MV Agusta Brutale 1090 : First Ride Review

How does it ride?

Compact, light, has a short wheelbase and a 144bhp motor, the result? Adrenaline and fear! Both gush around the body as if you’ve been just told that you’ve few days to live. But, stay below 5000rpm on the Brutale 1090 and you’ll genuinely feel comfortable – thanks to the not-so aggressive riding position, wide handle bar and decently positioned footpegs. It’s easy to flick around the traffic, the bike makes you feel at home and is saner too. But go past 5000rpm, the Brutale 1090 shows its true colours and it’s not for the faint hearted. The bike demands to be ridden on just one wheel and this happens all the way till the third gear. The surge in power and torque as you twist the throttle helps the bike cross 130kmph with ease. This is possible, thanks to the Brutale 1090’s inline-four cylinder that churns out 144bhp at 10,300rpm and peak torque of 112Nm at 8100rpm. Try to redline this bike, chances are you’ll run out of safe tarmac but if you don’t, chances are you’ll come back with a grin on your face. The mid-range torque helps the bike cruise easily between 110kmph and 140kmph, if you can take the windblast that is. The gearbox is six-speed with slick shifts and it allows clutchless upshifting and downshifting, which is a boon for a motorcycle in this segment.

Coming to the handling bit, the Brutale 1090 is accurate as a bullet from a Carl Walther, thanks to the lightweight trellis frame and the dual 310mm discs in the front and 210mm disc at the rear. The bite is excellent, so is the feedback on the levers. And it gets anti-lock braking system (ABS) supplied by Bosch. And for those who love to lift the rear wheel – the sad news is this ABS system is equipped with rear wheel lift-up mitigation (RLM).

Anything else I should know?

Safety first! The Brutale 1090 comes with an eight-level traction control system and we were advised not to go below five and it made sense. The highest setting – 8, is the most intrusive and doesn’t let you go off the edge. The fifth level is where we stayed most of the time. Just like its younger sibling – the Brutale 800, the 1090 also gets four riding modes – normal, rain, sport and custom. Sport mode is where the Brutale 1090 was mostly ridden during the limited time. The torque delivery in this mode surges linearly and there’s a slight change in throttle response too. We tried the rain mode too, but that gets boring, considering the fact that you’ve the Sport and the Custom modes at disposal.

In terms of style, aggression was the word that the designers at MV Agusta had as part of their brief. And it’s clearly seen on this MV. While we know that looks and styling are subjective, we don’t think anyone would hate the way the Brutale 1090 looks. The instrument cluster on this bike is neat and simple. It does the job of displaying correction information (loads of them) properly. However, the placement of the hazard lamp switch is little odd. You should also know that for tall riders (like me), the Brutale 1090 feels compact. But as you spend more time with the bike, chances are you will get accustomed to the compactness the Brutale 1090 offers. And yes, the Italian maker claims a top speed of 265kmph for the Brutale 1090.

Why should I buy one?

You’ll buy the MV Agusta Brutale 1090 not because you need one, but because you want one. There’s plenty of litre class naked bikes in the Indian market which offer almost the same power and excitement, but there’s a different charm of owning an exotic like the Brutale 1090. And at a price tag of Rs 19.3 lakh (ex-showroom Pune), it is the second most expensive street naked in the segment, but like we said, you’ll buy this because you want one. And unfortunately, you’ll have only one colour to choose.

Where does it fit in?

The Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 is the closest competitor for the MV Agusta Brutale 1090. In fact, the Aprilia is just Rs 16,000 cheaper than the MV Agusta but both motorcycles are poles apart when it comes to the riding character. There’s also the BMW S1000R, which is almost Rs 3.5 lakh more expensive than the Brutale 1090, and that’s why it has hardly any takers.

Photography by Kapil Angane