G
Guest
·I am becoming a V-Twin convert
Just like when I bought my diesel truck, I didn’t think that I would really like it all that much. But I was wrong.
I picked up a 2004 Aprilia Mille Factory last Friday. I rode it about 35 miles on Saturday and then loaded it up and took it to Putnam Park race track for a Sunday track day. I did a 100 mile ride Tuesday and then put about another 125 miles commuting on it yesterday.
I was an instructor, so I road every novice and intermediate session switching between the Aprilia and my 2003 R6 track bike.
The Aprilia is used with 3600 miles, came with a full Akrapovic system and an Evo air filter, the computer had the map switched to match these mods. The seller had just put a new Pirelli race front tire to match the rear before I picked it up. It already has Ohlins forks, shock and steering dampner, OZ wheels and a slipper clutch standard.
The thing was a blast on the track. I had a supersport SV650 that I hated, but this thing revs so quickly that it doesn’t feel like riding a moped like the Suzuki did. It pulled so hard coming out of turns, but I was a little slower mid corner, probably due to the fact that it is so tall that I almost never got my knee down on it even though I was dragging the kickstand in one turn. I wound up 2.5 seconds faster on my R6 then the Mille.
On the street the bike is a blast. The sound of a big twin is so much better from the saddle then off the bike. The pipes aren’t obnoxiously loud. The bike has a few niggling problems, the fuel injection sucks at under 3500 rpm and the clutch need to be bled every few hundred miles.
I am taking it to North Carolina over the July 4th weekend to ride the mountains with some friends, then the Mid Ohio AMA race is coming up and I have a 2 day trackday planned with Sportbike Tracktime at Putnam at the end of July. I am planning on painting the bike sometime after that. The gray/silver looks nice, but it doesn’t really do it for me. Plus I hate the orange stickers so I am going to paint it a deep red.
Here is a picture taken yesterday at work –
eddie
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Just like when I bought my diesel truck, I didn’t think that I would really like it all that much. But I was wrong.
I picked up a 2004 Aprilia Mille Factory last Friday. I rode it about 35 miles on Saturday and then loaded it up and took it to Putnam Park race track for a Sunday track day. I did a 100 mile ride Tuesday and then put about another 125 miles commuting on it yesterday.
I was an instructor, so I road every novice and intermediate session switching between the Aprilia and my 2003 R6 track bike.
The Aprilia is used with 3600 miles, came with a full Akrapovic system and an Evo air filter, the computer had the map switched to match these mods. The seller had just put a new Pirelli race front tire to match the rear before I picked it up. It already has Ohlins forks, shock and steering dampner, OZ wheels and a slipper clutch standard.
The thing was a blast on the track. I had a supersport SV650 that I hated, but this thing revs so quickly that it doesn’t feel like riding a moped like the Suzuki did. It pulled so hard coming out of turns, but I was a little slower mid corner, probably due to the fact that it is so tall that I almost never got my knee down on it even though I was dragging the kickstand in one turn. I wound up 2.5 seconds faster on my R6 then the Mille.
On the street the bike is a blast. The sound of a big twin is so much better from the saddle then off the bike. The pipes aren’t obnoxiously loud. The bike has a few niggling problems, the fuel injection sucks at under 3500 rpm and the clutch need to be bled every few hundred miles.
I am taking it to North Carolina over the July 4th weekend to ride the mountains with some friends, then the Mid Ohio AMA race is coming up and I have a 2 day trackday planned with Sportbike Tracktime at Putnam at the end of July. I am planning on painting the bike sometime after that. The gray/silver looks nice, but it doesn’t really do it for me. Plus I hate the orange stickers so I am going to paint it a deep red.
Here is a picture taken yesterday at work –
eddie
