MV Agusta Forum banner

New Brutale owner

4K views 14 replies 11 participants last post by  Sarge 
#1 ·
...almost! I decided on a black 1090R and have begun the paperwork quest of getting it financed. At least the process is in motion. Hopefully all goes well and I can pick up the bike next week. The bike is being shipped in as it was not in house. I went with Andy at Metric Motorcycles in Houston as a dealer. He has been a pleasure to work with so far and I look forward to continued work with him. Upgrades in the near future include: tail tidy, wheels, exhaust, slipper clutch.

:yo:
 
#3 ·
Good choice

Houston is very lucky to have Andy as a MV Agusta dealer. There are very few people that know as much as Andy does about working on exotic bikes. A lot of dealers do not have a clue. The last dealer I took my Brutale 750 to, stripped threads all over the bike applying too much torque. I have a Brutale 675 on order with Andy.
 
#8 ·
Well, since this thread is already started, I'll jump in. Recently purchased a 2006 Brutale 910S, 10K miles, recent service, pristine. Scott's damper, mid-pipe swap, Corbin saddle, otherwise stock. I've been riding well over 40 years, first solo coast to coast trip at age 16 on a Yamaha 350 R5, lots of different kinds of bikes followed. Triumph twins (x4), Ducati bevel drive twins (x2), BMW twins (x2) KTM 250SX (x2) KTM 450 rfs (x2) trials bikes (x2), ZRX 1200's (x2), etc. Current stable includes KTM 450 MXC and ATK 605 flat tracker, both plated, and the MV. Anyways, I know a thing or two about bikes and what I want from one. I love the Brutale.

I've wanted an MV Agusta ever since I saw my first one, a 7500SS sitting on a pedestal at a bike shop I wandered into at age 15 looking for a part for my Honda 160. Being a man of modest means I couldn't afford one until this Brutale showed up near by and I happened to be flush. First full ride I couldn't get comfortable, and bike stalled out 6 times. Parked it until the following weekend and it wouldn't start Saturday morning. Lousy way to begin my MV ownership. But no worries, I put it on the charger and went to do some research. Now, 6 weeks and 900 miles later, I think I can offer a ride review.

First, ergos. They're odd. I'm 6-0, 150 lbs, still reasonably fit and agile, but I felt cramped and off balance when I first got on the bike. For me, the riding position is a 'tweener, neither sport bike nor standard, neither comfy nor firmly in control. Some owners find relief swapping out to Duc S4R bars to increase seat to bar length, closer to the sportbike crouch. But due to a cracked cervical vertebra and two broken wrist bones, I can no longer assume the position. I need to go in the other direction, foot pegs forward and bar risers if they can be sourced, to take weight off my hands and get my neck more nearly vertical.

Still worse, the stock seat sucks, as it slopes forward to handlebars that are too close, making me feel like I'm going over the bars braking hard prior to tip in. Without a neutral riding position, it is hard to precisely modulate throttle and other control inputs, making the bike seem ungainly and obstinate. The Corbin seat is flatter, but locks you in even closer to the front and appears to be carved from granite. Still, I'm an adaptable fellow, and the innate goodness of this bike had me hooked from the beginnning, so I endeavored to make the relationship work.

As in so many areas of life, the ergonomics solution is mostly acceptance. That and a sheepskin pad for the Corbin. I'm also a cyclist so I wear chamois briefs when I need more padding, the sheepskin is enough for day rides. Now that I am acclimated to the riding position, I am quite comfortable at speed and through the twisties, but slow stop-and-go in town still pretty much sucks. At 60mph, the headwind starts to balance your forward weight bias, and the oversized headlight and instrument nacelle create a smooth air flow over the head and shoulders. I am quite comfortable up to the ton (of course I wear proper gear), and when I feel the need to see 140mph (twice now, this bike is going to get me in trouble), I lean over the tank and she feels supremely planted and controllable.
 
#9 ·
The one bright side to stop-and-go is the going. Accelerating through the gears on this bike is absolutely thrilling. I don't remember my ZRX's yanking on me like that. The Brutale is much lighter, and omigawd what a motor. I'm not generally a fan of 4 cylinder bikes, but this motor is special. The sound this thing makes is awe inspiring, I should put a tip jar on it so people can express their appreciation for being passed by such a symphonic blur. There is good power on tap from 4000rpm. From there to 8000 power is meaty and controllable, and the howl that starts at about 5600 will raise shackles on your spine and wake up all law enforcement personnel within 10 miles.

At 8000rpm the power band arrives, please assure that you are pointed where you wish to go, you will be there soon. The front wheel will come off the ground at the top of third gear when you hit the upper power band, at about 100mph. Very interesting. It's not all motor tho, the bike is light, mass centered, and very flickable. Initial turn in is a tiny bit reluctant, probably due to the massive rear wheel. But the wide bars provide plenty of leverage and with a firm hand you can bend her way over on her ear without drama. The front end is rock solid and compliant, but the rear is too stiffly sprung for a lightweight like me. The rear squirms around a bit on hard decel, especially on bumpy corners, but I kinda enjoy that and she slides very controllably once you get a feel for her.

