A roadtest of my Aprilia Falco

I'd like to inform you of a well kept secret in the hope that there are newer riders out there that may benefit from advice that I wish I was given. As a new rider (I am 52) I had little idea as to which motorcycle I should choose especially on safety and performance. Let me say now that I had owned a Ford GT 40, I know some people may say this is a bit extreme as my road car and in a moment of madness I sold it. Car less and in some ways soul less I decided to learn to ride a motorcycle in the hope that I could enjoy the same sort of performance with at least a semblance of practicality, maybe even tempt my wife and kids into riding with me, they steered clear of the 40.

So I passed the test and went looking for a bike, cost was a concern as I wanted to be seen as being less extravagant than perhaps I had been recently, so what to buy? I wanted something exciting but practical, fast but able to be used every day, looks of a racer but able to carry passengers get the picture? Obviously I wanted 2 bikes is what all the dealers said…they told me that what I wanted was mutually exclusive. I got offered Honda VFR’s and Pan Europeans…too stodgy and ordinary, a Triumph Tourer looked good till I had a go and found it too heavy for a sports bike, every now and then I caught a glimpse of a Ducati 999 but no one would sell me one as they felt it was too extreme and maintenance heavy for a beginner.  I tried 600’s and they felt too slow and peaky even the R6 and I had a little niggle in the back of my mind remembering one racing friend (I have won the odd Karting championship here and there), who said he had got used to his 750 GSX Suzuki very quickly and wished he’d got the bigger one. I am going to upset a lot of people here including some very very good mechanics but sorry guys for me Japanese bikes are just like their cars, well made reliable and boring. There, I have said it openly and feel much better for it, so I then went to one big dealer and not at all hopeful as I had exhausted all the usual options and he said, “What you want is Italian flair and handling/performance in a reliable practical package…something out of the ordinary to make you feel special”!

That was exactly what I wanted but when he mentioned an Aprilia Falco that had just come in I didn’t know what he was talking about. I had heard of the Aprilia GP record in road racing and was interested to know more but surely we should be talking about Ducati? When I saw the Bike…beauty is always in the eye of the beholder but compared to the offerings I had tried from Japan this seemed much more like the CBR R than any other sports touring bike…only slimmer. It had a brushed Aluminium sub frame and a 1000 cc twin engine al but identical to it’s more expensive cousin the RSV Mille which made a much better sound than the fours that I had looked at. The attention to detail was incredible and the magnesium castings on the engine in particular. The weight was light without being twitchy and everything looked to be in the right proportions (again subjective) so I ventured out on the road with it.