Texas94fs
Hooligan
I recently had the opportunity, and pleasure of riding a friends Aprilia SXV 550 motard. Just a little spec sheet to get your mouth watering.
66hp 550cc 72° vtwin
10,000rpm redline
dry sump oiling
5 speed gearbox
dry weight 278 lbs
I am a tradition less is more kinda cat, so cafe racers and bare bones bikes appeal. Never have I been a fan of the way motards look. This one changed my mind. Underseat dual exhaust and etched bodywork with a good looking frame. The thing just oozes rugged class.
Onto the ride.
Slow speed turning is much, much different compared to other bikes, you push the bar to turn and it pushes back fighting you. I found the best way, was oddly enough, to not steer the bike at low speed but simply to shift your weight, and boy howdy not much shift is needed. At higher speed turning the normal works flawlessly, the huge suspension travel soaking up any imperfections the road throws at you. The suspension is Sachs all around, and it does a damn fine job, for my riding skill and the level of ride I took the bike on. The gearbox clicks quite nicely, the only thing I dissaproved of was the large gap between 1st and second, finding it easy to hit neutral instead. Everything else was glorious. Ah, let me just say if you fancy painting, or drawing and avion species. This bike will allow you plenty of time to study the sky. I would venture to guess that you could birdwatch all day long with a giant smile on your face. The power and torque combined with the weight of the bike make it unrelentlessly easy to wheelie,I blame the bike for acting childish. (i had the biggest stupid childlike grin on my face and could not stop giggling into my helmet the entire time I was on it) If you manage to weight the front of the bike, it is a rocketship, Alert Nasa. Time travel may actually be possible. The top end obviously isn't there as to the type of the bike, but don't let that sway you away from it.
The annoyances.
The kickstand automatically pops up when you remove weight from it. Say hello to a bruised shin until you learn. Rebuild freqency, and this is the big one that has kept me from picking up a 'tard for a track bike. This motor has to be rebuilt roughly ever 4-5k miles. As a track bike only you are looking at 2-3 years between builds depending upon your frequency of track days.
66hp 550cc 72° vtwin
10,000rpm redline
dry sump oiling
5 speed gearbox
dry weight 278 lbs
I am a tradition less is more kinda cat, so cafe racers and bare bones bikes appeal. Never have I been a fan of the way motards look. This one changed my mind. Underseat dual exhaust and etched bodywork with a good looking frame. The thing just oozes rugged class.
Onto the ride.
Slow speed turning is much, much different compared to other bikes, you push the bar to turn and it pushes back fighting you. I found the best way, was oddly enough, to not steer the bike at low speed but simply to shift your weight, and boy howdy not much shift is needed. At higher speed turning the normal works flawlessly, the huge suspension travel soaking up any imperfections the road throws at you. The suspension is Sachs all around, and it does a damn fine job, for my riding skill and the level of ride I took the bike on. The gearbox clicks quite nicely, the only thing I dissaproved of was the large gap between 1st and second, finding it easy to hit neutral instead. Everything else was glorious. Ah, let me just say if you fancy painting, or drawing and avion species. This bike will allow you plenty of time to study the sky. I would venture to guess that you could birdwatch all day long with a giant smile on your face. The power and torque combined with the weight of the bike make it unrelentlessly easy to wheelie,I blame the bike for acting childish. (i had the biggest stupid childlike grin on my face and could not stop giggling into my helmet the entire time I was on it) If you manage to weight the front of the bike, it is a rocketship, Alert Nasa. Time travel may actually be possible. The top end obviously isn't there as to the type of the bike, but don't let that sway you away from it.
The annoyances.
The kickstand automatically pops up when you remove weight from it. Say hello to a bruised shin until you learn. Rebuild freqency, and this is the big one that has kept me from picking up a 'tard for a track bike. This motor has to be rebuilt roughly ever 4-5k miles. As a track bike only you are looking at 2-3 years between builds depending upon your frequency of track days.
Dont be getting all Hooligan around Bay Area blvd. now
