MV Agusta debuts the Brutale 675

MV Agusta is challenging the Ducati 848 and the Triumph Street Triple with their naked middleweight sport bike, the Brutale 675.

The Brutale 675 is the fairing-less version of the MV Agusta F3. Mechanically, the two motorcycles are nearly identical. Previously, the naked counterparts of the sport bikes from MV Agusta, the F4 superbike and Brutale 990/1190, shared engines but had different frames and other major components. The savings from designing and manufacturing nearly identical models for both the sport bike and naked bike make great economic sense for the manufacturer.



The Brutale 675 retails for 8990 euros ($10,902), which puts it well under the price range of the Ducati starting at around $14,000, but over the price of the Triumph Street Triple which sells for $9394. For that price, the machine includes 8 levels of traction control, ABS and a fly-by-wire throttle system.

Rated at a hefty 110 horsepower, the Brutale 675 also cranks out 48 foot pounds of torque. The engine is a de-tuned version of the F3, with a smaller throttle body and milder cam profiles. The F3 engine puts out around 16 horsepower more than the Brutale 675.

Light weight is another factor in the Brutale's design. It only weighs 368 pounds dry. The light 114-pound engine takes up a good chunk of the total weight. The tubular trellis frame also contributes to the lack of heft.

The seat height is 31.9 inches, which may give shorter riders pause but is fine for an average sized one. The seat has been classified as “rather uncomfortable”.

The motorcycle handled very well on the track as the three-cylinder engine revved up very quickly to over 7000 RPM. The harder stock street tires tended to allow the front end to tuck when laid all the way over to peg-scraping territory. The digital tachometer with a small readout was described as “nearly useless”.

[Cycle World]