RantyDave
29th April 2007, 19:21
...weird bike. Nothing like I was expecting at all.
The model I rode was a "straight" (i.e. non-factory, non-R) 2004 Tuono. I only rode it for twenty minutes or so and didn't (in theory) manage to get any high speed riding in. It was red. And big. And noisy, especially when it starts.
It was an awful lot like the 'previous model' Triumph Tiger that I rode. Very upright, comfy and you travel in a bubble of air whose sole purpose is to stop you from thinking you're moving forwards at all. This combined with oodles of torque meant that you can go from gently puttering along to license losing territory within a few seconds and no real effort whatsoever. Indeed, so keen are Aprilia on ensuring you enjoy the ride that they take the wise precaution of burying the speedometer somewhere down in the bodywork *and* making it almost completely illegible. Nothing like a guilt trip to spoil the fun, is there?
As you may have gathered there are gobs and gobs of power, and I never got the engine much over a tractor-like puttering. Never had to either. Mind you, from the sound eminating from underneath me I was quite concerned enough about one of the pistons flying up to meet me in the wedding tackle without further encouraging the situation. I did try to get the throttle all the way open in second, but shat myself. Clearly something best left for a nice quiet Wairarapa and a tuesday afternoon. The gearbox, despite moving up and particularly down with a loud "CLUNK" is light and the clutch was a marvel. Finding neutral was a bitch, but I guess it's one of those things you'd get used to.
Handling is weird and good. My first left I ran wide, but after a while I realised that all you need to do is counter steer in as much lean as you want and just, kinda, go with it. It's not as stupendously stable as the Daytona 675 but despite it's size I'd say that it was more willing to tip and and really enjoyed left/right/left transitions through the twisties. Suspension on it's factory settings is quite stiff, but not problematically so. The brakes are monster, you have to be real careful when you first apply them *and* when getting back on your ordinary ride.
I can see that the Tuono is a great bike. It would make a great commuter (believe it or not), could cover vast number of motorway KM's without hardly noticing and can more than hold it's own on the track. But the truth is that it just left me feeling a little flat. I think this is a combination of the V-twin rumble never needing to leave "tractor" territory, and the vast altitude from which the Tuono is piloted. I'm sure that finding the experience relaxing was not, exactly, what Aprilia had in mind. YMMV.
Dave
The model I rode was a "straight" (i.e. non-factory, non-R) 2004 Tuono. I only rode it for twenty minutes or so and didn't (in theory) manage to get any high speed riding in. It was red. And big. And noisy, especially when it starts.
It was an awful lot like the 'previous model' Triumph Tiger that I rode. Very upright, comfy and you travel in a bubble of air whose sole purpose is to stop you from thinking you're moving forwards at all. This combined with oodles of torque meant that you can go from gently puttering along to license losing territory within a few seconds and no real effort whatsoever. Indeed, so keen are Aprilia on ensuring you enjoy the ride that they take the wise precaution of burying the speedometer somewhere down in the bodywork *and* making it almost completely illegible. Nothing like a guilt trip to spoil the fun, is there?
As you may have gathered there are gobs and gobs of power, and I never got the engine much over a tractor-like puttering. Never had to either. Mind you, from the sound eminating from underneath me I was quite concerned enough about one of the pistons flying up to meet me in the wedding tackle without further encouraging the situation. I did try to get the throttle all the way open in second, but shat myself. Clearly something best left for a nice quiet Wairarapa and a tuesday afternoon. The gearbox, despite moving up and particularly down with a loud "CLUNK" is light and the clutch was a marvel. Finding neutral was a bitch, but I guess it's one of those things you'd get used to.
Handling is weird and good. My first left I ran wide, but after a while I realised that all you need to do is counter steer in as much lean as you want and just, kinda, go with it. It's not as stupendously stable as the Daytona 675 but despite it's size I'd say that it was more willing to tip and and really enjoyed left/right/left transitions through the twisties. Suspension on it's factory settings is quite stiff, but not problematically so. The brakes are monster, you have to be real careful when you first apply them *and* when getting back on your ordinary ride.
I can see that the Tuono is a great bike. It would make a great commuter (believe it or not), could cover vast number of motorway KM's without hardly noticing and can more than hold it's own on the track. But the truth is that it just left me feeling a little flat. I think this is a combination of the V-twin rumble never needing to leave "tractor" territory, and the vast altitude from which the Tuono is piloted. I'm sure that finding the experience relaxing was not, exactly, what Aprilia had in mind. YMMV.
Dave