APRILIA TUONO OWNERS, others welcome

[Croak]

Originally Posted by Trans4ormer

Gentlemen...all the miles of smiles and cloud scraping wheelie comments are great to read about and it's wonderful to see folks enjoying the activity we all love so much, but my question is...how is the seating position/comfort for a 500 mile day in the twisties? How severe is the knee angle with the set back pegs? I'm 62 and have been riding for over 48 years, but my knees aren't happy being balled up in to tight a knot for long periods. TIA

Larry

Late August I took my '03 Tuono from Vancouver BC to San Diego and back along the coast doing 400ish miles per day and camping every night, a 3k trip. I got back to find a severance package waiting for me, so three days later I'm back on the bike, this time the intent was to romp around some great roads in Northern California, including Route 36. Another 3k mile trip, also doing about 400 a day and camping. Weather varied from 45f to 110f on both trips.

Ohlins front and rear made for a comfortable ride, a Sargent seat and good under britches made for a pleasant perch, Throttle Rocker and throttle lock made the slabby bits tolerable, adjustable Harris rear-sets in the low-forward position gave my 5'11 plenty of leg room, Ventura luggage held all my gear and clothing, Zumo 660 was my alternate entertainment when the road didn't suffice.

Biggest issue was fuel range, so I brought a couple 1L aluminum fuel bottles that I actually had to use a couple times when the expected station was closed or I was just having too much fun to worry about fuel conservation. :)

My other bike is a fully-farkled 955 Sprint ST, a great touring mount that I've but tens of thousands of miles on...which I find too boring to ride these days, the Tuono has spoiled me. Sure, it's a bit more comfortable and it can pack more stuff, but the comfort isn't outweighing the fun-factor on the Tuono, and a little re-investment in lighter/smaller camping gear means I don't need to carry as much stuff as I thought I did.

TL;DR: The Tuono is a pretty damned fun and surprisingly comfortable bike to tour on, with a little investment (Ventura luggage system is the tits, well worth the $600+ it cost me) and the realization that you'll be lucky to get 150 miles out of tank. On my last trips I was in areas civilized enough that this was mostly not an issue, but I'd be less assured taking

[anotherguy]

351 miles through the West Virginia mountains yesterday. In a group where 3 of the 6 bikes had way more power than the Tuono no one could even come close if I felt like it. Several times I started at the back of the group and picked them off with Rotax grunt exiting corners. There were a couple comments about me not hanging off which I replied to with "don't need to,I'm not riding that hard on the street." What a wonderful bike.

[D.T.]

I see that the Tuono V4R won best super bike of the year from Cycle World.

Better that the sportbikes? Wow, I wanna take a test ride on one.

[dwenglis]

[C/1/509]

Mine, a 2007, had a pretty snatchy throttle response prior to changing out the cans and having it changed to map 2. Now it's fine. Good power, great power delivery. Super stable at speed. Very stiff (but it's a sportsbike after all) suspension. Hard seat, but I have to refill at 100 miles anyway, so I get a break pretty often. It has the turning radius of a ten wheel truck. Great front brake, and no (I'm not kidding) rear brake - nada. Bleed it and it gets better, for a while. Zero issues with the bike - clean/lube/adjust the chain, change the oil, etc.

I would say that it's very good at what it's good at, and not so great at some other things. It's a pretty focused bike. Not a great tool for tootling around the city at low speeds. It has a sort of odd seating position - the pegs are pretty far back and high - just like the RSV, but the bars are higher and wider. I'm not knocking it, I like it and will likely be keeping mine forever. It's just not a "do everything" kind of bike - it's a sportsbike with no plastic and high, flat handlebars.

[Speed King]

[D.T.]

That blue one has to wake the neighbors...

[oalvarez]

such great motorcycles all....especially from a sport riding perspective.

[sportmotogear]

Not the best but most recent photo.

[dwenglis]

Originally Posted by D.T.

That blue one has to wake the neighbors...

It does and thats with the DB killers installed. I haven't even started it with them removed. I might like it too much to out them back in

[gecco]

just my answer ,I´m ducaholic

[bikefreak47]

I've owned my early second generation (gloss silver/grey/black) Tuono for 5 years now. Great ergos for my 6'1" frame, stout motor, great chassis, very good brakes. As delivered the early 531 mapping was lousy but updating it to the later 532 mapping, installing Map 2, setting CO, mounting a 15 tooth countershaft sprocket, AFE air filter, and uncorked Leo Vince slip-ons transformed the drivability and performance. What is really surprising is my MPG. Riding up at 7,000' on non ethanol fuel, correct tire pressures, well lubed and maintained chain, between 65 to 75 MPH with no traffic lights and few stop signs, my Tuono doesn't trip the low fuel light until the 150 mile mark. I can squeeze 3 gallons in at that point. My butt is ready for a break by then though.

[CafeRacer]

Originally Posted by sportmotogear

Not the best but most recent photo.

[optimum_malarky]

Which would you choose:

2005 Tuono R with pipe in good condition

or

2007 Tuono with pipe in good condition

Both look to be clean bikes from the pictures. The 2007 has about 18K on it, and I don't know the mileage on the 2005. Right now I am thinking the 2007 might be the better choice with the redesign, but the high spec suspension on the 2005 is mighty tempting.

Thoughts? Experiences?

[sportmotogear]

Originally Posted by optimum_malarky

Which would you choose:

2005 Tuono R with pipe in good condition

or

2007 Tuono with pipe in good condition

Both look to be clean bikes from the pictures. The 2007 has about 18K on it, and I don't know the mileage on the 2005. Right now I am thinking the 2007 might be the better choice with the redesign, but the high spec suspension on the 2005 is mighty tempting.

Thoughts? Experiences?

Depends on when the 2007 was produced as well. Does have the 139HP or 132HP motor? Color scheme is the easiest way to tell. Long thread on this on AF1.

That may make the decision easier.