Aprilia Atlantic 500
APRILIA ATLANTIC 500
RIDES 2K3
Riding the crest of a wave
BRIAN CATTERSON
EVER THINK MAYBE THE REASON SCOOTERS HAVEN’T REALLY caught on in the USA is that they’re too small? Who wants to plod along on a lowly 50cc two-stroke or 150cc four-stroke when there’s a two-ton SUV breathing down your neck?
Aprilia’s Atlantic 500 is one machine that might change America’s perception of scooters. One of the new breed of maxi-scooters, the Atlantic is powered by a liquid-cooled, sohc, four-valve Single that displaces 460cc and pumps out 26.5 rear-wheel horsepower. That’s way healthier than your garden-variety step-through!
In most ways, the Atlantic works like an ordinary scooter. Climb on, turn the ignition key, squeeze one of the two brake levers, then thumb the starter button, and the fuel-injected horizontal-Single burbles to life. There’s no choke lever to mess with, and engine response is crisp right from startup-something to remember when you forgetfully blip the throttle and the bike lurches forward!
Like most scooters, the Atlantic utilizes a Continuously Variable Transmission. You can feel this from a standstill, as the bike sits idle until the tach needle nears 2000 rpm, at which point it begins to creep forward. Once the throttle is fully open (a position in which you spend much of your riding time), the revs remain fairly constant even as speeds increase.
Unlike smaller scooters, the 500 has enough lunge at city speeds to just make that yellow light-most of the time. And it’s also reasonably competent on the freeway, where it happily keeps pace with fast-lane traffic, even if getting there isn’t always easy; acceleration above 70 mph-plus is positively glacial. But once there, you’ll revel in creature comforts such as the highly protective fairing and wide king/ queen saddle that’s cushy for rider and passenger alike.
In terms of handling, the Atlantic, rolling on fat 15-inch front and 14-inch rear wheels, is more motorcycle than
scooter. With a 61-inch wheelbase and 489-pound dry weight, it’s a big machine even by bike standards, which hinders inner-city maneuverability. Cornering clearance also could be better; we regularly pranged the chrome crash bars. But with its integral braking system (the left hand lever controls the rear disc brake as well as one of the two fronts), it stops nicely, even if we detected a bit of slop in our test unit’s steering head under hard braking.
In the time that we had it, the Atlantic quickly proved a staff favorite for errand running, thanks in part to its convenient glovebox and cavernous, underseat storage bay, both opened via the bike’s ignition key. But the best thing about the Atlantic might well be its practicality. When was the last time you rode back to the office with a Big Gulp between your knees?
If there’s a storm on the Atlantic’s horizon, it’s coming from twin (as in cylinder) fronts. Honda’s FSC600 Silver Wing and the forthcoming Suzuki Burgman 650 are both bigger, faster, more powerful and better equipped. If this trend persists, we may have to create yet another class. Mega-scooters, anyone?
