Dragster 800 RR – Rendez-vous Montreal | 5BikeChallenge

By Ian Kelso

All I can tell you after spending an entire weekend with this sexy little Italian number is that she got really, really hot and my groin got really, really sore.

But OMFG did I have a good time!

I could just end my review here, and not bother dragging out my tired attempts at carnal humour and sexual innuendo by just saying that there is very little I did not love about this bike. But what fun would that be!

THE MAKING OF A NAKED SUPERMODEL

MV Agusta is named for Count Giovanni Agusta who started an aviation company near Milan in 1923. His sons Vincenzo and Domenico began making motorcycles in 1945, but did so in the same spirit the Ferrari family made automobiles: to fund their passion for racing. In the 19 years between 1956 and 1974 MV Agusta motorcycles won the MotoGP 500cc class world title 18 times.

During the 1980s and 90s the first naked bikes started appearing across Europe not by design, but as a means of putting a crashed sport bikes back on the road as cheaply as possible. Called “streetfighters”, they wore their scars with pride. Then in 1993 Ducati introduced the Monster which some say officialized the class. Soon several manufacturers began making their own version of a naked bike, but MV Agusta set the bar very high with their introduction of the Brutale 750s in 2001. In many ways that design has stood the test of time.

In 2014 MV introduced the 125HP Dragster 800 version of the Brutale, which Adam Waheed of MotoUSA called “MV’s new vision of a hardcore streetfighter”. The Dragster took the naked class and stripped away even more to expose a body and engine that had the motorcycle equivalent of amazing abs. Then in 2015 they then added a special edition “RR” version to the lineup, boosting power to 140 HP and completing the package of what may well be the world’s sexiest and most perfect middleweight streetfighter.

THE REUNION

After my initial short fling with the Dragster RR a few weeks back (https://eatsleepride.com/c/107296/5bikechallenge_speed_date_2015_mv_agusta_brutale_dragster_rr) at a demo event I managed to arrange a more formal meeting in Montreal where MV Agusta Canada is based. For three days and nights I would have her all to myself (cue seductive music.) I wanted to get a more well-rounded picture of what it might be like to live with the Dragster. Could she be one of the five in my #FiveBikeChallenge? Could she even be THE ONE?

The Brutale is a bike I have long felt very attracted to. It seems to hold a visceral and universal appeal, especially for male riders. For the past few years I have fantasized about taking one out, but there are so few of them around it seemed unlikely I would ever get the opportunity. The Dragster RR is everything I always loved about the design of the Brutale but sexed up several notches.

My first thought at seeing her again was that she was every bit as beautiful as I remembered her. Pictures actually don’t do her justice. Her refined lines and highly polished fit and finish make her appear even more expensive than her already pricey US$ 17,798 MSRP ($19,998 CAD).

The transition from my F650GS adventure bike to naked sport bike always takes my brain about a half hour to remap. I was immediately reassured that my first impressions were absolutely spot-on: the Dragster RR is incredibly easy to ride. The Dragster was incredibly stable and well balanced even at very low speeds. Maybe it’s the counter-rotating crankshaft, or perhaps simply the wide rear 200/50/17 DIABLO Rosso II tire, but right away I noticed that I almost didn’t have to put my foot down at stoplights. And it has great low-end torque, which makes it very responsive and easy to control in stop and go traffic. At 6’4” I didn’t feel at all uncomfortable in the bike’s fairly aggressive cockpit, though I felt like I must look huge beside her.

CLIMBING BACK INTO BED

Riding the Dragster RR is a feeling of almost complete union between human and machine: the connection to the road is so close you almost feel like you have become part of the motorcycle and that is more than a little euphoric. But that means you definitely FEEL the road, and when that road is far from perfect (as are many of the streets and highways in Montreal) it can become a challenge to avoid severe punishment to areas of your body most in contact with the bike…if you know what I mean.

The Dragster’s clip-on handlebars offered no options to quickly fasten my Hitcase iPhone mount, so I was left to ride blindly without GPS back to the city center. Naturally I almost immediately managed to take the wrong exit and ended up on a road surface best suited to lunar roving vehicles. It’s a really good thing the bike is factory equipped with a steering damper…and that I am not planning to have any more children.

The plan for our weekend: a night on the town, then a day in the country followed by a day at the beach.

A FRIDAY SOIREE

Montreal suffers long hard winters, but it springs to life in summer with a vengeance. There are back-to-back outdoor celebrations and festivals: jazz, comedy, circus arts, film… always a host of great things to do and people everywhere.

That first evening I thought it would be perfectly romantic to take dinner in the historic Old Port of Montreal and perhaps afterwards gather some photos in the European-style narrow cobblestone streets. Of course a summer weekend in Montreal’s festival district would not be complete without street closures everywhere. This benefits very well for those traveling a beer from venue to venue on foot, but the blockages combined with the city’s entanglement of one-way streets means you get funneled into a maze many times more immense and complex than the one that spelled the ultimate demise for Jack Nicholson in the Shining. But instead of freezing to death, you are slowly simmered in pool of your own sweat. Yes, this is where the Dragster got hot. Very hot. She does not take well to sitting around. She likes action. But we could do nothing as we waited in line after line, street after street, trying to find the way to our destination.

