Tag

Dragster RR

Browsing

Confirmed at the launch of the 2016 MV Agusta Brutale 800 in Spain, MV Agusta will bring the smaller sibling to its three-cylinder Brutale line in the second quarter of 2016.

Like the new Brutale 800, we can expect the updated Brutale 675 to be fully Euro4 compliant. We would also expect the 675cc to have the same mechanical and styling changes that are found on its 800cc sibling, namely a revised chassis geometry, updated MVICS 2.0 electronics (traction control, ABS, & quickshifter), and visual changes to the headlight, exhaust, and body.

In addition to the 2016 MV Agusta Brutale 800, the other big new model release from the Varese brand is the MV Agusta Dragster RR Lewis Hamilton, a bike that pays homage to the reigning Formula 1 World Champion.

The concept is pretty simple, take MV Agusta’s already attractive Dragster RR model, and let Mr. LH44 go wild on it. The idea is to create another collectable MV Agusta model, so things stay pretty much the same for the Dragster RR’s 140hp motor and steel trellis frame.

The rest of the bike though, gets a solid going-over, by Lewis Hamilton himself, if you can believe the MV Agusta press release.

You remember the MV Agusta Dragster RR right? The Brutale 800 without a tail section? Of course you do…it was pretty bold design from MV Agusta, which is probably saying something, considering that the Varese brand tends to lead with design, rather than follow.

It turns out that Lewis Hamilton is a bit of a fan of the machines from MV Agusta – it also helps that AMG has a 20% interest in the Italian brand, and Hamiliton is the team’s star F1 driver, at least when teammate Nico Rosberg isn’t around – so, in true MV Agusta fashion, a special limited edition machine must be produced, right?

Behold, the Lewis Hamilton Dragster RR: a collaboration between the F1 World Champion and the Italian motorcycle marque. MV Agusta hasn’t quite revealed the machine yet, but this teaser video does a pretty good job of getting the point across. We took some stills, just in case the edits were too much for you.

As promised, here is the second part of our trip down to Fontana, California to meet with MV Agusta USA, go over the company’s new business plan for not only America, but also worldwide, and to ride the current crop of their 2015 machinery.

I should preface right out of the gate that this is not a review in regards as to what you’ve come to expect from Asphalt & Rubber. I am not-so-cleverly calling this a “not-a-review” assessment of MV Agusta’s 2015 models. I say this because we had a very limited amount of time on each bike, as there was roughly 10 machines to divide our attention amongst.

Our course was the infield section of AutoClub Speedway, which is very tight and short. And to add to the mix, we had intermittent light rain, which made half of the course fairly slippery.

Think of this article as not far from someone test riding a bunch of motorcycles at a dealership, with similar duration and limits put in place…except that this someone rides motorcycles for a living.

We already brought you the first high-resolution photos of the MV Agusta Brutale Dragster 800 RR (say that three times fast!) yesterday, which were sent to us by our Bothan Spies. In response, MV Agusta has unveiled the Dragster RR and Brutale RR today, ahead of the EICMA show.

Like the updated Brutale 800 RR, the Brutale Dragster 800 RR features a revised 798cc three-cylinder engine, which makes 140hp at the 13,100 rpm, and a very peaky 63 lbs•ft of torque at 10,100 rpm.

Numerous visual cues have been changed, included red-anodized fork tubes, red-painted cylinder heads, and aluminum tubeless wire-spoked wheels. An eight-way adjustable steering damper continues the noticeable changes, to the 370 lbs machine (dry).

It looks like since the MV Agusta Brutale Dragster 800 RR (its full name) has blown cover, thanks to our Bothan spies, MV Agusta has gone ahead and released a few photos and this video to the press. A longer version of the drag strip video we brought you two weeks ago, this time around we see the Dragster RR in full.

Some seem to love this bike, while others hate it. We certainly agree it looks better in the black variation, than the white, but MV Agusta has no shortage of design prowess — expect this machine to be a stunner in person, when it debuts officially at EICMA.

With upgraded wheels and vibrant paint, how does this 140hp three-cylinder hot rod strike your fancy? Let us know in the comments.

MV Agusta had us guessing as to what the Varese company would be debuting at the upcoming EICMA show, though the latest video from the company seems to clearly show that a Dragster RR will be coming.

A built up version of the Dragster 800, the MV Agusta Dragster RR features Kineo wheels, new paint, and we presume some sort of launch control mechanism.

We expect the MV Agusta Brutale Dragster RR to officially debut a day before EICMA starts, as MV Agusta usually holds a press event on the Monday before the show.

You don’t have to wait that long though, as we have 18 high-resolution photos sent to us by our Bothan Spies, who seem to be busy little Bothans, as our friends at Nieuwsmotor also appear to have received these shots (some different, some the same).

Two weeks ago we showed you the photo that MV Agusta was using to tease its latest model to debut at EICMA. The photo featured Kineo-spoked wheels, and the company’s three-piped exhaust can. This of course left us to speculate that the expensive tubeless wheelset would be attached to either a proper ADV bike from MV Agusta, or some sort of café racer.

A few days later, we found the trademark filings for a “Turismo Leggero” motorcycle, whose name similarity to the MV Agusta Turismo Veloce, made us think our first instincts about that teaser photo were right: this new model was some sort of adventure-touring machine. Well…add another theory to the mix.