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Review MV Agusta Brutale 989 R

Little brutals

It has a little less displacement than the Brutale 1078 RR. And in terms of performance, too, it takes a step backwards. But when the throttle valves of the Brutale 989 R are fully open, the air burns.

Grumbling softly from two slim tailpipes, as if someone had spoiled his fun, the slim naked bike creeps at low speed through the village of 1000 people. Just don’t disturb the Sunday calm, stay cool, wait. It will be soon. The yellow sign with the diagonal red bar finally comes into view. Slowly the muscles tighten again, preparing for the jump. Because at the exit of the village there is a seductive long straight that leads slowly uphill into a slight right-hand bend, before disappearing into a dense forest area to merge into a roller coaster of bends, inclines and declines.

Review MV Agusta Brutale 989 R

Little brutals

Brutale 989 R barely the sausage from the plate. Now just open the gas tap. As if pulled by a flipper, the 213-kilogram Italian catapults her man and mouse forward, so that every time she shifts the front wheel is easy. Very easily. The tachometer signals almost 11000 rpm when the red warning light of the? Rev Limit ?? lights up. Then at the latest it is time to upshift, if you haven’t already done so. Because from both tailpipes it barks martially, hoarse and piercing, like the speed-hungry four-cylinder sawing the air.

Not for the faint of heart

It is true that the larger displacement, 151 hp sister 1078 RR offers even more power and better pulling power over the entire engine speed range? Depending on the speed, it is up to 15 HP more ??, but the measured 143 HP radial four-valve engine of the 989 R is not lacking in brute thrust either. And after all, the smaller model is a whole 2,300 euros cheaper with identical equipment. The four-cylinder, which was derived from the predecessor 910 R, has the same bore (79.0 millimeters in diameter) and is significantly shorter-stroke than the 1078 (50.1 instead of 55.0 millimeters) and is therefore characterized by even more freedom of revolving and better performance out. The 989 accelerates a bit harshly after load changes and therefore requires a controlled, sensitive hand movement. In short, what your wheelbase is, all you need to do is pull open the throttle valve to put it on the rear wheel. This happens almost unintentionally and so often that one is inclined to believe that after 3000 kilometers you will find an almost new front tire.

The 989 R just doesn’t want to be driven slowly. The immense thrust, the greed for speed, plus a sound that creates goosebumps, all of this makes it difficult to curb the throttle. It goes without saying that the suspension is uncompromisingly hard and does not allow any flexibility. Although the high-quality Marzocchi fork with asymmetrically arranged damper elements and the Sachs shock absorber have a wide range of setting options, all damper valves are almost open in the factory setting. So comfort is out of the question. The 989 R circles corners as precisely as an atomic clock on a perfectly level road surface, reacts directly and without great effort to steering commands, and takes changing curves almost playfully. If the tar cover gets worse, the beautiful Italian begins to bitch, distributes blows, and poses stubbornly. The driver, who has remained in a casual position so far, has to take action and keep the 989 R on course with steering corrections. The brakes are far less critical. The Brembo Monobloc calipers can be dosed precisely, require little manual force and bite hard on the 320 brake discs. Like now, when the 989 is approaching the next town at high speed. There she grumbles to herself again, as if someone wanted to spoil her fun. But only for a short time.

Technical data – MV Agusta Brutale 989 R

engine
Water-cooled four-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine, two overhead, chain-driven camshafts, four valves per cylinder, bucket tappets, wet sump lubrication, injection, Ø 46 mm, uncontrolled catalytic converter, alternator 650 W, battery 12 V / 9 Ah, hydraulically operated multi-disc oil bath clutch, six-speed gearbox, O-ring chain, secondary ratio 41:15.
Bore x stroke: 79.0 x 50.1 mm
Displacement: 982 cm³
Compression ratio: 13.0: 1
Rated output: 104.0 kW (141 hp) at 11,000 rpm
Max. Torque: 104 Nm at 7800 rpm

landing gear
Steel tubular frame, load-bearing motor, upside-down fork, Ø 50 mm, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, single-sided swing arm made of aluminum, central spring strut with lever system, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, double disc brake at the front, Ø 320 mm, four-piston fixed calipers, rear disc brake, Ø 210 mm, four-piston fixed calipers.
Forged aluminum wheels: 3.50 x 17; 6.00 x 17
Tires: 120/70 ZR 17; 190/55 ZR 17
Tires in the test: Pirelli Diablo Corsa 3

Dimensions + weights
Wheelbase 1410 mm, steering head angle 66.0 degrees, caster 102 mm, spring travel f / h 130/120 mm, seat height * 830 mm, weight with a full tank * 213 kg, load * 157 kg, tank capacity 19.0 liters. Guarantee: two years
Service intervals: 6000 km
Colors: black, orange, red, silver
Price: 16,150 euros
Additional costs: around 250 euros

Readings
Performance
Top speed: 265 km / h
0-100 km / h: 3.5 sec
0-140 km / h: 5.3 sec
0 200 km / h: 9.6 sec

Draft:
60-100 km / h: 3.3 sec
100-140 km / h: 3.4 sec
140-180 km / h: 3.3 sec

Speedometer deviation
Effective (display 50/100) 49/98 km / h

consumption
Country road: 6.5 liters / 100 km
Fuel type: Super

Theoretical range
Country road: 292 km

Noticed

more
+ Motor with enormous revving
+ Finest processing
+ Braking perfectly controllable
+ Equipment with noble components
+ Price well below that of the 1078 RR

minus
– Chassis too tightly tuned
– Throttle response too hard
– Fuel consumption quite high
– There is hardly any passenger comfort

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