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midrange and more torque, via a shorter intake length and corresponding remapping of the engine-management system. The result is an even smoother pickup low down than on the Tuono R, at the expense of a slight 4-bhp drop in outright power, now 126 bhp at the crank, at 9500 rpm. That output remains the same even with the optional catalytic converter fitted for certain markets, which allows the Fighter to meet Euro 2 norms (complete with attendant weight penalty). With a paint scheme subtly restyled to retain the sa e distinctive look as the Tuono R, the Fighter comes in two colors, a graphite shade of gray which is very Aprilia and likely to be the tint of choice for those tuonisti who don't want to pretend they're riding a Ducati, as anyone opting for the model's alternative, very desmodromic, red livery will surely feel. Well, that's until they hop aboard the Tuono Fighter and immediately experience a quite different riding stance than any flat-barred, forwardcontrol Monster, with the wide, MXstyle gold-anodized taper-section Ergal alloy handlebar, which reduces to 22mm in diameter from 70mm at its center to accept a standard RSV Mille twistgip, mounted on a 170mmtall aluminium riser. Like the upper triple clamp for the Showa forks, which is special to the Tuono, this riser is an extruded Anticordal aircraft alloy component, with the outer surface CNC-machined to make it look like a one-off part, just as the costlier Ergal equivalent fitted to the Tuono R indeed was. But with the higher 'bar, the bike seems much slimmer than the fully-faired RSVI000 it's derived from, because you no longer have to wrap your arms around the stock 4.7gallon Mille fuel tank. This makes it seem less bulky, plus the quite highset footrests allowed my knees to tuck tight in to the indented flanks of the fuel tank, helping deliver the feeling of riding a narrow, agile, V-twin hotrod. Coupled with the 32.8-inch-high seat, which is relatively plushly padded by streetrod standards, the result is an extremely comfortable riding position for a six-foot rider, with the handlebar ends pulled back slightly to deliver a relatively upright posture which allows you to see clearly ahead over the tops of cars in front of you. Yet this doesn't mean you get too blown about at speed, thanks to the effective job done by the small nose fairing which incorporates Aprilia's trademark triple-headlamp light cluster, and has a domed screen which is a little higher than the one on the RSV Mille's full bodywork. Together with the carefully angled flanks of the Fighter's mini-fairing, this deflects quite a lot of air from your upper body, up to speeds of 125 mph or more, where you do have to start worrying about holding on tight. Meanwhile, back in the real world, the Fighter gives the same happy blend of Superbike engine perfor- mance and streetfighter handling as the odginal Tuono R, with the wide handlebar delivering ultra-responsive handling, complete with good leverage for scooting around hairpin bends or street corners. The Fighter motor picks up cleanly from way low down, though there's some transmission snatch at full throttle till it all clears out at just over 3000 rpm, and on one of the two bikes I rode, there was some noticeable vibration through the footrests until around 5000 rpm that wasn't present on the other bike though the balance weights in the handlebar ends made sure there were no vibes felt there. But from 2000 revs upward, all the way to the 10,500-rpm rev limiter, there's a smooth flow of torquey horsepower whose lowdown punch is noticeably improved compared to the Tuono R, which may be marginally faster at top end because of the slight increase in power, and certainly has more aggressive acceleration if you buzz the V-twin motor hard, but isn't such an easyrider in traffic or in more relaxed open-road mode as the Fighter. However, like the R-bike, the Fighter is still overgeared, the 17/42 overall gearing of the sportbike modes having been retained on the Naked bike for EU homologation purposes. This means you often have to hit a gear lower than you'd expect or want to have to do when running in a line of traffic or through a village, and also end up using bottom gear more than you want to. Aprilia has an aftermarket 16T sprocket available (for track use only, of course!) which should completely resolve this arcane problem. But it's not at slow speed on a constant throttle that you'll want to ride the Tuono Fighter, because if ever a motorcycle delivered hooliganbike hotrodding to the motorcycling masses, this is it. It's a model that delivers the best of both worlds, with supreme agility when flicking it from side to side through twists and turns, before squirting down the next straight in third or fourth gear, then back one for some engine braking aided by Aprilia's patented pneumatic slipper clutch while squeezing hard on the Brembo brakes. These have less initial bite than the Tuono R's four-pad stoppers, but in everything except serious streetsweeping mode are probably preferable for real-world riding conditions, because there's a less-aggressive initial response, which is more conducive to the Fighter's slightly more relaxed power delivery, so less hard-edged feel. Worth noting, however, that the Fighter is fitted as standard with a 190/50ZR 17 rear Dunlop D207, rather than the 180/55 rubber of the Tuono R, for reasons explained by Klaus Nennewitz. "We expected the Tuono R would occasionally be ridden on the race circuit for track days," he says, "and for this reason we decided to offer maximum manoeuverability with the smaller-section rear tire. But the Fighter will be mainly used in normal street riding, where we wanted to offer cue l e n e Streakin'!: The Tuono Fighter's RSV M/lle-elertvecl engine offers smooth, torquey and exciting power from 2000 rpm all the way up to Its 10,SOO-rpm rev limit. The Fighter does suffer from a touch of overgearlng, however. the extra grip leaned over under hard acceleration of a 190 rear tire, even at the cost of less ideal handling." In fact, though, perhaps because of the extra leverage offered by the wide handlebar, which allows you to correct your line more easily than with a set of clip-ons, I didn't feel the Fighter understeered as much as I was expecting under hard acceleration with the bigger rear tire. But it didn't hold a line very well cranked over under part throttle, until I took the advice of my mate Franco Rossi of In Moto magazine and dropped the forks 5mm to tighten up the steering geometry. The transformation was remarkable - now the Fighter stayed glued to the line I'd chosen for it, and the excellent grip from the front Dunlop allowed a significantly higher corner speed to be maintained than is usual by the standards of the Nakedbike class, where you don't have so much weight on the front wheel to keep it weighed down and stuck to the tarmac. Grazie, Franco! Just think about laying it into a bend, though, and the Tuono's already got there and done it - not in a twitchy or nervous way, just totally responsive and easy-steering. Went in too deep and need to correct a line? No problem - just finger the _ S • SEPTEMBER 25, 2002 23