FACTORY NAKED
Choices about “life partners” and where you’d like to live are emotionally charged and often filled with compromise. So it goes with motorcycles.
Australian Road Rider’s advice on relationships and real estate would be crap, but we can help with motorcycles.
Consider the hyper-nakeds, essentially Superbikes without the bodywork and clip-ons. Serious performance with less compromise. The practical Superbikes, as it were. They are the best choice for having your high-performance cake and eating it too. Not quite as “track fast” as the plastic-covered missiles, but way better at 60km/h on a congested road and even running through tight corners.
The Aprilia Tuono Factory has always been a hyper-naked class leader. The MY19 bike makes another big step forward with the fitment of Öhlins semi-active suspension. The electronics package has been enhanced as well. It’s never been short of engine performance.
So what’s this bike giving you for your $27,190 (excluding on-road costs)? Let’s break it down.
THE ENGINE
The signature Aprilia 65-degree V4 engine has been around since 2009, undergoing a couple of design updates for increased power and reliability. The 2019 bike has been upgraded again, with maximum revs increased by 500 and internal friction reduced. The gearshift operation has been improved. After 10 years of development, this engine should be pretty well sorted. Aprilia even goes to the trouble of measuring components, then making matched sets out of pistons, conrods and cranks before assembly. Every nut on the
