2007.5 Aprilia Tuono

[xbud]

 I have been eyeing the Aprilia Tuono for some time. I like the looks especially with an Ermax Windscreen, Akropovic Titanium Exhaust, and bar end mirrors. It has a more upright seating position than the Ducati ST4 I currently ride. The wife does'nt ride with me anymore and I never have the oppertunity for overnight trips so the ST4 is not utilized as much as I would like....I guess my question is, is the Tuono worth the switch?

 Also keep in mind I can get a smoking deal on the 2007.5 leftover in the Dream Blue and Aprilia still has the 6.9% finincing until 06/30/08

[MisterSmooth]

In my garage, the 2007 Tuono has made my BMW R1100S obsolete.  I'd rather tour on the Tuono.  

And for short hops, it's just fine two-up.  My 14 year old and I just got back from riding it to the video store.

Does that help?




Tuono lounging around in rural Oregon.

[kurtw]

When I bought my 04 Tuono, I was in the  same boat with my Sprint ST. Not enough touring to justify the extra 100+ pounds of bike.

The Tuono makes a fine short trip tourer.

Norcal, en-route to STN WCRM IV - loaded with camping gear even...



Through eastern WA from Grand Coulee Dam last year



And what makes the Touno... the same trip, the day before meeting up with the rest of the STN crew...PIR



Just note that when changing your oil after a track day and before a long trip, it's tough to judge oil level when in a rush...Mr Smooth has that picture I think... (operation-drain-some-oil atop windy ridge)

Is it worth the switch? It depends. I still have my ST but it sadly sees more Stabil and trickle charging than road miles.

[xbud]

 That helps a great deal, I just can't see the need for the Sport Touring bike anymore.....I love the pics. I was thinking the same thing with the soft side bags Kurt, those look great by the way. How is the stock seat for touring?? What are the maintenance intervals on the valve adjustment?? I appreciate the feedback.

[Mookie]

If the stock seat was anything like my Falco's it's not bad for a stock sport bike. The Sargent aftermarket seat is quite nice btw.

12k per valve check though I've never actually heard of anyone ever needing to actually have them adjusted.  Changing the oil is kind of a convoluted process, but it is a dry sump motor so I suppose you get some plusses and some minuses with that (but on a bike so easy to wheelie, dry sump is good  ).

I'd definitely vote to make the switch if you can get a good deal.  The only weak(ish) part of a stock Tuono is the rear shock.  If you can budget in for a fully adjustable fancy shock, or just a stock Mille shock, you'll be in business.

[kurtw]

 That helps a great deal, I just can't see the need for the Sport Touring bike anymore.....I love the pics. I was thinking the same thing with the soft side bags Kurt, those look great by the way. How is the stock seat for touring?? What are the maintenance intervals on the valve adjustment?? I appreciate the feedback.

The stock seat is great. Firm, broad, and comfortable for me. Ergos are really good though I wish I had more room to adjust bar position. You might have that with the smaller front fairing. The windscreen, might be a comfort issue if you are cruising above 75 for extended periods. Knees might be an issue as the pegs put your legs in a pretty sporty position (fixable with adjustable pegs if so).

10k (12k? can't remember) valve checks, rarely need adjustment.

[kurtw]

I mentioned a few of the annoyances about touring on the Tuono in atypical's which bike thread. It's not built to be a tourer so there are bound to be some niggles.

You may need to top off oil between oil changes (it blows some off into the airbox via the breather and probably burns a little bit). The rear brake is a design issue, developing air bubbles in the caliper due to the caliper being mounted higher than the master cyclinder (by the end of a tour, I may feel my rear brake fading). It's not hard to bleed if you dismount the caliper and bleed from a few different positions.

Reliability of the rotax engine is very good. It's an amazing package.

[xbud]

 Thanks Kurt, Mookie, and MisterSmooth, I have been following along on the AF1 Forum for info as well....I appreciate the responses.

[Bunbun]

I got to swap bikes with a friend that owned a tuono.  Rode it for about 100 miles and absolutely loved it.  One of the most memorable times was passing a truck and nailing the throttle at 40-50ish and having the front wheel pop up without effort.  Freakin' awesome bike. Don't think I'd want to pull a 5-600 mile day on it, but as a canyon carver or general purpose bike, I'd definitely get one.

Bun

[MisterSmooth]

I got to swap bikes with a friend that owned a tuono.  Rode it for about 100 miles and absolutely loved it.  One of the most memorable times was passing a truck and nailing the throttle at 40-50ish and having the front wheel pop up without effort.  Freakin' awesome bike. Don't think I'd want to pull a 5-600 mile day on it, but as a canyon carver or general purpose bike, I'd definitely get one.

Bun

I've done multiple 480 mile days on mine (although not back to back; longest back to back was 480 followed by about 350).  With the stock seat.

It was fine.  I think my max range on the Tuono is about that, though, about 500 miles.  After that it would seem like work, and that's no good.

At my age 500 miles in a day on a motorbike is enough anyway...

[Dan K]

Always wanted one, and a buddy bought a blue and white 2007.5.  Great bike.  With the upgraded exhaust and remapped injection, it is more bike than anyone would need, or maybe even want.

