2022 MV Agusta Dragster RR Review

MV Agusta’s Dragster reminds us of why we love odd-ball naked bikes.

Photography by Scaysbrook & Ryan Nitzen

In the last few months, I’ve dished out an inordinate number of hits towards MV Agusta. The Italian/Russian organization has been trying really hard of late and has cranked out new model after new model, but the uber-powerful/uber-expensive Brutale 1000 RS and RR machines missed the mark, and I was not backward in coming forwards in my criticisms.

Hey, it’s the job.

So, you can imagine how pleased I was when I finally got on an MV that ticked pretty much all the boxes in the three-cylinder $23,398 Dragster RR. This is a funky, bratty little sports-naked with every ounce of attitude you’d want but doesn’t subscribe to the theory that your naked bike needs to have WorldSBK-levels of horsepower to be enjoyable.

The Dragster RR cannibalizes the Brutale 800 pretty heavily for its skin and bones. Its three-cylinder motor that produces a claimed 140 horsepower and 64 lb-ft of torque is present, as is the tubular steel chassis, trademark MV Agusta single-sided swingarm, 43mm Marzocchi fully adjustable front suspension and Sachs monoshock, and the same Brembo four-piston brakes mated to a Nissin master cylinder.

There’s also the same electronics platform that includes a 5.5-inch TFT dash, IMU-fettled traction control, cornering ABS, cruise control, four riding modes of Sport, Race, Rain and Custom via the ride-by-wire throttle, an up-and-down quickshifter, and full LED lighting that has its own cornering function to light the inside of the bend when cranked over.

So, what is different? Basically, it’s the wheels and the riding position—that’s it. The Dragster rolls on gorgeous cast aluminum spoked wheels, with the spokes only attached to the right side of the wheel. Compared to the Brutale’s more traditional slanted six-spoke design, this design cue alone angled much more at the target audience of cafe street racers than the Brutale’s racier crowd.

The big difference, however, is in the ride position. The Dragster utilizes a more cupped seat with a longer, flatter bottom section, which, depending on how you like your ride, is either good or bad. I preferred the Dragster’s higher-backed version over the Brutale, which has a similar profile to that of the track-focused F3 RR supersport machine, although the sharper sides that ran either side of my thighs got uncomfortable quickly.

Nestled beneath either side of the Dragster’s seat is a design feature every MV should and sadly doesn’t have in the retractable passenger footpegs. The pegs sit on a swivel and click neatly under the seat when not in use with a satisfying little “thunk,” allowing the machine to display the glorious three-cylinder exhaust muffler in almost all its glory.

Now, compare this to the Brutale RR that costs nearly twice this much (or the Brutale 800 RR, for that matter), which has fixed passenger footpegs that crowd the muffler and look decidedly cheap. Sometimes, even MV gets their design cues wrong.

Another feature of the Dragster is the side-mounted rear vision mirrors that look great when standing still but not so great when you’re riding. They are difficult to adjust up and down (left and right is no issue) and tend to vibrate so much as to be basically useless.

At least you can fold them in when lane splitting/filtering, as their appearance on the Dragster makes the machine a fair bit wider at the shoulders. I would personally go for those funky drop-down mirrors that sit below the handlebar, but I’m not sure entirely how legal they are, at least in this state (California).

Design aspects aside, the Dragster’s ride will make you glad you’ve parked one in your garage. When used in Sport mode, the three-cylinder motor still retains a little of the traditional MV throttle snatch, but it’s way ahead of what it was even two years ago, thanks to improvements in initial throttle mapping. This makes the Dragster much more enjoyable in slow-speed situations while still retaining all the punch needed for when the road opens up.

Get the Dragster spinning north of 5000 rpm, and you’re met with oodles of torque from the counter-rotating crank. That still gives you around 8000 rpm of usable motor range to play with, and the little 798cc donk between your legs will play with you right up into that 13,000 rpm redline.

The Dragster is lacking in that initial punch off the bottom of the rev range, so in that regard, a Yamaha MT-09 will retain somewhat of an edge, but the MV spins up much faster than the Yamaha will and rushes towards its redline with more enthusiasm.

Clicking up through the gears on the brilliant MV Agusta race-style quickshifter is addictive fun. MV’s nailed the quickshifter, which gives just the right amount of kill to ensure smooth full-power gear changes.

The MV has a compact chassis. With a wheelbase of just 55.1 inches, direction changes are snappy and precise, and its dry weight of 385 pounds means you simply look where you want to go, and the chassis will oblige. Running the MV trademark Marzocchi/Sachs setup, the ride is firm but not as offensive as it is on the larger Brutale RS, which almost seems to ratchet up the stiffness in direct response to the more ponies put out by the 999cc four-cylinder motor.

The Dragster’s taut suspension is both a help and hindrance, as there’s only so much you can tune out before you just must put up with it and get on with the ride. For the most part, the fork offers a comfortable ride, but the rear Sachs retains that initial shock on the high-speed compression circuit that’s almost impossible to tune out.

Under acceleration, the Dragster will track strong and true while cranked over, again, a product of the sporty nature of the machine, but if you’re looking for something a touch more comfortable for everyday use, perhaps the Tourismo Veloce would be more your style.

Criticism must be labeled at the front brake, which allows the ABS to kick in far too early for my liking. If you’re sedate on the lever, this won’t affect you too much but give the brake a good squeeze, and you’ll be met with the dreaded pulsing at the lever many other manufacturers seem to have all but eradicated. I feel this has more to do with the master-cylinder setup than anything else, and for the price, I’d have preferred a nice radial Brembo setup on board to complete the picture.

Despite this, I gave the MV Agusta Dragster back after a month, thoroughly pleased with it. This bike delivers good times in spades—it looks the part, sounds like a high-spec rally car, and doesn’t suffer from the dreaded MV flat spot like its four-cylinder brothers.

If MV could scale this quality up into the four-cylinder Brutale range, those machines would indeed be worth their sticker prices.

But for now, I’ll take the Dragster and retain no interest in the ego-driven 200-horsepower naked-bike game. CN

2022 MV Agusta Dragster RR Specifications

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