APRILIA TUONO
Bertie comes over all unnecessary when he explains his love for Aprilia’s V-twins, especially when he gets naked. Sorry, when THEY get naked…
Bertie Simmonds gets naked. Pass the sick bag…
Let’s face it – things are better naked, right? I mean, apart from me of course – I’m as fine an advert for full leathers or two-piece textiles (and full-face helmet with dark visor) as you get…
I’m talking about bikes… To be fair, I love a fairing: they are useful and, being the age I am, many of the bikes I owned and rode in my youth had one. It’s because I started out around the time of the GSX-R750F. That means some older friends and relatives poo-pooed my love of something with a modicum of aerodynamic efficiency: it’s a ‘crotchrocket’ or a ‘plastic fantastic’ they said and it ‘wasn’t what proper biking was all about’, they moaned.
I realised they had a point when I managed to nab one of the first Suzuki GSF600 Bandits in the UK. This was 1995 and I’d ridden GSX-R750S and other sportsbikes, but I had more fun in 48 hours on that Bandit (and at more legal speeds) than I ever had previously on owt with a fairing. Maybe there was something in all this…
Fast forward the best part of a decade and I’m a paid-up member of the Aprilia fan club. I’d enjoyed the Noale firm’s scooters, I’d appreciated the competence of the Pegaso (even while laughing at the awful Moto 6.5 with the same motor), and then was wowed when their first big bike came out at the end of 1998 – the RSV1000 Mille. For a big lad, it was a Ducati 916 but it was comfy. Better still, I went to Valencia at the end of 1999 and wobbled round at the launch of the R-version. I was hooked! I’ve since owned two of them and am hankering after a third, or maybe a naked third…
I say that because I’ve also come perilously
close to owning the Mille’s naked sibling the Tuono: and yet this model wasn’t the first stripped Noale naked. In fact, there must be a thing about naked Milles and editors of CMM as my predecessor, the legendary Ben Wilkins, actually hill-climbed an Aprilia SL1000 Falco, which was basically a half-faired Mille. I also had a jaunt to Tipperary on the sport-touring RST1000 Futura, but that’s another story. For more on the family, see the boxout…
So, back to the Tuono: strangely, it took Aprilia until 2003 – almost five years since the first Mille sportsbike was launched – to just strip it back and let it revel in its naked glory. We’ve mentioned the Falco, but this wasn’t the same thing, this (to give it its proper name) was the Tuono or Tuono Fighter, in some markets. Now, my Italian ain’t great, but I think Tuono means ‘thunder’. If there’s a parallel here in the modern classic world, this was akin to Triumph building modular motorcycles, things like the first naked Tridents but then realising that there was a stonking naked there, something with real attitude staring them in the face – the first iconic Speed Triple, it just needed to look right…
It was the same for Aprilia. For years the SL1000 Falco would plod along in the range when, really, we just wanted a Mille sportsbike without the fairing. Ironically, the time spent developing the bike was pretty minimal. At the time people said it went from the original concept to the man in the street in around six months, meaning that project leader Klaus Nennewitz and his team had only a few months to get the job done, so I guess it made sense to make as few changes as possible to the original and very capable Mille. It could be argued that it was like an original crashed GSX-R streetfighter; just a sportsbike without a fairing, with no de-tuning needed or even attempted.
And that’s pretty much what we got. The Tuono Fighter shared the same 997.62cc, 97mm x 67.5mm Rotax-derived 60-degree V-twin, complete with twin balancer shafts. Perhaps that short lead time meant that Aprilia had to leave it alone motor-wise. So, unlike the Falco, they didn’t wind down the wick power-wise. Think of the Honda Hornet 900 or the Yamaha Fazer 1000 – all were dumbed down from their donor power outputs.
