2012 Tuono V4 APRC Ride Review and Porn

Hellgate

Hellgate

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I went for a short ride tonight, about 30 miles. Mainly twisty roads and a 65mph four lane road with a number lights. These were great roads as you need to brake a lot, the speed of the motor varies, lots of transmission changes, lots of trailing throttle, and chances to accelerate frequently.

The bike is a dream, it just works correctly. Smooth, buckets of power, killer brakes, and a controlled but responsive suspension.

Today we set up the traction control, wheelie control, and launch control. This thing is SO powerful I was afraid to try it out. This thing hits so hard. I think I need velcro for the saddle!

The handling is amazing, it just responds, no wait, no twist from the chassis, if just goes. Because it was dark I don't hit the corners however I can tell this bike will rip and beg to be ridden harder and harder, it is so composed.

The brakes are killer, one finger, outstanding feel and modulation. Much better than the R1 set up on the FZ.

Fuel mileage was 31, not bad for squiding around.

The ergos are very comfortable, it has a very nice, up right position, but your legs are in a sport bike position. I'll need to add Stomp Grip to help with support during braking. The saddle is very firm, how a German car seat is compared to an American car. It needs to "season" a little. So far I like the handlebar position. I need to put some longer freeway slab on it to know if I want to got lower and forward. Another thing I noticed is how narrow it is compared to the FZ. On the FZ I always felt my feet were too far apart. On this bike the spacing is very natural.

Here's a few close up photos. I am very impressed with the quality of the materials, and the attention to detail. There are QA/QC yellow marks on almost every bolt.

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Bogie said:
Very nice!! Congrats on the new ride and look forward to some sound clips of that V4!! :D
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OH, the SOUND! How could I forget, :doh2: this the BEST sound stock motorcycle exhaust I've ever heard! It is full, somewhat loud, and bangs during a blip down shift. With the Arrow exhaust with no db killer it can be as loud as a Harley, only it goes FAST! I'll try to get some sound tape tomorrow. I've go an old school MiniDV camcorder that has 24 bit sound. Sounds great.
 
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Thanks for making me dream again Pete. Just after I got REALLY comfortable with the FZ1 and started the suspension... BANG! Out with the Tuono. You b@stard! :D

Seriously, very impressive ride out of the crate and you've got the best of most everything without having to mod her. Congrats! Well done Top!
 
ditto on the b@stard thing! :wilynily: Congrats on the awesome new ride. I can't think of a bike I'd like more.

So where is the video!?! We all know porn is better in video form! :popcorn:
 
So what you're saying is...

It's a beautiful, sexy, fast, great handling bike with fantastic brakes and a great seat and a comfortable position and great headlights and great economy if you don't thrash it?

If the maintenance is reasonable, I question why I wouldn't get one
 
Dustin said:
So what you're saying is...

It's a beautiful, sexy, fast, great handling bike with fantastic brakes and a great seat and a comfortable position and great headlights and great economy if you don't thrash it?

If the maintenance is reasonable, I question why I wouldn't get one
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you forgot the great sound
 
Dustin said:
So what you're saying is...

It's a beautiful, sexy, fast, great handling bike with fantastic brakes and a great seat and a comfortable position and great headlights and great economy if you don't thrash it?

If the maintenance is reasonable, I question why I wouldn't get one
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Exactly. The valvue check is every 15,000 miles, shim under bucket. The cost at the dealer is about $350.

Once the get some tuning time in this year they think they will be able to 40 mpg out of her.

I'm actually questioning if I need the exhaust, the sound is that good. And the stock muffler actually looks pretty good too.
 
FZ1inNH said:
Thanks for making me dream again Pete. Just after I got REALLY comfortable with the FZ1 and started the suspension... BANG! Out with the Tuono. You b@stard! :D

Seriously, very impressive ride out of the crate and you've got the best of most everything without having to mod her. Congrats! Well done Top!
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Thanks Eric. What really impressed me was the high level of parts. Brembo brakes, stainless steel brake lines, Pirelli Corse Rossa tires, a fully adjustable suspension, a very good quality saddles, fully electronics package, and a zillion bits of data displayed on the dash. It also has a race display on the dash with lap timer, etc. All of the setting are easily controlled through the dash.

So while the price is expensive up front, the value is very good as there really isn't anything to mod.

I'm also questioning if I need the race flash. Rideability is better, but I was really impressed with it last night.
 
Every magazine considers it the new gold standard for nakeds. The only detriment is the lower fuel mileage, but anybody that purchases a Tuono is not looking that closely. There is a military bike made from a KLR with a British twin diesel that gets 100 mpg which should be offered to the public, but obviously in a completely different market segment.
 
2wheelMax said:
Every magazine considers it the new gold standard for nakeds. The only detriment is the lower fuel mileage, but anybody that purchases a Tuono is not looking that closely. There is a military bike made from a KLR with a British twin diesel that gets 100 mpg which should be offered to the public, but obviously in a completely different market segment.
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I thought people were seeing upwards of 40MPG when being conservative?
 
Hellgate said:
So while the price is expensive up front, the value is very good as there really isn't anything to mod.
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This is the key... When you take a bone stock brand new FZ1 and start adding all these possible bits to it, the price isn't really THAT far off and you couldn't get the FZ1 close enough to compare to this bike because it simply cannot reach that far ahead for power, torque and features. This Tuono really does have it all and I just scratch my head wondering what you could possibly want to do to it. Anyone? What mod *could* you do?

Aprilia has come a long way. I almost bought the Shiver back when I sold my 2005 FZ6 but I was shied away because the Shiver was too new and had bugs plus at that time, Aprilia's rep was just OK... resale values never held up. But over the last 5 years, they've stepped up a great deal and when you stop and think about this particular bike? Who gives two sh*ts about resale value? Why would you want anything else? :tup:
 
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