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MV Agusta Announces Substantial Changes to Brutale 800 and Dragster Models for 2021

2021 MV Agusta Brutale 800 RR

MV Agusta has announced substantially revised Brutale 800 and Dragster three-cylinder models for 2021. Centered around revised engines that are now Euro5 compliant, MV Agusta has made substantial changes to the chassis and electronics for both model ranges. Highly sophisticated rider aides informed by a new six-axis IMU keep these bikes at the cutting edge of technology.

The video below discusses all of the relevant details concerning the new Brutale 800 and Dragster models. Pay close attention to the presentation by Brian Gillen, MV Agusta R&D Director, in the video, which explains in great detail the impact of the sophisticated electronic systems on the riding experience. Among other things, these bikes can now be ridden without the use of the clutch whatsoever, even when coming to a stop.

2021 MV Agusta Brutale 800 RR
2021 MV Agusta Brutale 800 RR and RR SCS
2021 MV Agusta Dragster
2021 MV Agusta Dragster

57 Comments

  1. Sean says:

    I don’t think there’s an MV Augusta dealer within 1000 miles of me. Always gorgeous bikes, but not in a million years could I see myself owning one.

  2. Thad Stelly says:

    Image>Ownership Enjoyment

    No Thanks.

  3. Nick says:

    Amazing-looking bikes, but I don’t think I’d get on with them, so I’ll stick with my current MV. At least that’s what the commissioning decal on the frame says it is, being a vee-twin Cagiva Raptor 1000!

  4. Mr.Mike says:

    Despite comments to the contrary I find this bike to be very appealing and could happily while away hours just looking at it from every angle.

  5. JP says:

    Striking, beautiful and borderline perverted – just the way MV Agusta is suppose to be.

    I have had two Brutale, one MY15 675 and my current MY17 800. One has to understand and accept that these bikes fill a very niche “market” – visual, flashy, specific performance and hoonigan/aggressiveness. They are not created for longer trips, it’s not their mission. Had 1200km over two days, not all pleasant.
    I’ve ridden several MT 09/07, street triple and a couple of KTMs (not the new ones) and none of them gets close to the performance in twisties as my Brutale 800. The annount of man-handling and punishment you can dish out is insane and the bike is just begging for more.
    Yes! They are expensive but, that is also a part of their role. They are not for everyone and neither should they be, but we, the potential morons who like them – love every bit of them.

  6. ismail says:

    Why Agusta dont try with different style like power cruiser (as Diavel) ? Relatively more down to earth price point with Brutale midrange 800 engine.

  7. Piere says:

    That coppertone exhaust is begging for some Krylon.

  8. joe b says:

    My second post on this bike, looking back to the Honda Rebel, Indian Chief models, Triumph Speed Tripple, and maybe the Harley debacle models, black is the new color. If you line up all those models side by side, this MV is far above better in looks and performance (except the Suzuki Hayabusa in performance) I know each are all focused at different audiences, how some think this is ugly, makes me shake my head? Just what is it that they think is beautiful, and what do they ride?

    • Motoman says:

      Hmmm? I believe the Speed Triple will spank the MV pretty good performance-wise.

      • joe b says:

        your right Motoman, i guess I over looked that the Triumph speed tripple has almost 180 hp, thats a lot. I guess I got taken by the looks alone. The speed tripple is a sleeper no doubt. and silly of me to compare an 800 to a 1200. I should have known better. I better research more, before i post next time. Your comment is well taken.

        • Motoman says:

          No doubt the MV is one fast 800. I’ve really been torn over the years but seem to gravitate towards bikes with low crankshaft mass and less horsepower for a track bike. I’d probably enjoy the MV just as much as the Speed Triple.

          • Provologna says:

            Good point. The greater the engine’s reciprocating mass the greater the gyroscopic effect and the greater the resistance to change angle relative to the riding surface.

            If vertical, increased reciprocating mass increases resistance to lean angle; if lean angle exists the resistance to invert lean angle is even greater.

            The old bicycle wheel test works: hold a stationary bike wheel, one end of the horizontal axel in each hand. Note how easy it is to rotate one hand down and the opposite hand up. Spin the wheel hard and repeat the test.

