Test rode the new Aprilia Tuono last friday.....

[todd303]

Aprilia brought a truck to town with maybe 5 Mille's, 2 Tuono's, a Falco and a couple of Futura's, for test rides on Friday and Saturday. I skipped out on work Friday afternoon to take one for a test ride.

It was a group ride led by someone from the dealership, about half of it on residential streets and half on semi-open roads--about a 40 minute ride, total. I chose the tuono to ride over the Mille, to try something different (the upright riding position, no fairing, etc.) Some thoughts:

Good:
-VERY smooth engine. like a sewing machine (really needs a set of pipes)
-the motor has tons of power, especially in the mid-range, and you can pull the front wheel up effortlessly.
-upright seating position makes it comfortable in traffic and on stop-and-go residential stuff
-very narrow and light--like riding an xl650 or something much smaller than a liter bike
-quality look to the components

Bad:
-stupid looking bike--the TL's are so much better looking that you can't even compare
-not much more power than my TLS. The tl has more than I can handle anyway
--Guages are hard to read and look tacky
--Soft suspension set-up. Alghough smooth riding around town, it wallowed quite a bit when we picked up the pace on some 80 mph sweepers. I was not comfortable, between the upright seating position and the wallowing rear-end. Probably just me, but I can corner with a lot more confidence on my TL.
-$12,000 for something I don't think is an upgrade from my TLS.

I should have ridden the Mille......I'll pass on the Tuono.

[TLSBill]

But it's a priller.. and we have lowly TL's.. You're supposed to like it better!

[kevh]

a couple of months ago i took a friends mille on a spirited ride through some twisties and really wasnt too impressed. it had more top end than my tls and a real nice mid range, but was missing that "woohoo" punch tht we get down low and through the midrange. i also hated the hydraulic clutch and the seat was total crap. bike felt real wide too. brakes were nice, but not much better than my tls with 6 pots/ss lines/ebc pads. bah, i guess i am just spoiled

[todd303]

Yeah, you make a couple of points that I forgot:

-The brakes on the Tuono are incredible! you can haul it down with two fingers no problem, real quick.

-The hydraulic clutch sucks. My hand was ready to fall off after 10 minutes of stop-and-go driving.

and I agree, the TLS motor has better punch below 4,000 rpm. Once you look at the pros and cons of the Tuono, all wrapped up in a truly ugly bike, I see no reason to pick it over a TL.

[tl1ks]

I rode my buddies aprillia with the factory stage one kit, and a 2into2 titanium high mount... from arrow..

I LIKED IT..

I have three buddies with mille's but this one is the nicest.. all the suspension has been reworked by Pro Circut..

It's not the R model, but had the OZ racing rims..

I felt like my TLS/R had more midrange punch.. and I still think that mine's pushing more to the rear..

His felt like a scalple though.. super sharp.. focused.. much nicer feel for brakes and drive train.. less slop..

He did comment that he almost went over the handlebars with my brakes though..

he grabbed a handful, and lobbed up on the front tire (accidently) after we were sampling wheelie tendencies..

I'm liking dougs new master cylinders..


OVERALL IMPRESSION.. that bike was sweet.. more of a track tool (IMO) than the S or the R.. but even with the stage 1 kit.. I felt like we're pushing more torque and HP.. but talk is cheap.. dyno's don't lie..

[Jimmy_uk_tlr]

I must disagree on the looks of tuono - I love it. although i love my tiller, i am also a big fan of the whole streetfighter scene and love naked / half faired bikes. I think everything about the tuono's appearance is well sexy !! just my opinion

[todd303]

I appreciate your opinion...I like the naked and half-faired bikes as well. That's why I chose the TLS, IMO one of the top 5 looking bikes. To me, though, the Tuono just doesn't work. It has a very busy look to it, like it was slapped together from a spare-parts bin. What it has going for it is that monster of a motor.

the Mille is a great looking bike, although for a full faired bike I still prefer the TLR.

[horkn]

i like the idea of the tuono, but i have not ridden any aprilia yet. theres a dealer 5 minutes north of me, but i seem to never test ride one. maybe cause i have no money for that bike now, that i feel like i need to wait for demo days when they let them out to anyone without hassle. but i'm always out of tow when they do these demo days...that and the fact that the last day i demo'd something i ended up buying a 400 dollar wakeboard (no bindings, just the board, the bindings were another 300 dollars). really sealed the deal when they towed me right then and there bihind thier boat,,,,,,

[todd303]

Yeah, I'm not going to be buying a new bike anytime soon either. I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about re: the Aprilias. If I did get another bike, I'd probably look at a Triumph Daytona, but I haven't ridden one of those yet, so hard to say until you try it. If the TLS ever crapped out, I would probably end up on TLR.

[horkn]

funny thing, i almost bought a speed trip instead of the tls. verytrick bike 1400 dollar undertail exhaust, sounded like a jet fighter. sweet sweet bike, but 26000miles, and the tl had 6k on her..... but if the tl ever pootered out, TLR or daytona would find its way home, after trying the tuono, or mille of fucking course..

[PutteLiten]

Originally posted by horkn
funny thing, i almost bought a speed trip instead of the tls. verytrick bike 1400 dollar undertail exhaust, sounded like a jet fighter. sweet sweet bike, but 26000miles, and the tl had 6k on her..... but if the tl ever pootered out, TLR or daytona would find its way home, after trying the tuono, or mille of fucking course..

I almost bought a speed 3 instead of my Bulldog. Good thing I didn´t, if I had, I would never have bought the TLR!
And, buying the TLR was probably one of the bet thing I have done the last 10 years!
Love that bike!

(Though she´s topless right now, looks really funny without fairngs and front lamp - nooo, not legal, but what don´t you do to ride some...)

[Jimmy_uk_tlr]

Woohoo - Triumph all the way - BUY BRITISH !!!!

[Stabber]

He did comment that he almost went over the handlebars with my brakes though..

What kind of brake setup are you running. I'm getting ready to but ss lines and hh pads but wondering if I should get the 6 pots also I like the aprillias myself everyone I have seen in person is top notch on fit and finish. Wouldnt mind having a Futura for a st bike but then I would have to consider the FJR1300 also. I like the aprillias better than the Ducs