`06 - `07 Tuono Owners Poll

[WarBaby]

Now that you have the new Tuono, how do you really feel about it?

[FredE]

I could just go with "Superb", because that's the way I feel about the bike now...............BUT - Aprilia/Piaggio need to be taken to task for being unable to deliver a brand-new $13K bike that includes a functioning set of brakes. Unbelievable, really. The fueling issue (flat spot, lag, hesitation, whatever) at 3-4K rpm was also annoying, but is now a thing of the past with software version #266532, Map 2, airbox restrictor removed, Evoluzione air filter, throttle bodies synched, -1 countershaft sprocket, and Leo Vince Ti slip-ons. In all fairness, we probably ought to blame the world's enviro/technocrats for the fueling anomalies - rather than Aprilia/Piaggio. Oh, and that annoying horn/turn signal inversion.......rode my ZRX1200R to work today, and made more new friends with inadvertent horn honking. I've been riding the T7, and have gotten used to the "high beep/lo turn" arrangement. So I'm gonna choose "Excellent in spite of small quirks".

Yeah, I know...............pretty picky for a bike that kicks major a$$, takes names, and looks GOOD doing it. For the record - now that I've got it fettled pretty well, I rate the T7 (out of all the bikes I own/have owned) as the most satisfying and rewarding to hustle down a twisty road, the best sounding & looking, and the bike that gives me the most pride of ownership. A little bigger windscreen and a new saddle.............and it will be perfect (for me, that is).

[Maxacceleration]

So I'm gonna choose "Excellent in spite of small quirks".

Yeah, I know...............pretty picky for a bike that kicks major a$$, takes names, and looks GOOD doing it. For the record - now that I've got it fettled pretty well, I rate the T7 (out of all the bikes I own/have owned) as the most satisfying and rewarding to hustle down a twisty road, the best sounding & looking, and the bike that gives me the most pride of ownership. A little bigger windscreen and a new saddle.............and it will be perfect (for me, that is).

I'm with ya Fred. Out of all the bikes I've owned also, this Tuono gives me the greatest pride of ownership.
It is a magnet for attention.
I hope the hydraulic clutch/brake quirks stay subsided for the most part.
As I have noticed (most)owners of the Aprilia have multiple bikes in their stables.
Aprilia owners are ready for an Italian bike and its idiosyncrasies.
IMO, the Aprilia is not for the first time bike owner. Or strapped for cash...

[el flema]

Excellent in spite of small quirks!
Indeed, the bike is excellent dispite of the faulty bakebreak, the missing bolt underneath my gascap (!) and the "trip 1" meter that doesn't work. :WTF:
anyway, my dealer will have a look at it (and hopefully fix it) at it's first service. Here in the Netherlands we pay 14.000 euro's for the bike.

[TUONOAPE]

I had to give it a 'superb' rating, and that's based on how I rate a bike for it's design purpose and value for money. I can't include things like rear brake problems, and can't include the fact that the more you take OFF it, the better it goes. This bike is as near as perfect to it's design purpose as I've seen to date (perhaps when the first of the Bussa's came out they were there too, and there are a few others out there as well of course). But there is always room for improvement, no bike will ever be perfect. So even though this is no ground breaking bike in terms of technology or even performance, the simple fact is that the whole package works so very, very well for it's intended purpose that I can't rate it any other way. It will be a measure of other bikes in the same sector, and they will (and are already) being held against it. Aprilia's challenge is to now improve even more on this design and not slump back in self satisfaction for too long. Naked's are a rapidly growing market world wide. Grab the advantage while you have it Aprilia, and run with it (I can't farkin wait).

[splatty]

I'm probably unusual in this thread.

She is the only bike I own, and I bought my Tuono after not having ridden a bike for about 12 years. :eek:

Previously I had ridden all manner of Japanese wrist strainers, and I fancied something different. I'm 6.3'' and needed something not too small. When I saw the Tuono in the flesh I was smitten.

