on the balls of your feet like a good sport rider.”
Another oversight of MV engineering is the vibratory nature of the potent inline four-cylinder. “If I were to describe the Brutale in one word, it's buzzy,” laments Siahaan. “A lot of vibrations are felt in the handlebars at all engine speeds.”
Personal Preferences
The compact nature of the Brutale extends to its rider triangle. The cockpit is surprisingly spacious, even for a six-foot pilot, but the seating position puts the rider into an arrangement with limited variety. The handlebars are tight to the rider, and the forward proximity of the seat keeps a rider sitting very upright with minimal forward lean.
“In an effort to give short legs an easier reach to the ground, the seat slopes down toward the tank and greatly narrows at its junction,” notes Duke. “The resulting lack of thigh support and downward slope impinges on comfort. And the rear section of the saddle slopes upward, holding a short rider in place but limiting available space for tall riders.”
Credit Link - https://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/2012-mv-agusta-brutale-r-1090-review-91246.html
Motorcycle art, as MV Agusta has branded itself, is a generally accepted description of the models produced by the Italian manufacturer. Our question is if a bike as attractive as the Brutale R 1090 performs as well as it profiles.
One hundred forty-two claimed horsepower and 82.5 claimed ft-lbs of torque accelerating a claimed dry weight of 404 lbs implies a formidable opponent to any sportbike regardless its state of dress. On the dyno, our Brutale screamed out 126.7 hp and 74.1 ft-lbs of torque, nearly 10 ponies more than Kawasaki’s Z1000. With its massive 6.0-gallon tank full, the MV scales in around 470 lbs, about 10 pounds less than Kawi’s Z.
We’re here to find out if the naked Brutale’s combination of those figures and its hunky good looks are deserving of its $16,500 asking price?
Handling factors into this equation, as does included technologies such as the Brutale’s traction-control system. What we found with the Brutale while in our possession is, like most modern motorcycles of comparable design, the Brutale is in the hunt with its competitors making the buying decision a choice among nuances, individual preferences and intangibles.
Nuances
After drying out his creamed pants, Troy found the Brutale to be a neutral handler but was overall unimpressed by its ordinary inline-Four engine configuration.
Naked bikes bare all. There’s no hiding unsightly wiring harnesses or sloppy welds behind a veil of plastic bodywork. It’s here, exposed for all to see, where MV’s attention to detail speaks volumes about the company’s craftsmanship. Sans the bodywork of its F4 counterpart, the Brutale displays just how compact a package MV created.
Tolerances — from the few millimeters separating the dual, staggered mufflers from the rear tire, to the gap between radiator and splayed exhaust headers — are breathlessly tight for a production motorcycle. The testa rossa (red head) valve cover, tapered exhaust headers and organic way in which the exhaust clings beneath the engine is industrial beauty beyond that of the common two-wheeler.
“What a looker! It's sooo gorgeous,” squeals fellow editor, Troy Siahaan, as if he were a teenage girl standing in line at a Justin Bieber autograph signing.
It’s these refinements, in conjunction with the Brutale’s overall styling, that justify its artwork connotation. Scrutinizing the Brutale’s omitted subtleties, however, reveals a few questionable choices on MV’s behalf. First and foremost is the lack of compression damping adjustment on the rear shock (an included feature on the $19,000 RR Brutale). A $16,500 sportbike with no compression adjustability seems to us a tactless way of lowering the price perception of the Brutale.
As tightly as MV may have routed the Brutale’s header pipes, the lovely stacked twin exits manage to force a rider’s right ankle out of comfortable positioning — an obvious form over function decision made by MV designers because MV test riders must have noted the encumbrance. We certainly did.
Says chieftan editor Kevin Duke, “Those sexy, slash-cut outlets dramatically cut into the placement of a rider’s right foot, especially when carrying weight on the balls of your feet like a good sport rider.”
Another oversight of MV engineering is the vibratory nature of the potent inline four-cylinder. “If I were to describe the Brutale in one word, it's buzzy,” laments Siahaan. “A lot of vibrations are felt in the handlebars at all engine speeds.”
Personal Preferences
The compact nature of the Brutale extends to its rider triangle. The cockpit is surprisingly spacious, even for a six-foot pilot, but the seating position puts the rider into an arrangement with limited variety. The handlebars are tight to the rider, and the forward proximity of the seat keeps a rider sitting very upright with minimal forward lean.
