Buyer Guide: Aprilia Tuono
The ultimate buying and owning guide by the people who know these bikes best: those who’ve bought them, run them, broken them, fixed them, spent money on them and more
Click to view: Aprilia Tuono owners reviews, specs and image galleries.
Sports bike handling and performance with upright bars. It sounds so obvious but for years no-one did it.
Triumph came first with their T509 which evolved into the modern Speed Triple but Aprilia were next to whip most of the plastic of their race rep and stick on high bars instead. And they made a damn good job of it too.
Most firms soften and detune bikes when they ‘fighter them. Not Aprilia. It’s still hard edged, firm and flippin’ fast. The upright riding position and wide bars mean it’s actually a quicker machine than the equivalent sports bike on the road.
Push above 110mph and the wind pressure robs the rider of steering finesse but it’s still an admirable package of rapid and practical partly thanks to the surprisingly useful fairing. There’s a bonus, too. It’s a fecking two wheeled loon. Colossal low range torque, sharp brakes, that commanding riding position, firm suspension and light overall weight make it perfect for stunting and general cocking about on.
But Italian machines don’t have the best reputation for build quality and robust electrics. We’d heard dealer back up could be poor and spares hard to come by. Are these just internet rumours and a handful of people making a lot of noise?
Fortunately a massive 119 owners filled in our on-line survey, telling us all about their bike and what it’s like to live with. If you want the truth on the Tuono, believe what you read here...
