The Other Naked Italian: MV Agusta Brutale R1090

Much has been made of the new Ducati Streetfighter 848 and its fearsome big brother, the Ducati Streetfighter 1098.

And rightly so.

Ducati Streetfighter 848.  Second only to the Streetfighter 1098...

Ducati Streetfighter 1098.  More at home in an alley than a photo studio.


In fact, its so much a Ducati Universe, all Ducati, all the time, you would be forgiven if you thought Ducati was the only Italian moto out there, and that the sole Italian street fighter was the Ducati of the same name.

But you would be wrong.

There is another street fighter in Italy.  Two, in fact.

One to match wits with the Streetfighter 848.  The other to face off against the Streetfighter 1098.

MV Agusta is ready bring it.   Ducati isn't the only Italian supermoto.

(Apologies to Moto Guzzi, but I will include it in this conversation when it revisits its racing heritage.  Did you know that Guzzi produced the first bike capable of 200kph?  And if we're talking sportbikes, the Aprilia RSV4 is part of that conversation, but we're not.)

We've seen spy shots of the MV Agusta F3-derived Brutale 675:

Brutale 675 with "Cycle World" territory-marking masthead.

And now, there's the MV Brutale R1090:


The Brutale R1090 uses the Euro-only Brutale 920 frame, which houses a powerful 1078cc inline-Four engine, equipped with a Magneti Marelli 5SM ECU and 46mm Mikuni throttle bodies to manage ignition and fueling.

While the engine is all raw, streetfighter tough, throwing down 144-ponies at peak power, the ride is refined through fully adjustable 50mm Marzocchi fork, Sachs shock and Brembo radial-mount four-piston calipers.  The extra saddle padding doesn't hurt either.

Best of all, this one is more in the range of affordable. 

Brutal.  And all Brutale.

It is a battle royale when the Ducati Streetfighter and the MV Agusta Brutale cross paths, late one night, down a dark alley...

For the original Cycle World article, click HERE.

Cheers!