When I am ready to seriously tilt the horizon, I get up on the balls of my feet, which lets me differentially weight the pegs and really stuff the bike into curves. The ergos work well in attack mode, but it is labor intensive. Fuel injection throttle snatch at low revs make low speed corners problematic, but wick it up into the midrange and you can rocket out of curves with incredible verve and control. You will need to weight the pegs to steer if you get it right, cause your front wheel won't be on the ground anyway.

Ok, some issues. I read the entire stalling thread, and decided the issue was mostly riding style/technique. Being a trials rider I aspire to precise throttle control, and pride myself on being a smooth rider. I removed the external throttle return spring, and I always roll the throttle back against the stop before pulling in the clutch on decel. Those changes alone have all but eliminated stalling. I stalled 6 times in first 50 miles, 3 times in next 800+ miles, 2 of which were my omission, only one due to a stumble at idle. Idle still stumbles every now and then, but not often and usually not enough to stall.

Note I am not giving her gas with the clutch engaged, just holding the twistgrip back against the spring pressure. I like to use engine braking, so I decel hard in gear and she never stalls under those conditions, only with the clutch in and revs falling down to, and past, idle rpm. I have ridden a few light flywheel, highly tuned motorcycles with fuel injection throttle snatch, so I think in terms of rpm momentum, and just don't let the rpm's fall too low too rapidly with the clutch in. Mostly, I accept the fact that I bought an exotic racing derived bike that offers incredible performance at the expense of some relatively small drivability issues. Others may have greater problems with their Brutales, but for me on mine, stalling is a non-issue.
 
#10 ·
Fit and finish are excellent, components are top notch, bike is well built. Ergos take some getting used to, but do work at speed, less so below 50mph. Engine performance is breathtaking, handling outstanding on smooth roads, only let down over bumps by too stiff rear spring, which is fixable. She's abit high strung, gets hot stuck in traffic, a little clumsy at low speeds, mostly due to fuel injection snatch just off idle. But in her element, at speed, she is spectacular.

I will say this, those Brutale owners who wonder if they bought the wrong bike probably did. There are any number of high performance street bikes available that do not stall, are more comfortable, far less expensive to maintain, etc. The roads are full of them. Which is precisely the point. Anyone buying an MV is motivated in part by it's exclusivity, the ownership pride that no-compromise high-performance exotics provide, which is not a function of price alone. Exotics require greater rider involvement, dedication and skill, and some degree of idiosycratic tolerance. Anyone unwilling to pay that price would probably be better served by a more mainstream choice.

I am very happy with my purchase. I understand that the new Brutales are saner, more comfortable, easier to ride. But not being punished for sloppy technique means also not being rewarded for proper technique. When I get all the inputs just right, my Brutale rewards me with sensational performance and huge grins. And when I park her in the lot, I can't help but sneak a peak over my shoulder before I enter the restaurant, to see her gleaming in the sunlight. She's a trophy wife, she cleans up good. And no matter what anyone else has, no matter how fast it goes or how much it costs, I know they have to sneak a peak at my bike too. With just a twinge of envy. And that also puts a grin on my face. I finally got my MV Agusta, and it doesn't disappoint.
 
#11 ·
yep,so true,but I enjoyed every minute in solving and fixing those small issues as you have outlined above,I loved this style of bike when I saw the 910 ,now I have the 1078 and would not trade for any other, great story.
cheers eddy ps: city driving or out in the country is a joy smooth all over.:yo:
 
#12 ·
jonadd, great to read ur post - i've just bought my 2006 910S a couple of weeks ago. So much of what u say about the bike rings true. I've ridden motorbikes on and off most of my life but now I've got a new incentive to improve my riding techique so that I can further appreciate this wonderful machine....makes me feel like a kid again....cheers
 
#13 ·
AIKI, I also just purchaes a black 1090 R. (great minds think alike) I am reading the manual and looking at the settings. When you pick up your bike ask your dealer about the traction control setting(please). My dealer is great , but I would be interested in other input. I am setting mine at 3. I have about 100 miles on the bike, so still getting the feel to the new bike. Very fast! I also own a Duc Monster S4RS and Duc Multi . Very different feel to with the power range, but staying under 6000 rpm for break in. Any thoughts on changing out the exhaust? Thanks George
 
#14 · (Edited)
Actually, I never bought the bike, my funding fell through. I ended up moving into a new house (for a garage) and buying a washer/dryer set. My savings went bust. Guess it is all for the best because I have my eye on the 800 Brutale coming out. I never was over the moon for the 1090R, did not feel I had the experience for it, but chose it over the 675 as something to grow into. I feel much more comfortable choosing the 800. Maybe it is all mental as I sure as hell can kill myself on a 675.

By the way, any technical questions, I direct you to my mechanic, Andy Marcer at Metric Motorcycles in Houston, TX.

I would throw a HP Corse Hydroform exhaust on a 1090R, no doubt.

With the triple, probably just leave it as is until something better comes along.

Congratulations on the bike, ride safe. I'm jealous. But patiently waiting, scheming, muahahahaha
 
#15 ·
jonadd congratulations.....yes you are pretty right about the Brutale and am glad that you understand it and are enjoying it. It will only get better. Do check your tuning and idel rpm. sometimes its just proper tuning that can cause stalling. There are a gew other reasons that could cause this and there are some great people here that can help. I think some of the 910S also has an SPU that can die anytime if its the old one, do read up on that. Enjoy the rides
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top