Not so the Tuono. This meant it had the same 125 or so claimed horses between those gorgeously sculptured frame rails. Real world was around 115bhp at the back wheel. Plenty then, plenty now and gearing was the same, too. The Tuono’s looks were also kept simple. While the Honda Hornet or
Yamaha Fazer 1000 looked nothing like their donor sportsbikes, the Tuono did share the same visage as the Mille – that trademark, three headlight stare and bikini fairing. The clocks were the cluttered and confusing ones from the Mille which you really had to try and get used to. Tank – ditto, side-panels – ditto, tail-unit – ditto… Also the suspension was identical to the standard Mille (not the R, of course) and another identical feature was the steering geometry and the wheelbase – this really wasn’t a neutered naked…
In fact, with those pull-back bars, your rump further over the rear, not so much weight over the front hoop – you were more likely to have a serious case of the head-shakes – and so it proved. Where the Mille didn’t have or really need a steering damper, you needed the one fitted as standard on the Tuono. I remember my time on Milles and Tuonos on my favourite roads and Donington Park where the Mille would behave and the Tuono would want to rise up like a fairly annoyed Cobra…
But I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s talk about the ride. The Tuono you see here isn’t the standard ‘Fighter’, it’s the Tuono Racing. Like the Triumph Speed Triple, Aprilia found themselves with a hunk of cool naked bike that just begged to be raced, and so they did, in Italy. Therefore, the Racing got itself some Ohlins suspension, light OZ wheels, a race can and a number of carbon-fibre goodies.
If you actually raced it, the belly-pan meant you couldn’t use the side-stand and it had to be removed. The difference between the £7599 Tuono to the Racing was almost £4000, even if those parts
would cost more at the time separately. Power on both the Fighter and Racing was the same – so don’t worry on that score – but when riding both (and I’ve done plenty of miles on them) you do start to feel the difference when you’re pushing on. The suspension on the Racing just felt plusher, even if the geometry was (again, like the Mille) identical. Also, the lighter wheels would translate to slightly swifter turn-in and a less vague feel from the front wheel. What you would really notice were the anchors. While both bikes have 320mm Brembo discs and calipers, the Racing would benefit from the-then (well, in 2003) ‘new’ concept for road bikes of radial calipers. When you’re hard on the brakes, you could really feel the difference when you chucked the anchor out.
But that motor really is the star of the show, so even on the standard Tuono you’re not losing out. You’ve got that comfy, sit-up-and-beg riding position, but then you grab the loud handle and are simply awestruck by that instant V-twin oomph.
The figures: well, we mentioned around 110-115 at the rear 190-section tyre. With the same might as the Mille, you’re not losing out until your neck cops the flak at around 100mph-plus. The ‘Tuono tug’ you get starts at around 3000rpm or less, then dips a tad at around 5000rpm before fair kicking in again, then things carry on apace until you hit peak power at around 9-9500rpm. When you hit 10 the fun is over, but that’s not the point: ride that wave of grunt while your noggin sways in the wind. It’s all you need…
A ‘Fazer 600 with a jet engine’ I once called it – and I stand by that today. Even if you’ve ridden the likes of any ‘hyper-naked’ of today, you’d think things were a little tame. In comparison I’ve recently ridden a Yamaha MT-10 (Yamaha R1 motor, 160bhp) and it’s too much for the road. I’ll take nostalgia any time and 50bhp less, it’s more fun
sometimes to be in control than be controlled.
One thing I will say with the ergonomics, and it’s the same with home-made streetfighters of yesteryear – don’t expect this to be much more comfortable than the Mille. Sure, your wrists will feel the benefit, but your neck and upper torso will not – nor will the ankles/knees. Instead, think of this as an alternative sportsbike.
If I’m to recall my time on any of the Tuonos I’ve ridden, I have to relate what I heard from UK dealers of the Noale machine, from back in the day. They said that their demo bikes sold the bike many times over. One dealer said to me that prospective owners called it ‘the Tuono grin’ which would be plastered all over the face of any rider of this wonderful machine. Around 18 years on, my grin is still a mile wide… I badly need one of these.