A DAY IN THE COUNTRY

I remembered from my initial time with her that the Dragster RR really loved twisty country roads, so I mapped out a day-long excursion to the north of Montreal. As you leave the city on Autoroute 15 (which is also known as the Autoroute des Laurentides and the TransCanada Highway) you need only travel about 40 miles (60 kms) to reach some truly beautiful geography. The Laurentien Mountains are some of the oldest in the world dating back over one billion years, and they are the year-round playground for Quebecers to cottage in temperate months, and to ski and snowboard in others.

As we left the suburbs on the highway however, I did suddenly notice the fuel reserve light had come on. I had filled up the tank just the day before, and having mostly just sat in traffic since then I was more than a little surprised. And then it dawned on me that I didn’t remember actually seeing a fuel gauge. Flipping through the menu, I could find nothing. For all of the advanced electronics on this bike, I found it strange to overlook something so simple and useful. A small feeling of panic set in as I really had no feel for the bikes’ fuel economy or even size of reserve, and I had no idea how far it might be to the next gas station!

I began taking each exit from the highway in a bit of a frantic search for petrol, and I was ultimately about 10 miles up the highway. I still don’t know how close I was to running out of fuel, but for the rest of my time with her I felt compelled to stop at pretty much every service center I encountered to top up the tank.

Once on the interior country roads, the Dragster was absolutely in her element. The forested motorway climbed and dropped, twisted and turned past small lakes, tiny ski hills and picturesque villages. The combination of complete immersion in that lush environment added to the level of connectedness that I felt through the bike to the road made for a kind of tantric experience. As the journey progressed, the terrain increased its challenge. At every set of corners we reached a new climax. The rest of the afternoon seemed to stretch into an eternity, and then it was over.

That afternoon will be hard to top.

NAKED BIKE AT A NUDE BEACH

For our final day together we planned to go northwest to take in one of Montreal’s hidden treasures: the beach at Oka National Park, and then planned head back up into the hills to the north. Apparently many others had a similar idea as I found myself reliving the soul-killing lineup of traffic, only this time on an idyllic park roadway waiting to pass the park entranceway.

Oka is in part well known in the Montreal region because a section of the shoreline plays host to one of the few clothing-optional beaches in the province. The Dragster, though permanently naked herself, was not allowed on the beach. As consolation there was a surprise dedicated motorcycle parking area that was both close to the action and cordoned off from the rest of the main parking lot. It made me feel a little more secure knowing that it was very unlikely I would return to my ride only to find her tipped over in the gravel by some overloaded SUV.

It was an ideal sunny warm beach day, and being an everyday rider who wears most of my gear most of the time, I really did need the dose of vitamin D. But I didn’t last long lounging in the sun before I started to fantasize about my previous day’s escapades. Before I knew it I was back on the Dragster and heading for open roads.

ONE LAST FLING

And so briefly stopping for sustenance (gas and food) in the town of Oka, we headed north again. Much of it is still a blur. I remember one long very straight isolated country road running through a large flat field that seemed an ideal to really test acceleration with the MV EAS 2.0 electronic quick shifter. Who knew traveling in a direct line could feel so much like I imagine smoking rock cocaine must feel to a crack addict. We rode until the sun began to set, and until I began to seriously fear the signs warning about deer crossing. I chose a final twisty road back toward Montreal, one that would have been fun even on my F650GS, but that had a deteriorating quality of the pavement reminded me that my lovely Dragster RR was more purpose built for the smooth tarmac. We went at it one last time, but the ecstasy this time was mixed with certain pain.

AND IT’S OVER

I was a little sad to make the trip back to MV Agusta, to bring her home. The weekend had brought me to some of the highest of highs of motorcycle riding. When we were in riding her sweet spot, it was simply sublime. But when we were contending with some of the day-to-day realities of riding, like sitting in traffic or navigating bumpy roads and streets, she could be a bit miserable. That’s perfectly ok though, the Dragster is not at all meant to be an urban commuter bike or a touring bike: it is a sport bike that is optimized for acceleration and agility.

So for my needs the Dragster RR is a perfect mistress, one whose sexy body definitely turns heads as you stroll down the street. Take her to the right venue and she will make you feel like a god. She is full of passion and style, and has a vigorous appetite for pleasure. She is great at what she does. She can just become a little heated if you try to make her into something she is not.

But of course that is why I believe we all need five bikes and not just one 🙂

MSRP $17,798 USD ($19,995 CAN)
Fuel capacity: 4.39 gal. (16.6 l)
6-speed, 798 cc engine

About the #5BikeChallenge

There is no one perfect bike. In order to serve every possible need and desire, I believe you need about five. So in a quest to discover my five perfect bikes, I am on a quest to gain the kind of knowledge and experience you can only get by putting yourself out there and riding. I know, tough job 😉 Through both short demo rides and longer term flings, I will diarize my journey and maybe help you make up your own list. Comments and suggestions are always most welcome!