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muted blat which issues from the exhaust as the narrow-angle V-twin fires up, while the Sagem EFl's automatic enrichment program is operating - there's no choke lever for cold starts. Still, once everything's nicely warmed up, the RST sounds a little sportier - though not a lot. This is no rorty Latin V-twin cafe racer, but a sophisticated mile-eater aimed at the long run. As such, there's a smooth, refined feel to all the controls worthy of any Japanese bike. The clutch action is light and has an easy takeup (both brake and clutch levers are adjustable for reach, of course), the gearchange is faultless, and the lightaction throttle has a really precise response which, just as on other Sagem EFI applications like the Triumph Sprint STIRS, doesn't have the jerky pickup from a closed throttle commonplace on some other systems. The RST Aprilia isn't quite as smooth as the Triumphs, though, perhaps because of the extra suction from a big-bore V-twin compared to a triple, but it's pretty close - and for sure it's better compared to the ND system on other Aprilias. That refined throttle response and easy clutch action allows you to trickle easily through town at low rpm without your left hand cramping up, with none of the transmission snatch and hesitation you get below 5000 rpm even from the RST's flawed Falco sister. The Futura pulls cleanly from as low as 2500 rpm - even wide open - with a smooth response that becomes more urgent once the needle on the multi-info dashboard's analog tach hits the 5000 rpm mark. That's when the Futura takes off more strongly - not so much that you'd class this as a step in the powerband, but enough to make it accelerate a lot harder, with top-gear roll-on especially strong from 6000 rpm upward. You can feel the engine peak out at just over 9000 revs, and though the soft-action revlimiter cuts in at 10,500 rpm, you have no business finding it on this kind of a bike. Best to ride the torque curve which peaks at 7250 rpm, and change up around 8000 rpm so as to use the fat part of the power band. But do that, and you'll be impressed by the Futura's acceleration, which will make the speedo needle start flirting with the 125 mph mark a lot sooner than you expect. Though claimed top speed is 151 mph, the RST's natural mile-eating pace is around 135 mph, at which point the engine's turning over at 8500 rpm in sixth gear - ratios are the same as on the other Mille models, but the one-tooth lower overall gearing helps deliver that muscular acceleration, without sacrificing the long-legged gait that the increased inertia provided by the heavier crank One look at the underttelly of the Futura quickly reveals its sporting roots. The twinspar aluminum frame (right) and 43mm upside-down forks (below) take the cues from the RSV Mille. The single-sided swingarm (right) and radical exhaust system (right, below) are exclusive to the new sporttouring model. and bigger generator delivers. The only downside is the vibration you notice through the footrests when the engine's under load - and this is insistent enough to become annoying after only a few miles on an autostrada at constant-throttle cruising speeds. The counterweights at the end of the handlebars stop the vibes reaching your hands, but the twin counterbalancers in the 60-degree Vtwin engine - one driven off the crank, the other in the rear cylinder head - don't really do their job and iron them out altogether. Possibly fitting footrests with substantial rubbers instead of the bare-metal flip-up sportbike ones the RST presently boasts might cure the problem: jury's out on this one, though. That's a pity, because otherwise this is a pretty professional piece of design - a bike that's otherwise so cue I e n __ S • MARCH 14, 2001 29