Aprilia Tuono

* Aprilia Tuono :
* Price: £7,599
* Engine Type: liquid-cooled, DOHC, 8v, 60-degree V-twin
* Displacement: 998cc
* Tested Max Power: 119bhp @ 9,600rpm
* Tested Max Torque: 72ft/lbs @ 7,200rpm
* Cycle Parts Chassis: Aluminium twin-spar
* Suspension Front: 43mm USD forks, fully adjustable
* Rear: Rising-rate monoshock, fully adjustable
* Brakes Front: Dual 320mm discs, four piston calipers
* Rear: 220mm disc, single-piston caliper
* Rake/Trail: 25°/99mm
* Wheelbase: 1,415mm
* Dry weight 183kg (403lb) :
* Insurance group 15 :
* Aprilia UK on 0161 4751800:

The Tuono (Italian for Thunder) is aptly named. Most naked streetfighter styled bikes are stripped down, detuned, and, quite often lame versions of their sportsbike brothers. But not the Aprilia. The boys from Noale
obviously spent more time in the pub than round the design table and decided to modify the Tuono's donor bike, the Mille by just ripping the fairing off it, and bolting on high bars. Power curbing was not on the agenda.
The resulting creation isn't the prettiest thing ever seen but it's one of the maddest and entertaining bikes on the market. And far from being suitable for the sensible set, the Tuono is the mother of all madness.
With just under 120bhp reaching the rear boot (the only real difference from the 60-degree V-twin fitted in the Mille, and the version in the Tuono is some re-mapping of the ECU), the streetfighter wheelies virtually every
time you get a bit keen with the throttle in the first two gears. And, if you've got the strength to hang on, you'll get well over a ton-fifty from it. Though you'll end up with arms like Arnie's if you sample too much of that thanks to the lack of bodywork.
But the windblast only encourages you to divert to real roads with plenty of bends in them, which is where the Aprilia performs at its absolute best. The big wide bars make chucking it about a cinch, and with decent suspension to keep the bruiser under control the Tuono has, as JP puts it, “the potential to run rings round a sportsbike at a track. It's a lot of bike for your money.”