“In an effort to give short legs an easier reach to the ground, the seat slopes down toward the tank and greatly narrows at its junction,” notes Duke. “The resulting lack of thigh support and downward slope impinges on comfort. And the rear section of the saddle slopes upward, holding a short rider in place but limiting available space for tall riders.”
Credit Link - https://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/2012-mv-agusta-brutale-r-1090-review-91246.html
Motorcycle art, as MV Agusta has branded itself, is a generally accepted description of the models produced by the Italian manufacturer. Our question is if a bike as attractive as the Brutale R 1090 performs as well as it profiles.
One hundred forty-two claimed horsepower and 82.5 claimed ft-lbs of torque accelerating a claimed dry weight of 404 lbs implies a formidable opponent to any sportbike regardless its state of dress. On the dyno, our Brutale screamed out 126.7 hp and 74.1 ft-lbs of torque, nearly 10 ponies more than Kawasaki’s Z1000. With its massive 6.0-gallon tank full, the MV scales in around 470 lbs, about 10 pounds less than Kawi’s Z.
We’re here to find out if the naked Brutale’s combination of those figures and its hunky good looks are deserving of its $16,500 asking price?
Handling factors into this equation, as does included technologies such as the Brutale’s traction-control system. What we found with the Brutale while in our possession is, like most modern motorcycles of comparable design, the Brutale is in the hunt with its competitors making the buying decision a choice among nuances, individual preferences and intangibles.
Nuances
After drying out his creamed pants, Troy found the Brutale to be a neutral handler but was overall unimpressed by its ordinary inline-Four engine configuration.
Naked bikes bare all. There’s no hiding unsightly wiring harnesses or sloppy welds behind a veil of plastic bodywork. It’s here, exposed for all to see, where MV’s attention to detail speaks volumes about the company’s craftsmanship. Sans the bodywork of its F4 counterpart, the Brutale displays just how compact a package MV created.
Tolerances — from the few millimeters separating the dual, staggered mufflers from the rear tire, to the gap between radiator and splayed exhaust headers — are breathlessly tight for a production motorcycle. The testa rossa (red head) valve cover, tapered exhaust headers and organic way in which the exhaust clings beneath the engine is industrial beauty beyond that of the common two-wheeler.
“What a looker! It's sooo gorgeous,” squeals fellow editor, Troy Siahaan, as if he were a teenage girl standing in line at a Justin Bieber autograph signing.
It’s these refinements, in conjunction with the Brutale’s overall styling, that justify its artwork connotation. Scrutinizing the Brutale’s omitted subtleties, however, reveals a few questionable choices on MV’s behalf. First and foremost is the lack of compression damping adjustment on the rear shock (an included feature on the $19,000 RR Brutale). A $16,500 sportbike with no compression adjustability seems to us a tactless way of lowering the price perception of the Brutale.
As tightly as MV may have routed the Brutale’s header pipes, the lovely stacked twin exits manage to force a rider’s right ankle out of comfortable positioning — an obvious form over function decision made by MV designers because MV test riders must have noted the encumbrance. We certainly did.
Says chieftan editor Kevin Duke, “Those sexy, slash-cut outlets dramatically cut into the placement of a rider’s right foot, especially when carrying weight on the balls of your feet like a good sport rider.”
Another oversight of MV engineering is the vibratory nature of the potent inline four-cylinder. “If I were to describe the Brutale in one word, it's buzzy,” laments Siahaan. “A lot of vibrations are felt in the handlebars at all engine speeds.”
Personal Preferences
The compact nature of the Brutale extends to its rider triangle. The cockpit is surprisingly spacious, even for a six-foot pilot, but the seating position puts the rider into an arrangement with limited variety. The handlebars are tight to the rider, and the forward proximity of the seat keeps a rider sitting very upright with minimal forward lean.
“In an effort to give short legs an easier reach to the ground, the seat slopes down toward the tank and greatly narrows at its junction,” notes Duke. “The resulting lack of thigh support and downward slope impinges on comfort. And the rear section of the saddle slopes upward, holding a short rider in place but limiting available space for tall riders.”
Credit Link - https://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/2012-mv-agusta-brutale-r-1090-review-91246.html