Aprilia Tuono

APRILIA TUONO

RIDES 2K3

Fewer bills, same buzz

BRUNO DE PRATO

APRILIA IS A BIG COMPANY THAT TARGETS LARGE-VOLUME production-350,000 scooters per year, for example-so highly sophisticated bikes built in small batches don’t do much for the all-important bottom line. Unless they spawn a spin-off, that is.

Such is the case with the RSV Mille-based Tuono R. Unveiled at the 2001 Bologna Motor Show, the bike was test balloon for the ever-evolving streetfighter market. Show-goers went ape for the mix of high-tech and naked styling, and Aprilia punched the button for 200 units to be made available worldwide. Now, a less costly model based on the same concept has been introduced.

The Tuono fundamentally duplicates the Tuono R, albeit with lower-spec components and materials. The engine was downgraded from Mille R tune (115 horsepower and 72 footpounds of torque) to that of the standard Mille (111 bhp and 68 ft.-lbs.). A 43mm inverted Showa fork and Boge shock replace the R-model’s Öhlins components. Plastic bodywork substitutes for carbon-fiber, cast-aluminum wheels for forged. Standard Brembo four-piston front brakes and stainless rotors are used instead of the earlier quad-pad pinchers and racing floaters. These changes reduced costs significantly, allowing the Tuono to retail for $11,999, a whopping $5300 less than the R. And should you want to more closely replicate the R, Aprilia will sell an assortment of accessories, including the Öhlins shock, carbon-fiber body parts, freerflowing exhaust and lightweight hardware.

Despite following the same basic philosophical approach to back-to-basics motorcycling, the Tuono clearly has a different look. Aprilia’s stylists opted to not duplicate the elegant gold-and-matte-black graphics of the R, instead developing two more understated combinations based on the “bronze-metallic” paint that is used on the frame, swingarm and right case cover. That same paint also serves as an accent on the pewter gray or red bodywork.

My introduction to the Tuono came in two parts: at Estoril in Portugal and on the roads nearby the racetrack. The Tuono’s fork and shock may be adjustable for compression and rebound damping, plus spring preload, just like the Öhlins components, but they don’t perform as well on the track, with more pronounced front-end dive under braking and less control over bumpy patches that fine-tuning could not completely erase. Nonetheless, knee-dragging cornering speeds were the order of the day, even in the damp conditions that greeted journalists early in the morning. On the street, the Tuono is perfectly composed, with a strong, responsive engine and an exceptionally agile chassis. All tolled, then, the admittedly more pedestrian Tuono is still in a class of its own. Not only does it stand up to the performance expectations established by the limited-edition Rmodel, it betters it big-time on price. □