Practicalities aren’t too bad either. With basic Mille architecture, you’ve not got much to go wrong. Way-back-when spares were an issue – not so much any more. Issues with the earlier Mille/tuonos include the pre-2005, 50amp starter solenoid, which is known to fail, so fitting the later 150amp helps. Upgrading the 90CCA battery to a 230CCA unit is recommended to help preserve the sprag clutch. The sprag clutch is the motor’s major weakness and any slipping or squeaking when the starter is hit hints at a worn unit, which will cost around £350 to replace. Reg-rectifiers can also go bang. Other than this, the motor is very reliable,
although out of balance, throttle bodies can make the bike very snatchy to ride at low revs and there is a tendency for some to leak oil from oil pressure sensors.
With that pretty chassis, like Milles, you’ll find that saucy frame and swingarm can get damaged/ scuffed, while clutch issues can mean it’s hard to get the bike into neutral. All can be sorted thanks to the experts out there and the best expert is Griff Woolley at AP Performance (www.apworkshops.co. uk); he knows the various Milles, Tuonos and the like, from V-twin to V4…
Price-wise, like most modern classics, things have firmed-up, big time! Looking back, the standard Tuono Fighter was only around £7599 in 2003, when the Mille R was £10,199, and the Colin Edwards replica (he was riding Aprilia’s threecylinder Cube in Motogp at the time) was £12,250.
If you can find either the Fighter or the Racing of the Gen.1 models, I’d say take it.
Don’t worry if it’s the standard model you get, you’re not missing out on much. I was perilously close to buying a clean, tidy, standard Tuono for just £1900 five years back, but something didn’t quite add up with the bike’s history; part of me wishes I had taken the plunge…
Realistically – almost 20 years on – you’ll need to sort the suspension out on either model, and the brakes would need an overhaul. Do find something that’s been looked after – preferably by a marque expert – but you’ll find that both Gen.1 and Gen.2 bikes are pretty similar price-wise, albeit overlapping somewhat.
The Gen.2 (2006-2010) models are, in our humble opinion, not as pretty, but you decide. For rough Gen.1 models, you’re talking £2000 at the bargain basement level, rising to £4000 for a really lovely, well-looked-after model. For Gen.2 it’s from £3000 to £5500. You pays yer money…
If you land a taut Tuono, you’re in for a real treat: it’s visceral, vibrant, vivacious and about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on…
The Tuono arguably has been the most successful home for the V-twin motor. Launched in 2003, the various models have proliferated since then and up to the replacement by the V4 model from 2011.
Originally stemming from a 2001 concept show bike dripping in carbon-fibre and Ohlins suspenders, this was the limited-run (220) Tuono R Limited, a great ‘proof of concept’ machine.
The first mass-produced base model Tuono (or Tuono Fighter in some markets and later RSV Tuono in others) ended up with more modest Sachs/boge suspension units, but the chassis/ motor was largely the same. Later 2005/06 models were called the Tuono 1000 R, basically the same, but with Brembo Goldline brakes and Sachs suspension front and rear.
The Gen.1 Tuono Racing had Ohlins suspension front and rear, OZ wheels, Ohlins steering damper and carbon-fibre bodywork, as well as adjustable gear-lever (for race-shift), and if you fitted the belly-pan/catch-tank, you’d have to ditch the side-stand!
With the sportsbike Mille being replaced by the updated version or ‘Gen.2’ in September 2003, it made sense that the Tuono followed suit. And in typical Italian fashion, things began to get confusing…
So, for February 2007 in came the ‘Gen.2’ Tuono 1000 R (or Tuono Fighter) which, in our humble opinion, isn’t as attractive. It still had the same motor, but this was boosted to 130-139bhp claimed and it had Sachs shock and Showa forks. The Gen.2 models had the Tuono 1000 R Factory replacing the ‘Racing’ model, effectively the naked version of the Gen.2 RSV 1000R Factory. The Factory had Ohlins front and rear, lightweight wheels, gold frame and lighter carbon bits and bobs, resulting in a bike four kilos lighter.
For tiddler fans, there was also a range of 125cc Tuonos, but that’s another story…