          • Dave says:

            Does reciprocating mass have such an effect? I thought this effect was solely rotating mass/gyroscopic effect -crank, cams, transmission, wheels.

    • Mick says:

      I like the CCM Foggy Stealth and I ride a heavily modified XR650R supermoto, which is nearly unrecognizable as an XR650R.

      You can ride either in the rain without having the rear tire pump road grime all over your back.

      About seven or eight years ago I rented a CB1000R from a dealer in The Netherlands that had “tidied” up the tail. It rained on us for three days while we rode around Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. Every day that bike pumped mud all over me and soaked me in my normally well preforming gear.

      Since that time any bike with a bobbed tail section, like those above, look ridiculous to me. It’s sort of like the old days when people would modify bikes into uselessness. Except that they are useless straight from the factory now.

  9. Provologna says:

    Man, that Dragster won’t attract any attention at the cafe stop! Amiright?

  10. mechanicus says:

    I’m searching for a word to describe these bikes….hmmm… What is a word for the absolute total opposite of “utilitarian”?

  11. Mick says:

    I’ve always thought that I would buy an MV some day. They just never came out with a bike that I wanted at a time when I was in the market for a new bike.

    I just went to their website to look at the lineup. Gone is the day when I think that MV makes beautiful motorcycles.

    The whole market is getting pretty goofy, again. Remember the ugly headlight trend? Have a look at KTM if you need a reminder. Now it’s the tail section. They kind of remind me of candy bars getting smaller over the years. Rather than raise the price, they just give you less for the money. I would rather pay the extra money and get the rest of the tail section. Call me when they come to their senses.

    • dp says:

      There may be another aspect to it. In past we were used to double seats on motorcycles, so we can optionally take a passenger. That has changed in late decades dramatically and as you correctly observe, it is becoming kind of fashion going extreme. I think there is more than price vs value in it.

      In my way of seeing this world I feel this trend is trying to say: it is MINE and no one else’s. I do NOT want to share my pleasures with NO one! Therefor, it is a message of ultimate selfishness, legitimized.

      Of course, I wish to be wrong 🙂

    • todd says:

      Why limit yourself to new? There’s a 2005 Brutale near me in excellent condition for $5,800. Those look so much better than the new ones, I can’t imagine why someone would choose them.

      • Mick says:

        That ship has sailed. No more 400+ pound bikes for me.

        Some day some company will make a moderately powered bike that shows off its technology by being light weight. The direction the market has taken makes me foolish for even riding a street bike. I am going to continue to ride modified dirt bikes until some street bike manufacturer delivers on the promise of technology. More power and more electronics don’t do a thing for me. Give me something that makes about as much power as my the 1992 900SS I had in a significantly lighter package or you’re wasting my time.

        Unfortunately it looks like my time is going to be wasted for the foreseeable future.

        • mickey says:

          2020 KTM 890 Duke R 406 pounds wet and 106.2 HP as measured by Cycle World. (KTM claimed 366 wet)

          Replace that huge exhaust can and it will be under 400 pounds. Want it to weigh even less, don’t fill the gas tank all the way up, and just stop more often.

        • Anonymous says:

          I thought you wanted under 300 pounds? That’s what you said in the Indian Thread … 285 pounds and 80 hp.

          • Jeremy says:

            Not to put words in Mick’s mouth, but if he is saying no more 400+ lbs bikes for him, that basically says to me that current market offerings are out which doesn’t contradict his purchase qualifications of 285 lbs.

          • mickey says:

            interesting that he didn’t say no more 300+ pound bikes for me then.

            Maybe Mick is mellowing out lol

        • Provologna says:

          Look at Yamaha’s 300 twin race replica. Is it not <400# wet? Thing looks bitchin' too.

  12. Jeremy says:

    I like them both.

    • Motoman says:

      Like the Brutale. No sure about the Dragster although could be different in person.

      • Jeremy says:

        Yes, I didn’t care for the previous Dragster until I saw it in person, but it looked quite striking on the showroom floor. The Dragster is certainly an exercise in form over function to a small degree, but I found it appealing nonetheless.

  13. ismail says:

    They still can’t figure out what to do with those headlights….

