of those Italian ponies to the tire like
a waiter serving you in a fancy res-
taurant. Of all the current big-bore/
super-naked bikes on the market
(and I've ridden all of them), the
Aprilia still has the smoothest deliv-
ery of torque to the tire. The throttle
connection on such a massive V4
motor is silky smooth, and there are
three modes you can choose from to
get the exact delivery you want.
The street gearing is quite tall
on a Tuono 1100, but the spread of
power is such that you'll not have to
dance up and down on the lever to
get the drive you want. You can leave
the Tuono in fifth gear around town
and always have power on tap, or
you can go full hooligan and ride in
second gear and bait the police with
tire-saving wheelies.
Matched to the beautifully smooth
throttle and oodles of power is still
one of the best rider aid systems out
there in the APRC. Aprilia was the
first to use paddle shifts for traction
control on the handlebar, and the
new dash that was debuted in 2017
may not be the fanciest, but it's su-
per easy to use and read. The APRC
system housed an IMU before IMU's
were even a thing, using bike posi-
tion and angle to mitigate traction
and wheelie control. Others have
caught up and, in some cases, sur-
passed the Aprilia in what the elec-
tronics can do, but most manufactur-
ers try to cram too much information
and systems into the electronic
suites. The Aprilia design is a case of
doing it right the first time.
The chassis is still the star of the
Aprilia Tuono 1100 Factory show,
R I D E R E V I E W
2020 APRILIA TUONO 1100 FACTORY
P74
