MV Agusta 750 S BRUTALE 2004 — Specifications

When Massimo Tamburini sets pencil to paper, the result resembles nothing else. The man who designed the Ducati 916 and then the MV F4 delivered in 2004 a roadster that owes more to sculpture than to industrial product. The Brutale 750 S is the F4 stripped bare — exposed chrome-molybdenum trellis frame, four-cylinder engine visible from every angle, and that single-sided swingarm that catches the eye like a museum piece. Removing the fairing from a superbike to create a roadster seems simple enough on paper. Here, the result achieves a formal coherence that few manufacturers have come close to matching.

Before you even turn the key, you walk around it. The 50 mm upside-down forks assert themselves immediately, flanked by two 310 mm discs gripped by six-piston calipers. The twin exhaust outlets on the right side reveal a star-spoke wheel mounted to the single-sided swingarm via a central nut. The 19-liter tank and seat, sculpted with near-surgical precision, give the whole machine a contained aggression, never vulgar. The claimed dry weight of 185 kg remains reasonable for an engine of this caliber, and the 805 mm seat height suits a rider of average build without inducing particular vertigo.

At startup, the 749 cc four-cylinder wakes the neighborhood. The four-valve-per-cylinder head with a 12:1 compression ratio and a short 43.8 mm stroke signal intent before the first gear is even engaged. The 126 horsepower arrives at 12,500 rpm, with 73.5 Nm of torque manifesting at 10,500 rpm. These figures reflect a clear philosophy: this motorcycle lives at high revs. Below 7,000 rpm it grumbles but fails to convince. The flat spot between 4,000 and 10,000 rpm is real, documented, and unashamed. Past that threshold, the Brutale changes character entirely — the four-cylinder screams, the six-speed gearbox snaps crisply, and the 250 km/h claimed on the speedo no longer seems like fantasy.

The very rigid chassis demands a riding style unlike that of an ordinary roadster. Forget the suppleness of a Triumph Speed Triple or the versatility of a later-generation Suzuki GSR 750. Here, the bike pitches with energy, demanding genuine physical commitment and real riding intent. This is a faired sportbike disguised as a roadster, not the other way around. In the city, engine heat at the knees is a constant reminder of the project's track origins, and heat soak after a spirited run is a characteristic quirk of this Italian engine to be taken into account. Fuel consumption of between 9 and 12 liters per 100 km is no small consideration, nor is the rapid wear of the rear Pirelli 190/50-17.

At €14,700, the Brutale 750 S makes no claim to being a rational purchase. It is not aimed at beginners, at those seeking touring comfort, or at anyone calculating the per-kilometer cost of wear items. Its audience is the enthusiast who accepts the compromises of a motorcycle conceived first as an object of desire — who rides knowing they are maintaining a complicated relationship with something beautiful enough to justify the sacrifices. In the mid-2000s four-cylinder roadster segment, nobody offered anything as formally accomplished, not even the Japanese with their more sensible solutions. The Brutale has that rare gift of not aging: twenty years on, its lines remain intact, and that may be its most compelling argument of all.