  14. carl says:

    I have yet to see any of these previous models on the road.

  15. Michael Heivilin says:

    They are exciting and scary looking at the same time. I think I just peed a little. At least I think it was pee!

  16. Stuki Moi says:

    Maybe I’m dense, but when you have to provide some form of cover between your back and what the rear tire ca throw your way anyway; why complicate things unnecessarily, by cutting off the perfectly simple and workable extension of the rider seat into either a passenger seat on a shelf to strap stuff? Only to then have to make up for it by affixing all manners of kludges which only serve to complicate things, as well as add to unsprung weight?

  17. joe b says:

    I really like this. It has the look that everyone wanted when they first started to make street fighter bikes, tearing off all the bodywork of sport bikes, some 20 years ago, or more. difficult to watch the really long video, but somehow it knows when your shifting to neutral, but do you need the clutch to take off? I like my ’12 VFR1200DCT, its an automatic that seems to know what gear to put it in, at all times, and has different levels. I’ll try and go back and watch it again, to see.

  18. Naked MVs just keep getting uglier & uglier.

    And the faired ones get desperately hokey trying different stylistic cues on a once classic design.

  19. SVGeezer says:

    On the Poser Scale where does MV Agusta rank? Do they match/pass Ducati Posers?

    Lord knows they should pass Harley Posers, as all Euro Posers do.

    • Dave says:

      The only MV owner I’ve ever met didn’t know the engine’s displacement or how many cylinders it was.

      • MGNorge says:

        The only MV owner I’ve ever met knows quite a bit more than that. (My brother)

        • Dave says:

          I expect (hope) there are more like your brother than the guy I briefly met.

          FWIW, I asked him because I was unfamiliar with it, then it got a little awkward…

      • Jeremy says:

        I’ve only known two MV owners, but they were both enthusiasts to the nth degree about everything motorcycle (and automotive for that matter.)

  20. dp says:

    This bike is a joy to look at, but just that. When it comes to ownership, you have to ask for what price tag and with what limitations in use. Another matter is the service availability, probably less than dismal. For few lucky ones it may work though.

  21. Steven says:

    Wow, you just have to admire the Italians ability to make things look as sexy as possible.

  22. Reginald Van Blunt says:

    Such a shame the stylist eliminated the back half of a truly interesting triple. I love the three exhaust outlets on one side. That’s so cool.

    • dp says:

      I agree regarding the back end; it somewhat resembles Triumph Trident. You can call it “truncated”, if it works for you.

  23. John says:

    Riding on your jewels takes on a new meaning with these bikes.

  24. mickey says:

    This may sound negative but c’mon nobody can like the looks of the tail section of the dragster. Italian designers huh?

    (And for Joe b last new bike I bought was a 2018 Yamaha FJR 1300 now with 38,000 mi, before that a 2014 Honda CB 1100 DLX now with 58,000 mi, before that a Honda 2013 CB 1100 8500 miles,(traded in on the 14) then a 2006 ST 1300 in 2008 I put 110,000 miles on and sold in 2018)

    • Rhinestone Kawboy says:

      I agree with that rear fender (or lack thereof) comment. Bikes are getting too much to looking like a bugged up wasp on the rear end. I’m guessing the dragster, at least in the one pic, is intended to have it’s rear end hang out a little. Sort of reminds me of a hill climber though and not quite so much dragster.
      My preference on the Brutale would be to have a rear fender protruding somewhat from the back. In the end, probably doesn’t make much difference, closest dealer is around 80 miles away, and I’m sure the price is beyond what I would be willing to pay. Regardless, good luck to MV Agusta, they do make some good looking bikes, just maybe not these so much.

    • joe b says:

      Thx mickey, i now see where your coming from…

  25. TimC says:

    Use of the clutch is kind of key to operating a motorcycle IMO. Including not needing it for up/downshifts even on a regular bike with no electronics.

    • todd says:

      right. I often don’t use the clutch to shift on all sorts of bikes. I’ve done that often on an old BSA, my old BMWs, etc. There was also the few times my clutch cable broke and I rode the rest of the way to work and back home that day without it. It just sucks riding with a broken clutch when your bike has a kick starter…

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