Mine that I sold recently...
Absolutely epic bike! There's not a lot to say about it other than it will blow your mind, as an overall package it's the cream of the super naked crop for a reason...
But I am very keen to get a test ride on the MT10!!
Go in open minded... The engine is superb. The rest is a mix from "mildly disappointing" to "really, they thought that would do?"... I had one for 7 months, did 4800 miles on it in that time. Never tired of cracking the throttle open on it, got tired of the crap factory suspension (even properly setup, it's shocking how bad the rear shock is in particular), the sub par brakes, the stock seat was a plank, the "comfort" seat was only mildly more comfortable, the build quality was terrible (mine went back to the dealer 4 times in 7 months for warranty jobs! Worst of which was the main coolant pipe, not hose, let go dumping the entire engine coolant onto the road on a hot day!), the tank range was dire (the onboard MPG calculator is at optimistic at best, expect to put 14L in after 100 miles, even taking it easy), the bolt upright riding position (more upright than most adventure bikes!) means you're incredibly prone, the paint didn't want to stay on the wheels, the exhaust was rusting badly in places etc etc... All on a low mileage, nearly new bike.
I was glad to get shot of it in the end!
A mate of mine had one, stupidly fast, horribly uncomfortable for any length of time. It ate its gearbox.
Most comfy of the super nakeds by some stretch I'd say... I picked mine up just outside of Glasgow, 750 miles over 3 days later (took the very long way home
) and I had far less aches and pains than on most other bikes I've owned.
Crazy quick though indeed! And especially on the latest 21on bikes, the electronic Ohlins on the factory models is something else... Absolute magic carpet ride, I've owned and ridden many bikes with top class suspension but this was a step above!
Griff from AP workshops. Seems to be the fella when it comes to Aprillia. Whether he can get spares when others can't I've no idea but he seems to know his onions about them. Seems like a nice bloke from his Youtube channel.
Griff's a great guy, lucky enough to call him a mate. I met him when I got into Aprilia's about 5yrs ago, the knowledge and experience of the guy is unsurpassed. He's the most genuine bloke I know, couldn't tell a lie if his life depended on it. Give him a call for some advice. If he says he can get the spares, he can get the spares. The only thing I will caveat is that he has become a victim of his own success, he's a total workaholic and is often booked up solidly for months. If you want Griff's time on your bike, you need to plan well in advance most of the time.
This is Griff's mini review of the 21 Tuono V4 Factory... It's me he name checks when talking about the race map when he gets on the bike. He was originally gonna borrow my bike for this review, but another customer had his bike in for a service sooner than I could get mine to him anyway so he just took that one out...
I know two dealers that used to sell Aprillias, neither of them have good things to say about Aprillia
My experience of the Piaggio network is that they are an absolute bunch of halfwits... I won't speak for Griff, but there's a reason why he's so busy and most people won't take their bikes back to the supplying dealerships for any work. To be fair, my experience of motorcycle dealerships full stop isn't very good at all, there's only a couple that I would genuinely trust regardless of brand, I would far rather take my bike to a highly experienced specialist than I would do to a franchised dealer who've put the young lad on £18k a year who only did his training the other week to work on my bike (yet charge in the region of £100 an hour for his "experience"). I've turned up @ Griff's for a cuppa tea on my way home, and ended up helping him rebuild an engine as he talked me through exactly what we were doing at every step and why we were doing it!
He swapped it for a 1290 Superduke
Wary that I might sound like a relentless Aprilia fanboi, I'm also a big fan of KTM... The Gen 3 Superduke R is a superb bike, I had a Gen1 Superduke GT that was a big step up from the MT-10 it replaced, got a 21 plate 1290 Super Adventure right now, and still have my original RC8 (although that's going up for sale imminently). KTM's aren't without their foibles too of course, but the only thing I missed stepping off the MT-10 onto a 1290 Superduke GT was the engine noise, everything else was so much better on the KTM.
As to why I sold my Tuono...? Well I hadn't planned on keeping it long in the first place (timing), got offered it at a price I couldn't say no to, didn't need the cash for anything else for a few months, so took the opportunity to get it whilst I could, put 1800 miles on it in 3 months, sold it for a profit and had some real experiences on it!
I've had to put £40k in the bank towards a house move (sold my car as well as the Tuono), but when that's all done no doubt I'll get another Tuono V4 Factory I'm sure...
