#Aprilia

Milan, Italy, hosts the world’s largest motorcycle show, EICMA, in November each year, where the latest and greatest motorbikes are on display, most of which are receiving their first public display. The Esposizione Mondiale del Motociclismo, as it’s officially called, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2014, and I was pleased to be one of the 6,945 journalists attending the November 3-8 event.

One of our favorite naked sportbikes is getting a larger engine and more power as Piaggio pulled the wraps off the new 2015 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100. Piaggio will actually produce two versions, the standard Tuono V4 1100 RR and the upgraded Tuono V4 1100 Factory.

The motorcycle show season continues in Milan, Italy, for EICMA, the World Motorcycle Expo. Last year’s show was fantastic, but the 2014 edition promises to be even more spectacular as EICMA celebrates its 100th anniversary.

In my role as a moto-journo, I’ve been extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to ride all the latest and greatest motorcycles from around the world. It’s a great gig if you can get it, but there’s one tiny caveat: there are plenty of bikes not sold to us Yanks in the U.S. of A. The manufacturers have a number of reasons why they don’t sell certain bikes here, but the end result is, despite the unique position I’m in to ride a variety of motorcycles, there are still some bikes I long to throw a leg over. All because I live in America.

Today at Intermot, Aprilia unveiled a new variant on the Caponord 1200 we first rode last year. Called the Aprilia Caponord 1200 Rally, it takes the touring-oriented Capo and beefs it up for light off-roading/adventure riding.

The fall motorcycle season kicks off in Cologne, Germany, with the 50th edition of the Intermot show. The biennial showcase rivals EICMA as one of the biggest motorcycle shows in the world with more than 200,000 visitors expected. Several major manufacturers will be revealing new 2015 models at Cologne. BMW has already confirmed it will reveal three models including an updated S1000RR for its home motorcycle show, while its Austrian neighbor KTM has also announced it will present its 1290 Super Adventure. Ducati‘s lengthy teaser campaign for the Scrambler will finally come to a head at Intermot, while Kawasaki’s supercharged Ninja H2 is already an early favorite to be the biggest news of the show. Other brands such as Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Yamaha have already released information on their new Intermot show models, but we wouldn’t be shocked if they have a few surprises in store as well. Motorcycle.com will bring you all of the latest Intermot updates from Germany starting Sept. 30. Keep checking this space throughout Tuesday morning for more 2015 model releases as they happen!

For Repsol Honda super soph Marc Marquez, who flirted with perfection for much of the season, there remain but three goals for the 2014 MotoGP championship. First and foremost – win the title, which is pretty much a done deal. Second – stay out of the hospital, which is to say take no unnecessary risks in a sport which is, by its very nature, risky. Third and last – break Mick Doohan’s all-time record of 12 wins in a single season.

According to my weather app, it was officially 100 degrees at 10pm the night we rode in to Borrego Springs, CA, during our Middleweight Sport-Touring Shootout. I’m sitting poolside sipping a tasty, cold beverage while bossmen, Kevin Duke and Sean Alexander, discuss the finer points of gun control in the parking lot.

No shootout has been as difficult as this one pitting the Aprilia Tuono V4R APRC ABS against the BMW S1000R and KTM 1290 Super Duke R. Not just in how tight the outcome of the scoring (which was stupid close), but more so in the intangible elements of emotion, sensation and the if you have to ask, you wouldn’t understand bliss of why we ride motorcycles.

In honor of our 2014 Super Streetfighter Smackdown, for this week’s Church of MO feature, we bring you a quick ride on the predecessor to our current Streetfighter king, the 2002 Aprilia Tuono. Penning this piece is none other than our returning duo of MO veterans, the lovable curmudgeon, John Burns and our new Editorial Director, Sean Alexander. Since first writing this piece, Burnsie and Alexander have been around the moto-journo industry. But they’re back now, and their wordsmanship is as sharp as it was all those many moons ago. Sean only got to spend a weekend aboard the Tuono, but it sounds like any longer and he likely would have killed himself from a lack of self-restraint and a nasty bout of pneumonia.  Thanks for making it back, boys! 

Aprilia has been missing from the Adventure-Touring landscape for some time. With focus placed on its two-time World Superbike Championship-winning RSV4 Superbike, now that the racing landscape has been conquered, the Noale marque is carrying that success in other directions with the Caponord 1200 ABS Travel Pack. With four patents to its name, Aprilia is entering the ultra-competitive Adventure-Touring market with guns a-blazing.

Well, I didn’t really expect the Aprilia Mana 850 GT to be much of a sportbike, but it is. Amazingly enough, when we set off into the sunset back down Ortega Highway toward civilization after a nice day riding, we didn’t get stuck behind a single cement mixer or weaving pickup or any vehicles at all – completely unprecedented – which meant we could set our own pace through all those fast, smooth sweepers. The Mana settled into a surprisingly swift one.

At the risk of giving away the plot before the end of the story, I’m here to say Aprilia’s Tuono V4R is one of the most scintillating and capable sportbikes ever made. And the subtle modifications for 2014 have made a coveted bike even more coveteder.

One of the most powerful “race-fighters” has now become a little bit more streetfighter. Without losing any of its racing pedigree, the 2014 Aprilia Tuono V4R ABS is now more civilized for road usage with the addition of ABS. But don’t mistake the new Tuono for being a softy — the 999cc V4 still features some serious thunder, even getting a 3 hp increase, raising max power to 170 horses. More on that later.

Here’s something a bit new for us at Motorcycle.com: a video review of a motorcycle while it’s being ridden.