Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128095
Aprilia RST1000 Futura the comfortable and cleverly designed 32.8-inch-high seat, and discover a riding position that has been carefully tailored to its target audience. The separate bars mounted to the top of the 43mm Showa forks are raised and pulled back just enough to deliver a semi-upright stance, which is perfectly in keeping with the Futura's objectives of combining comfort with convenience, but with sporting flair. You lean slightly forward - more so than on the VFR Honda, but without excessive weight on your wrists, and the flip-up footrests are just far enough back to remind you this is a sportbike, but low enough to be comfortable for the long haul. You can ground the hero tabs fitted to them relatively easi1y, but only after you've already started scraping the centerstand. Still, ground clearance is more than adequate by sport-touring parameters. The 5.46-gallon fuel tank holds enough gas for a range of 167.4 miles between fill-ups when ridden at 75 mph, and features a lockable filler offset to the right to facilitate brimful top-offs even when the bike is leaned over on the sidestand. The tank has deep cutouts in its flanks for your knees, which makes you aware of the Futura's svelte build. It feels substantial, but still slim, thanks to the contained bulk of the 60-degree, V-tWin, eight-valve engine and the way it has been so carefully positioned in the alloy beam frame. STORY By ALAN CATHCART PHOTOS By PAUL BARSHON E n route to owner Ivano Beggio's target to make his company a true fifth force in world motorcycling, the next two models in Aprilia's fastgrowing V -twin four-stroke range were launched at Intermot 2000 and are now coming on stream. The Caponord tarmac/trailie adventure bike makes its debut in a month's time, but first to appear in production is the RST1000 Futura sports tourer, conceived according to Aprilia product manager Andrea Soriani as a rival to the established Honda VFR/Triumph Sprint ST/Ducati ST4 sport touring triumvirate, but with the accent more on the sports rather than the touring. Perhaps that's why he didn't mention BMW in his target lineup... ? Aprilia has already begun production of the 5000 RST Futuras it plans to build this year, all to a common homologated spec (so, the same for California as for Europe or Down Under) retailing in Italy for $10,800 28 MARCH 14,2001 • c u e I e The Interceptor Interceptor: Aprllla's RST1000 Futura takes aim at what company offtclals describe as "the most complicated segment of 'the global market." Cycle News European Editor Alan Cathcart took the Futura for a spin In Sicily, and believes that the machine may have already Jumped to the head of the sport-touring class. on the road (Note: this does not include fitted luggage as standard except in the USA, where the bike is only sold with luggage included). The Futura's distinctive newedge styling by Aprilia house designer Pietro Arru throws a sharp, sophisticated suit of clothing over a technical package bristling with innovation (see Marconi interview). But this is no haute couture triumph of form over function, as a day spent riding in the Sicilian sunshine around a smoking Mount Etna, Europe's only current active volcano, aboard one of the first pre-production RST Futuras to roll off the Italian company's production lines, confirmed. You realize this as soon as you sling a leg over n e _ s The passenger space aboard the broad, comfy, relatively flat seat whose built-in bumpad for the rider also stops his companion sliding forward under heavy braking - is marked by two substantial handgrips on the rear tail section, and really benefits from having the exhaust exiting under the seat: there are no bulky silencers as found on other sports tourers, which compromise passenger footrest height and ask you to either wrap your legs around them, or else perch your feet on top with your knees tucked under your chin. The only downside of all this is the lack of any significant storage space under the seat, and there's no room at all for a U-Iock or chain, only a disc-lock - though Aprilia says its new engine management system suppliers, Sagem, are working on an electronic security system, which it hopes to introduce on the 2002-model Futura. At the same time, Aprilia really ought to have located a pocket in the fairing for freeway tickets and loose change, as well as to hold a mobile phone which can be charged up on the go via the powerpoint which will be located in the dash on final production versions, supposedly to power the optional heated handlebars. I reckon a phone charger is what it'd get used for most, if there was only somewhere you could stick the thing. Thumb the electric start, and you might first be disappointed at the