MV releases top-of-the-range Brutale 1078 and F4 312 RR

MV has beefed up its top-of-the-range sports and naked bikes for 2008 with a new Brutale 1078 that features a detuned version of the F4 312 engine, and an RR version of the 312 that leaves us wondering exactly where the 312 was deemed lacking.

The new 1078cc Brutale is more brutal than ever, slamming out 154hp, a figure that eclipses pretty much every other performance naked on the market, if you leave aside the bargy B-King and the “nanna’s express” shaft driven K1200R Beemer. For a compact and short sports naked, it’s certainly massively powerful. It can probably be expected to be as harsh and unforgiving a ride as the older 910 was, but with an extra excess of torque and midrange power. A slipper clutch has been added to tame it on downshifts and corner entry, and there’s been some tiny improvements to the Marzocchi/Sachs suspension package.

This year’s MV sports peformance flagship is the F4 312 RR, built on the foundation of the ludicrously excessive 312. The old bike made 190hp, had an electronically limited top speed of 312kmh, and was fitted out with componentry worthy of its performance. Still, in the Italian motorcycle world where development cycles are a lot slower than the 2-year model cycles we expect from Japanese companies, MV had to find ways to make an up-spec version to keep its line fresh.

The company has done so by including a traditional slipper clutch to accompany the 312’s existing EBS engine brake management system. Between the two systems the 312 RR promises to offer strong engine braking off the throttle, but without rear wheel lock-up. The RR has revised and closer gear ratios for a better track experience, a very slightly tweaked suspension setup, and the Brembo monobloc brake calipers are now basically the exact units run in superbike racing, with a couple of extra dust seals thrown in to make them practical on a roadbike.

Both bikes keep their iconic trestle frames, steering geometry and single-sided swingarms, and both come in a fairly standard range of MV colour schemes (red/silver, black, white) plus a cheeky blue for the 312 RR.

Source: http://www.thebikergene.com/naked-bikes/mv-releases-top-of-the-range-brutale-1078-and-f4-312-rr/