Rev-happy Hooligan

IN MANY WAYS MV’S DRAGSTER 800RR HASN’T CHANGED much since the original model was launched just over five years ago. The latest RR is still a tuned and firmed-up version of the standard Dragster. It’s a hard-accelerating, quick-steering naked triple, unmistakable with its swoopy shapes and spectacular wire-spoked wheels, the rear wearing a gigantic 200-section tyre.

But as the latest 800RR powers out of a bend with its front wheel feeling light, its 12-valve motor revving hard and its trio of stubby silencers slicing the air with a three-pot scream, there’s no doubt that this Dragster is a significantly different motorcycle — and a better one.

My most vivid memory of the original RR is of riding it on a roughly surfaced road in the hills of northern Italy on its launch. The triple sure was exciting, but its racer-like stiffness and hair-trigger throttle combined to make it