Thinking of buying an Aprilia Futura

[Brian_McEnulty]

Hey guys I'm in the process of selling my Katana at the moment and have found a great deal on a 2002 Aprilia Futura. It has a Staintune exhaust system, new chain and sprockets as well as some recent maintenance. From what I've read so far this is a great comfortable bike but also reliable. Can any of you with experience with the Futura chime in and let me know your opinion? I love the way this bike looks, similar to an F-117 or something. My only concerns with the bike is I've read it's somewhat tall, and me being 5'10" with a 32" inseam I'm not sure how I'd fit on. How is the bike for comfort and touring? I plan on a few trips with my girlfriend soon once the good weather comes back. She is 5'9" by the way, how's the legroom for the passenger? Thanks guys

[Jeff N]

She is 5'9" by the way, how's the legroom for the passenger? Thanks guys

We're gonna need pics.

Seriously now.

This pic



tells me that the Futura has passenger pegs with similar placement as my Bandit 1200. My wife stands 5' 7" and she can't stand much more than an hour on the bike.

[Baz]

From the looks of things, your would be fine, wifey maybe not so much.

[Brian_McEnulty]

Well right now on my Katana 600 she seems to be fine with the leg room, just not so much the angle of the seat and the seat itself. I'm 20 and she's 18 so we can handle a bit of a scrunch on the bike but I just want to make sure she'll have at least the same leg room as the Katana basically.

[MisterSmooth]

BIKE magazine (UK) rates the passenger seat as one of the best.  They say it's one of the top two-up bikes that isn't a tourer.  Legroom?  I dunno.  At 5' 10" you should fit the Futura just fine; the issue would be if you were tall.  

I've never ridden a Futura, but I've ridden a couple of Tuonos and a Mille and the V-twin engine is a peach.


Another cool thing about riding a Futura, it will be the only one in town.


Here's a Futura in its native habitat just south of Varenna, Italy.

[Brian_McEnulty]

That looks sweet! And my issue for legroom is if the bike is too tall for me or not, and for the passenger if it's tall enough.

[sleazy rider]

I've ridden one with my 30" inseam and had no issues with flat footing it, knees bent even.  I was considering one, but went with a Triumph instead.  I do like the angular look on 'em.

[phoenix]

That looks sweet! And my issue for legroom is if the bike is too tall for me or not, and for the passenger if it's tall enough.

my opinion - aside from full on touring bikes, there are few (if any) bikes that are truely passenger friendly unless the passenger is under 5 feet tall. Some people can put up with that riding position for several hours though. I guess ya do what ya hafta.

[Snowbird]

The Futura still represents the high water mark of sport-tourers across every category I can think of including: the seat, the seating position for rider and passenger, reliability*, hard bag design, styling, performance and handling combination, etc.

* If you are reluctant or unable to service your own bike by following a manual and/or seeking assistance from the Futura section of www.apriliaforum.com OR don't happen to live near one of a handful of motivated Aprilia dealers in the US, then stay away. Some bikes have exhibited vexing problems that have now been fully investigated and solved by owners, but many dealers are still stumped or completely inept.

$4k is tops for a stocker. Don't buy one someone has butchered the mirrors off, don't fall for one that someone claims is worth extra $$ because they "improved" the bike with lots of add ons... those add ons are only worth money to the guy who installed them, unless he/she just happens to be your motorcycling clone.

[Playinthestreet]

I had an opportunity to ride a Futura from Phoenix to St Louis several years ago.  It was, by far, the most comfortable sport-touring bike I've ever ridden.  I'm 5'10" w a 31" inseam.  One of the motorcycle mags has a dimension comparison chart and the big difference between the Futura and others is the distance from the seat to the peg.  The Futura is a couple of inches greater and, for an old guy, kept my hips from getting sore.  A 4 gallon +/- tank and fuel mileage in the 38-40mpg range make for frequent gas stops.  1 less tooth on the countershaft sprocket and bar risers and "Bob's your Uncle".

FWIW, NADA (which is what the dealers/lenders use) doesn't list Aprilas.  KBB is way over the top, as most always, with a 2002 at $6600.

[BizJetGuy]

It's a great bike - a mileage eater.  Primarily because of the comfort and reliability.  Get used to feeling fresh as a daisy at gas/food stops while your riding mates are stretching out the aches and pains.

My wife is very comfortable on the back at 5'9" also.  It's a vast improvement (driver and pillion) over my last bike - CBR 929 - in both pillion riding position and seat comfort.  The comfy seat is what legends are made of.  No need to search for aftermarket alternatives as Aprilia got this one spot on.

