Three-Cylinder Middleweight Naked Bikes – Comparison Test MV Agusta Brutale 800 vs. Triumph Street Triple R vs. Yamaha FZ-09.

This trio of triples absolutely represents the modern evolution of what we used to just call “motorcycle.” They are essentially denuded sporty bikes meant to engage our bodies in a human-friendly stance and offer great all-around performance. Some more than others.
The big news here is Yamaha’s FZ-09, a displacement-busting big middleweight powered by an 847cc inline-triple that cranks out 107 hp on the dyno. It is lightweight, styled right for the times, and, as we said in our “Working-Class Hero” preview, puts a bullet in boring bargain bikes by having an aggressively low price of $7,990. Not to spill some of the beans so early in this comparison, but the FZ-09 is a lot of bike for the money.
So is the MV Agusta Brutale 800—but in a different way. Peeling $11,998 for a motorcycle (add $500 for Electronic Shift Assist) is no small thing, but this is a burly, hard-edged sportbike with a tubular handlebar that will challenge, satisfy, and enthrall you. Most of the time, you won’t think about the price. Except maybe in traffic (more later). Still, performance is stimulating in a way that only the Italians seem capable of producing. We enjoyed the Brutale 675, but this 798cc version erased the smaller bike from our memory the first time it power-wheelied in third gear.
The British are pretty good at making killer performance bikes, too, but do it without asking quite as much of your soul as the Italians. The Street Triple has been one of the great motorcycles on the market since its 2008 introduction, and the R version added in 2009 has become the model of choice. We have a 2014 R to test here, but the MSRP hadn’t been released as of this writing. Expect the price to be similar to the $9,999 of the ’13 R, which was only $600 more expensive than the base model with lower-spec suspension and brakes. No one of sound mind would skip the upgrade. The 675cc engine is very nice, even though it gives up significant displacement to the two other bikes here. The 1,050cc Speed Triple was tempting, if pricey, at $12,799, but our official ceiling for the middleweight class is 899cc. And the Street Triple is the originator of the modern middleweight three-cylinder naked bike.