Up until now, I said there was nothing on the market, including the Mille, which seriously tempts me to trade in my (admidittedly much modified) Falco. I may have to eat those words.
Looks like Yamaha has a styling challenge on their hands. Beautiful! Now if I just had a few extra bucks and a couple of legs that would still fold up.
I think Aprilia has a real winner in their hands here, in the past they have been able to produce a highly competitive and reliable machine, the looks and size of the past Milles were the only drawbacks as far my personal tastes were concerned, but after riding them at the race track and the street, my opinions on them changed into a very positive feeling due to their great handling, very linear power delivery and fantastic breaks.
Of course the manufacturer is going to wax poetic about their own product, but if their claims about all of the improvements turn out to be true, and there is no reason to believe otherwise, and with the great looks of this new bike, I'm going to seriously consider buying one of them. Now I wonder how competitive the price is going to be!
My only 2 complaints, the ram air duct looks like they bought it from honda, and the price is probably going to be 1/4 of what I paid for my house. Otherwise a very nice looking bike, for the high end performance. Hope they didn't mess with the performance in a bad way. Suspension, frame , brakes, chassis geometry, all changed makes me nervous. But I'm shure that with all the racing they have done pointed to all these, and where track tested. So it should be a sweet ride for those with the bucks.
I loved the 01 Aprilia. The 04 Mille R is what the 999 should've been. Aprilia is going to be eating Ducati's lunch in 04. The new Mille has the technology, the performance, and the looks. Aprilia is finally stepping into the spot light. I just hope their prices continue to remain "reasonable" even as they become recognized as a premier brand. IMO, the Mille is no longer the "other" Italian superbike, it is THE italian superbike.
Always was a sucker for a redhead. Seriously, though, this thing's quite the looker. Beautiful bike!
Okay, so I'm one of those weirdos who liked the Duc Multistrada, so you all might tell me to go to hell with my styling comments, but I think the new tailsection is striking... love the twin exhausts, too. The whole rest of the bike, from the swingarm to the body panels is pure sex appeal. The only improvements I'd make are the headlights. While not quite up to par with the beauty of the rest of the bike, they're still pretty enough, (I'll agree with you all on the honda-like part) and I think it's quite an improvement from the previous model, which was one of the things that kept me from drooling over little Miss Mille as my own dream ride.
So now I've got something to dream over, for when in my little fantasy world my '02 SV650 becomes a more track-day-dedicated machine, this beauty would be a lovely addition to my stable.
Of course, that's the fantasy world. In the real world, I'm a broke college student, the RSV's overgunned for me, and I haven't yet seen the track. I'm hoping to do so soon; I'll post a query about that (and my questions about my readiness) next.
Pierre Terblanche should pay closer attention to whats going on in his own country. Aprilia has come up with a design that puts Ducati to shame. Now lets hope that it performs as well as it looks.
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