+ Click to Enlarge APRILIA PEGASO 650 STRADA: At last there's an Italian bike that can tackle the Germans on their own turf without making excuses. Pictures:AFP For a screen-filling version of this picture, e-mail freepix@iol.co.za with "Aprilia 650 Strada" in the subject field.

October 17, 2005
By Dave Abrahams

Fashions change, in motorcycling as in everything else; today's market requires that big singles look like supermotards: motocross bikes with street tyres, wheels and brakes used for insane short-circuit racing where slides and stoppies are the name of the game – in a buzz-word, extreme.

Aprilia's first all-new motorcycle since the Piaggio takeover is a motard-styled street single that's more practical than it looks; to prove it Aprilia SA held the South African launch of the Pegaso 650 Strada last week in the Southern Cape, around the ostrich-farming town of Oudtshoorn and over some of the most rideable roads in the country.

The first part of any launch is usually an audiovisual presentation of the bike's features and specifications – so Aprilia took a Strada straight off the trailer and gave it to stunt rider Andre Kriel for 20 minutes of stoppies, wheelies, big slides and rolling burnouts.

Which convinced the assembled media scribes that the new Aprilia is both durable and well-balanced.

It's motivated by the same 659cc thumper as the Yamaha XT660, a fuel-injected single-cam engine built by Minarelli. It's oversquare at 100x84 but tuned to produce its 37kW maximum grunt at a lowish 6250rpm. That's about two kilowatts more than Yamaha claims thanks to a freer-flowing exhaust system.

Aprilia claims peak torque of 61.5Nm at 5000rpm; the bike pulls evenly from about 2000rpm but it's at its best between 4000 and 6500 revs – which is where the shift light comes on. It'll pull strongly through to the rev limiter at 7100rpm but you'll get better results if you shift on cue.

It's fed by an electronic fuel-injection system and 44mm throttle body; its response is crisp and clean throughout the range, with the exception of a slight hesitation on pick-up that I noticed on both examples I rode.

The power is transferred via a light clutch with a reassuringly firm action and a positive, somewhat notchy five-speed gearbox. Its action is notably better than that of the Yamaha, which I can only ascribe to a shorter and tighter gear linkage.

In any case the Strada will give you seamless upshifts every time, once you've learned just how sensitive the twistgrip is, and the few clutchless downshifts I tried were clean and crisp.

The frame and suspension are firmly street-oriented, so front-end dive isn't the problem it is on off-road based motards. The dampers are firm but progressive at both ends, taking care easily of the small stuff but not bottoming out on big bumps.

The Sachs rear monoshock is adjustable for preload and rebound damping but the 45mm forks are set at the factory; they're fine riding solo but tend to get a little soggy with two adults aboard – modify your riding style accordingly.

The brakes are by Brembo, a big, powerful four-pot calliper on a 320mm stainless-steel platter in front and a simple but unexpectedly sharp single-piston unit at the back that explains the Strada's penchant for laying big darkies into corners – in hands other than mine, Cyril.

The bike's handling is superb – light and predictable, it's stable up to its indicated top speed of 167km/h. It'll turn in hard and sharp if you want it to, with the low wide handlebars giving plenty of leverage, but responds well to smooth riding.

Towards the end of the launch ride, on the superb Outeniqua pass, I was deliberately drifting wide under braking before turning in late (well, later than I would on my own sports 750) and clipping the apex with the power turned on hard.

The bike lapped it up and of course, being a single, nothing touched down.

The seat is broad, flat and deeply padded, more than comfortable enough for me to ride out the contents of the 16-litre tank without stopping for more than a few moments to regroup.

All the controls fall naturally to hand (or foot) although I could have wished for a slightly longer stretch to the bars – bearing in mind that I come from a sports-riding background.

Certainly four hours of quick riding left me relaxed and ready for more. It's agile enough to keep experienced riders interested and unthreatening enough to be a decent entry-level machine.

Integrated styling

The fuel tank and seat fit neatly into each other, with the sides of the tank sweeping forward to protect the extremities of the wide shallow radiator - and to act as the base for a pair of plastic flying buttresses, entirely independent of the frame, that support the screen, instruments, lights and fairing.

The instrument panel looks simple enough at first glance, an analogue rev-counter, half a dozen warning lights and a big LCD screen. But it's what the screen can do that'll boggle your mind. Straight up, it's a speedometer (square numbers, rather difficult to read) bar graph fuel and coolant temperature gauges, clock and odometer.

In addition a toggle like a second indicator switch on the left switchgear gives you two trip meters, fuel consumption, range, lap timer, battery voltage – all in a choice of languages.

diagnostic display

The screen also serves as a diagnostic display – once the dealer's service code has been entered - for tuning the injection and ignition mapping. The owner can even enter a PIN code without which the bike won't start, even if you have the original key.

Finally, there's an extra button on the left switchgear that unlocks a little flap on top of the fuel tank, allowing access to the fuel cap and a small storage compartment, big enough for cellphones, ipods and the various little toys on which we're so dependent.

There's another, bigger, box under the seat, capable of storing a rolled-up rainsuit or spare wither gloves; the whole bike is full of unusual but practical solutions to everyday biking hassles.

Build quality, especially attention to detail, is superb. In particular the wiring, long a sore point on Italiana, is incredibly neat with every connection enclosed in its own waterproof cover. At last there's an Italian bike that can tackle the Germans on their own turf without making excuses.

Bottom line

At R65 000 Aprilia's new street single is an intensely practical everyday workbike, beautifully put together with a style all its own, that'll take you out in the country on weekends – and the tighter the corners the more you'll enjoy it.

Aprilia Pegaso 650 Strada