To put it mildly, I was a bit frightened of her at first, but she has been very good to me so far. Whilst getting my confidence back, I found her very easy to ride. Granted I had to learn all about riding a twin, and so it is a learning curve that is turning in to a love affair.

Every ride is a mini adventure, but I love peoples reaction to her. I have stopped at places full of Gixxers/R1s/R6s/ZXRs and people make a bee line for you just to get a look.

And like everybody says, now I am up to speed again I am equipped with a friendly comfortable beast that can mix it round the twisties with the best of them. I followed a guy on an R1 the other day round some fast sweeping roads, and when we stopped at some lights he looked really p****d off because I was still there. And I didn't look half as shattered as he did for trying to enjoy myself :)

I'm converted. I'm keeping her forever.

By the way. Thanks to you all for all advice and patience with newbie twin/aprilia questions, I appreciate your input. Friendliest community by far I've ever met.

Dave

[WarBaby]

It's a revealing testament to the new Tuono that, with 14 votes cast, all owner opinions are either "Superb" or "Excellent" and we're evenly split between the two ratings.

In addition to its other obvious merits, I am particularly impressed by the nature of the powerband. It is potent-but-manageable, unlike many in-line fours that virtually explode into their engine's sweet spot. Almost all of my Tuono mileage has been in mountain twisties (tight twisties, few sweepers) and the Tuono is a real force to be reckoned with in that environment. I am a much better twisty rider now because of the Tuono's superior handling and the confidence I derive from it. During many passes through Deal's Gap (the "Tail of the Dragon"), I found myself running up on knee-dragging, Jap sportbikes from behind--to my delight and their dismay, all while sitting almost upright with only minor butt-shifting on my part. The bike is that good! I salute the other owners here. I know why you're stoked... :cheers:

[T06]

:D I have a similar road to Deals Gap where I live & it's called The Putty. I have had GSXR's, K1200R's, CB1000RR's etc follow me through the Putty but no I didn't leave them in the wake but they sure as hell never got within 50ft of the tail either, & we all know what leading at the fronts like huh. Came a time with the best rider that I've had follow me on the k1200r & I started to drag the side of my boot around one of the corners & it was then that I realised just how potent these bikes are. Let him close the gap as we carried on our merry way after that, it's a public road for chrisakes!

[AZRen]

Superb Bike! It's everything I ever wanted in a bike and everything I wished my 02R was. Could it use some refinements? Sure, and it will get them, but it's pretty damn near perfect IMO. :cheers:

[WarBaby]

http://www.zenfire.ws/WarBaby/Tuono/poll.jpg
By all means, share your wisdom about why "It sucks!" The other 16 of us may have overlooked some major flaw(s) in the bike.

You do have a new Tuono, right?

[Maxacceleration]

I would guess the 'It Sucks' vote cast was by a non '06/07 Tuono owner.
Some people can't handle others raving about a bike.
What they meant was that THEY suck cause they can't own one! LOL
Obviously they haven't experienced.
:fangs:

[FredE]

You do have a new Tuono, right?


Well, his mommy DID buy him a plastic model of one. :D

Seriously............no one with any understanding of motorcycles and the motorcycle industry would say the T7 sucks. It is possible that it's not your cup of tea (not enough wind protection, doesn't have 180 HP, no heated grips or GPS system, etc.), but as Tuonoape pointed out - Aprilia/Piaggio have scored a bullseye on their intended target........the naked performance machine.

[WarBaby]

Yep, we've got a couple of supremely enlightened contributors.

[WarBaby]

Perhaps a nice, docile V-Twin would be appropriate.

http://www.motorrad-bild.de/images_textbildarchiv/marken/harley_davidson/start/start_titel_hd_girl.JPG
:kidding:

[TUONOAPE]

:funnypost - sorry to the unhappy owners, but :plus: for that :funnypost