The v-twin is bulletproof and many owners are sporting tens of thousands of trouble-free miles.  Aftermarket parts are starting to dwindle so it sounds as if this one is well-equipped.

Panniers are excellent in design and function.  It takes about 2 seconds to remove or install them and the scoot looks great with or without them.  A full-faced helmet can fit inside each one easily.

As suggested in an earlier post, check apriliaforum.com for a few issues that can be resolved quite easily in your own garage, if the PO did not address them already.  Parts availability, while not as easy as jogging down to the local Metric shop, is acceptable.  There are a few dealers (primarily the one that sponsors apriliaforum) that support the owners of these great bikes with very high levels of service.  Most parts, if not in stock at the dealer, are stateside at least and can be delivered within a few days.  This bike is also easy to wrench on in your own garage.

There is an exclusivity factor with this bike.  Be ready to answer a lot of questions.

This bike is the best kept secret on the street.  Aprilia really hit the mark on this one and it's a crying shame that they didn't sell better.  I can think of no other replacement currently on the market.  I guess I'll have to wait and see if the rumors play out and a 1200cc version is released in the next few years.

I love mine and will keep her until the wheels fall off  

[Lawn Dart]

Loved the bike and loved the test ride I had on one.  A really great bike that got axed from the running from one of my purchasing decisions because it lacked ABS.

Enjoy it!

[bikerfish1100]

I ran some demo rides for Aprilia a few years ago ("what, you'll PAY me to ride your bikes for a weekend? and all i gota do is let some other yucks keep up with me? Coool!!)- the Futura was a very sweet ride, might even make my short list for a replacement (if i was looking, but I'm not). a bit heavy at a standstill, but very planted at speed. good handling, great motor, nice stock suspension (Wilbers make a big improvement, so I'm told). Lots of community support, which is great, cuz dealers are not all that plentiful. I'd be slightly concerned about parts availability, but they do seem pretty bullet-proof, so not a major concern. I'm 5'10", and a touch north of 50 yo, and it felt just dandy to me.

[fxrbill]

There is an 01 on the Advrider board right now for $3,500.

[FutRider]

Ditto the forum comment.  There are plenty of owners on there that are falling all over themselves (me included) to talk up the finer points of the Futura.  I have found nothing in the current offerings that appeal to me as much as that bike.  I have not had a pillion on the back, so I don't know what the comfort level is back there, but there are several of the forum members who rave about it.  Check it out.

[2cats]

I think everyone is giving a fair representation here, and I don't think I have anything to add, only to underscore.  Occassionally, a part will be unavailable, and some dealers are in name only.  It is fun to torture people in a group ride by continuing to hammer away in the lead when they are just dying to get off their bikes.

[Brian_McEnulty]

Thanks for all of the input guys, I'm very excited to get a Futura soon. The only thing preventing me from buying it now is I'd like to sell my bike first before I buy a new one. Could any of you guys that own a Futura post up a few pictures showing all of the info that is displayed on the dash setup as well as how the rear seat unlocks and opens up or anything else that would be interesting to see?

[xdbx]

this is the best I can do for dash layout



Your only options are on the right.  You've got 2 modes.  Normal mode, ie startup mode, you get a coolant temp on bottom and a gas gauge on top.  Push the mode button, and it'll switch to an outside temp on top and I forgot what on the bottom.  The ambient temp guage isnt very accurate near startup, but if allowed to settle, it is fairly accurate given bank signs i've seen throughout my 10,000 miles.  

As for the seat, the entire seat as you see it will come off.  Dont know what else to say about that.  here's a shot of it off from when I installed a set of taylormades





hope that helps.  They're great bikes, no doubt.  I'm your age and often find myself opposing views with the other members here because i'm not even out of my undergraduate work yet, however this bike is tits... and does what its advertised to do very well.  Looks damn find as well.  

[Sign Guy]

BUY ONE! You will love it to start and it only gets better! I've done 15K in the last 14 months and there are those on the aprilia forum with 60K plus who are still in honeymoon mode. The rotax motors are damn near bullet proof. I just checked my valves at 25K and they are from the factory spec and it is not unheard of them to go to 50K+ with no adjustment needed. No doubt that this bike is a best(not so)kept secret. To give you some idea of how comfortable this bike is I came off of a R1100RT and the RST makes the BMW feel like a combo of a torture device and a John Deer Tractor. In the first 36 hours I did 1100 miles getting it home. BTW, it is also a BLAST to ride. Go where ever the MTNS are on 2 wheels and then have fun!

[Brian_McEnulty]

Thanks for all the input, it's making me really pumped to get the bike. The good news is that I'm going down on Monday to go pick mine up! The bad is that I still haven't sold the Katana yet but I'm sure it'll sell soon