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/128611
Oddly eno ug h f or such an overa ll great group of b ik es, I hav e abso lu te ly no doubt as to wh ich o ne I'd choose if I were in th e m arket - the Aprilia RSV M ill e - and th is deci sion is based less on m y love fo r all things Italian (i.e., my wife) than it is on the RSV's ability to do everything well . For while each of the bikes excels in certain areas , the chameleon -like Aprilia is by far the most versatile. First of all, it looks great (exc ept for the cheesy instru ment panel), exuding It a lian trick ness from every pore and drawing stares from anyone remotely in the know. No , it's not in the same cla ss of sexiness as the Ducati (also Italian, natch) , but it's eve n m o re rare, and the look is head and shoulders above that of th e Ho nda (Suzuki actually got its faux Latin look right) . On a less superficial level ( tho ug h not necessarily m ore important) , the Mille (thousand in Italian) works well on the track - quite well, in fact. Yes, you can go faster on the RC5 1, but not by much, and I fel t more in co ntrol and less intimidated by the deceiving ly quick RSV. This wa s m y fi rst sport bike shootout, and while I appreciated the Ducati 's fl ic kab ilit y and the Honda 's rocket - like m otor , I was a b igger fan of the Aprilia 's planted , stable feel - especially since it still gets through the turns and gets up and goes so well tha t its lap times were second o nly to those of the RC51 . Head for the streets, an d th e A pri lia loses ve ry little of its appeal - an impressiv e feat that neither t he RCS l nor th e 9 9 6 are able to pull off. Its versatile m oto r doesn't lurch and sta ll wh en go ing fr om intersection to intersection , bu t more import antly, its roomy rid er com p artment wo n 't put you r wrists to sleep from performing push-ups o n th e ha nd leba r. Lastly, but perha ps m ost im po rt antly, since we are hypothetically talking about m y hard -earned bucks here, the Aprilia also fits right where it should in the price scale - not as affordable as its Japanese competition, but quite a bit less expensive than the Duck . Bottom line: The Honda goes quick on the track; the Duc ati looks exotically sexy; the Suzuki has a very low price . The Apri lia? It does it all. Chris Jonnum truth is tha t the T LR represents , to us, wasted p o t ent ia l. Su zu k i owes it t o it self and to the market to take another look at this model, maybe make it more compact, give the motor some m ore poo p down low and put it on a d i et. If Suz uki's e ngineering team paid the TLR one four th of the atten tion that it did on its all- new, c1assco nq ue ri ng GSX -R 750 , the T Ll OOORY could be a fa r more serious con tender in th is class . Today , the TLR is a fun V-twin sportbike tha t offe rs J a p an ese re fi ne ment at a n attract ive $9549 MSRP. That 's a barg a in , but n o t th e bargain of th e group . Fro m th er e , the fie ld t ighten s up co nside ra bly , b ut w e h a d to g ive somebody third plac e, and we fi gure tha t it righ tfull y belongs to the A prilia RSV Mille. We ad m it that th e RSV is a b it b etter ove ra ll pac ka ge t han th e bikes ah ea d of it. and th at will be a just co ns ide ra tio n if you're pl ann ing to bu y Itali an . But o n the track , the RSV's slight t op -heavy fee l and a motor that runs just a touch short of br eath in th e u p per rpm reg ist ers is en o ug h to drop t he b ik e to bro nze. Su re , we could have used the more race- orie n ted RSV Mille R in this shootou t , just as we could have used the Du c ati 996S , but these limited build m achines w ith their ex tra- high pric e t ags do not represent the version of th e b ik es tha t yo u are likely to see at a sto plight somewhere. At an MSRP of $13 ,799, the regular RSV is p ricey eno ug h , although very worth it if It a l ia n fl a re and th e e xtra chick m agn eti sm th at com es with it is your bag, b aby . Second pl ace bel ongs to th e bike th at w e f eel is th e o rigina tor of th e " hy p er -f o rm anee" V -t w in move ment and th e former sta nda rd- be arer of th e class : th e Du c ati 996. It's hard to find fau lt w ith th e Du ck o n th e track, as it co nti nues to deli ver all of the potenza th at has crea te d such a pa ssiona t e followi ng fo r