BUT - can they be fitted with hard luggage without a bunch of custom fabrication?  I've looked a bit, and while I've seen soft bags, I'd be using it as a daily commuter and a decent sized top case would be a necessity.

Anyone familiar with a Tuono having hard bags?  What about first generation Tuono?

Very curious - may go shopping.  Was going to add a cruiser, but if the Tuono can do it, I may sell the FZ1 and become an Aprilia man.

- Dan

[fallzboater]

You may need to top off oil between oil changes (it blows some off into the airbox via the breather and probably burns a little bit). The rear brake is a design issue, developing air bubbles in the caliper due to the caliper being mounted higher than the master cyclinder (by the end of a tour, I may feel my rear brake fading). It's not hard to bleed if you dismount the caliper and bleed from a few different positions.

Very easy to overfill the oil reservoir.  The level will change quite a bit while running, due to transfer between the reservoir and sump.  If there's any oil visible in the sight tube with the motor off, I don't add more.  If you run the level higher, I think it mostly goes into the airbox.

The easy solution to the rear brake is to forget about it.  I only ever use it in the wet.  The twin has tons of engine braking compared with most other bikes.  I suppose with a pillion or loaded rear bags the rear brake might be a bit more useful.

My only issue with long rides is the short seat-peg distance, and minimal wind protection (great in summer).  

[fallzboater]

BUT - can they be fitted with hard luggage without a bunch of custom fabrication?  I've looked a bit, and while I've seen soft bags, I'd be using it as a daily commuter and a decent sized top case would be a necessity.

I have a huge Marsee (old model) strap-on tank bag on mine, and I sometimes also use a courier bag.  There are plenty of tail bags available, and some are probably waterproof.  If I really wanted a hard case in the rear, I think I'd mount a Pelican case to the pillion saddle.  Probably plenty secure if you don't go too large, and easy to pop on and off.  

There are also rack options available.
http://www.revsperformance.com/renntec/sports_racks.htm

[fallzboater]

The easy solution to the rear brake is to forget about it.

I found the better, and easy enough, solution here (see posts #6, 7, 8):
http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15500

I just bled my rear caliper using the two positions shown (next two posts in thread) and went from 1 1/8" of lever travel (measured at the brake light switch), down to 1/4".  The only other thing I did was wrap a rag around the mc banjo and crack the bolt while pressing the lever to ensure there wasn't any air trapped at that point (I don't think there was).  Magic.

The only problem is that now I have to learn how to use the rear brake again, and I may actually have to buy rear pads.

[kurtw]

I found the better, and easy enough, solution here (see posts #6, 7, 8):
http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15500

I just bled my rear caliper using the two positions shown (next two posts in thread) and went from 1 1/8" of lever travel (measured at the brake light switch), down to 1/4".  The only other thing I did was wrap a rag around the mc banjo and crack the bolt while pressing the lever to ensure there wasn't any air trapped at that point (I don't think there was).  Magic.

Yep, that's exactly what I've been doing for a while. That thread is the gospel.
It works like a charm. I just need to remember to make it part of my prep before long trips.

[fallzboater]

Yep, that's exactly what I've been doing for a while. That thread is the gospel.
It works like a charm. I just need to remember to make it part of my prep before long trips.

How often do you have to re-bleed?  It seems like if you're careful not to get air in the system when you flush/change the fluid, you shouldn't have to take the caliper back off for quite a while.

[MisterSmooth]

I have a huge Marsee (old model) strap-on tank bag on mine, and I sometimes also use a courier bag.  There are plenty of tail bags available, and some are probably waterproof.  If I really wanted a hard case in the rear, I think I'd mount a Pelican case to the pillion saddle.  Probably plenty secure if you don't go too large, and easy to pop on and off.  

There are also rack options available.

How about one of these?  My personal favorite.

[kurtw]

How often do you have to re-bleed?  It seems like if you're careful not to get air in the system when you flush/change the fluid, you shouldn't have to take the caliper back off for quite a while.

I've only had to do it a few times, but it always seems to accumulate air when I go for a trip...

[Dave the slave]

Didn't want to start a whole new topic for this....  But I kinda wanted to revive this one  

I'd like some more info and feedback on the 2007.5 and newer Tuonos, I've found one for what I THINK is a good deal.  

It's a 2007 with 261 miles on it for about $8500.  Yes that is 261 miles!  Would there be any reason to be extra cautious? Was there anything funky with any 2007.5 bikes?

I really want something new and different (I started a thread about ducatis too -> http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,32905.0.html) and the Aprilia ticks the right boxes too.  

[MisterSmooth]

There's nothing to look for on a 2007 Tuono that you wouldn't look for on any latest generation Aprilia.

And 8500 bones is a fair deal; but I bet he'd take $8,000.  You can buy a brand new one (a leftover) from Moto International in Seattle for $9,500.

If you buy it, ping me and I'll give you the rundown on the most useful mods.  I'm not a pipe and chip guy (the stock T makes plenty of power) but for instance you'll want a 15 tooth front sprocket on it.  Cheap and actually the way the factory wanted to ship them but couldn't for EPA reasons.


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