the m achines tha t origi nate in Bo logna . It is un comprom ising in it s atti tude, and perh aps a bit t emperamental , but adapt to it and the rewards are sweet. Fail to come I (Left) Michael Be lche r of Dyn oJet Re sea rc h rolled up In the co mpa ny's mobile dyn o to co llect a ccurate horsepower and torqu e figures fro m our test bike s. (Bel ow left) Carruthe rs climbs aboard the RC5 1 an d puts a whlppl n' on Haney, proving th at he could have fi nis hed second In the 19 8 5 Daytona 200 If he ha dn 't become a sissy Journ ali st Instead . n I • t o t erms wi th i t, e sp ec ia ll y o n th e str eet , and yo u' re in he ll . Such is th e price to pa y - well that and $ 16,49 5 to be in th e presence of th e k ind of exqu is it e beauty and perform an c e th at is sure to create a lust fo r suc h things as Sangria , f ettucini a n d Pavarotti , among other th ings. Th at l eav es th e Honda RC51 . It p rob abl y w asn 't tha t d iffi cu lt to pre d ic t tha t th e suc c essor to t he awesome RC4 5 wou ld top th i s list, b ut even we were surprise d at how m uch of a lethal wea pon the fi ve -o ne is on the racetra ck. W ith a chassis that is unflap pa ble , b rak es th at co uld stop the rot at ion of the earth and a motor that comes on str ong from an ywhere wi thi n a spread of 8 00 0 rpm , it is so excellent a ra c eb ik e that we are all but able to overlook the few glitc hes tha t make it feel li ke a race bi k e when ridden around to wn . So what if Honda is only go ing to ma ke two or three thousand of them this year. Wh en you conside r th e fa ct t h at f a r f e wer co p ies of th e RC45 we re made at a far greater cost , the $9 9 9 9 t h at is required to buy an RC5 1 is m ere peanuts for what could be the che ap est definitive sportbik e o f the m illenn ium . Looks li ke it's follow the leade r, all over aga in . eN Some of these bikes are more c om p et ent for ra cing around the track , and some m ay be better at riding down th e fr eewa y (and some are great at racing down the free way in search of gas , but more on that later), yet despite th e marriage of their torquey , soulful V-twins to the latest in sportbike chassis designs, none of them is for eve ryon e. To wit, if I wanted to go for a long -d istance street ride, th e Suzuki TLl OOORY wou ld b e my first choice. It's roomy , it's comfortable, and it has a user -friendly eng in e performance package that I find to be really endearing between the stoplights . Conversel y , the Aprilia RSV Mille offers that same feel - albeit with a touch less weight, a bitch in' motor that hits like a to n of brick s off idle, better handling and loads of Italian panoche to boot. In my mind , the RSV represents th e greatest co mpromise am ong our q uart et , and although the bike's layout feel s a tad t all in the hi ndq uarters to m e, I k now that I could easily find happiness abo ar d its soup ed -up sister, the M ill e R. Wh ic h tell s yo u what k ind of rid er I p erce ive myself to be. I am no t th e fastest, but I long to be. I do not live at the track, bu t I w ish I c ould . With those personality traits (flaw s?) , both th e Ducat i 99 6 and the Honda RC5 1 are more than satisfactory m ac hines. The Duck is a rather un com fo rt ab le m otorcycle, and d amn near m iserable on the street. Get that bea utifu l eight-valve desmo motor sing in' on the track, however, and yo u are rew ard ed with an ath letic experienc e like no other. T he uncompromising feel disappear s, replaced by a lithe and lovely feed back that is reminiscent of Italian mach ine ry bear ing the name of Ferrari or La mborghini. Then again, at $ 16 ,495 it ought to . That leav es th e RC51. I have to admit that I' didn't reall y want to love the Ho nda, but I cou ldn' t help it . With throttle resp o nse th at is m at ch ed by few engines this side of GP eq ui pment , hookability like a tra cto r, a rock -solid and razor-res po nsive c hassi s th at t ota lly h id es it s 44 0 + pounds, and a seati ng pos ition tha t is t olerab le o n the stree t, the RC5 1 is a technological ma rvel th at simply o ut shine s the rest of the grou p. A nd all th is for j ust $9999, wh ic h, despite the fac t that the TLR costs a few bones less, ma kes the RC both t he best and the best bargain. Sc ott Ro uss eau cue I e n e vv S • MAY 3. 2 000 21