How the hell did an aprilia end up in a budget contest? Even if the starting price is the same, the maintenance cost is easily double. And why no SV1000?

 

maintenance double? for what? i have owned em...

 

The aprilia.

 

Aprilia use Rotax engines.. Those are bulletproof and any CanAm, Seadoo, skidoo, BMW, or for that matter several aircraft dealers can service it. It shouldn't be expensive at all to maintain.

 

Oh and just to mention.. the Aprilia Mille is more of a RC51 competitor, with the Falco being the Superhawk competitor.. Not an apples to apples comparison.

Here is the a more direct comparison: http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/146_...kes/index.html

 

I used to think Italian means mechanical trouble. but an Aprilia is NOT a ducati. my local shop owner track rides aprilias almost exclusively and has for years. he told me that even though he has checked, he has NEVER had to adjust the valves on any aprilia he has ever owned. concidering that he has tracked them all, that's pretty impressive. and he currently has 4 or 5, all mille's.

 

well all reviews i ever read all say the same thing. all rounder, great power deliver down low, easy to ride, more upright riding position. suspension needs improvement along with brakes. all the things i agree with. whether it wins or not in a contest doesnt matter. because it was built to do EVERYTHING well, not just one single thing, a lot of times it comes second, because the reviewers usually look for one single thing they want from a bike. so the TL-S has a great engine and if the reviewers like that, they will pick the TL-S. if the aprillia has better suspension and they look for that, they will pick it. but the drawbacks of any other bike usually make me realize that time and time again, i have made the right choice in picking this bike.

although i do wish the bike made more power, like the TL-S engine...

i wonder, how hard would it be to put the TL-S engine into the VTR? i kid i kid. our swingarm design would allow it.

 

Agreed. Most testers state that the Ducati 1198/848 is one of the best motorcycles ever built....but its very track focused, you don't want to be in the saddle for more than 100 miles.

 

^^ Yup

and everyone raves about the ZX-7R, and how its a stable bike, bla bla bla....but guess what, its designed for guerillas to ride it. i'm 5.8" and my feet feel too folded over and yet i have to stratch and lie down on the tank to reach the handlebars....WTF Kawi, who builds a bike like that?

so it may be a great bike, but i never ride it and i've been un-actively selling it for a while cuz i ALWAYS want to ride the VTR.

 

The fueling problems are one of the reasons I didn't get a TL. I'd rather try putting a SV1k engine in our bike.

 

Everyone I know who has ridden and/or raced both says that despite the fact that the SV makes more power than the Hawk on a dyno the Hawk will outrun an SV. I don't know if it's gearing or weight or the heavy flywheel tricking the dyno, but that is the consensus from people I know (who have numerous roadracing titles among them).
Either way, unless another twin makes 120 or more horsepower the difference isn't worth going to the trouble of even considering another engine in a Hawk. I have never heard of it being done. The heavy flywheel makes the Hawk engine feel sluggish, but it really has nice characteristics (it is slow revving, though) and only loses out at the top of the rev range. For the street, talk about the Hawk being slow falls into the realm of moot benchracing. If I had it to do again I would leave the engine alone save for pipes, jetting and a cut down flywheel (unless I went all the way with cams and a full exhaust).

 

Maybe I have not ridden another v90 twin in a while but I've never noted a perturbing amount of vibration in the pegs (or elsewhere) as the Sport Rider review stated "Vibration is a constant, annoying companion when riding the Super Hawk-particularly in the pegs, which rigidly mount to the engine.".

And "TK" suspension??

My VTR is a "gentleman's express" after all my mods. I do wish I had the energy to stick on a CBR900 or later front end but mine & Greg's fork mods get by with a fork brace. The CBR600F4i calipers & RC51 SP1 MC probably are a couple notches behind the CBR1000R's brakes though. A Penske, Fox or Ohlins shock is the norm along with SS lines & pads. Slip-ons, a bit of jetting, a DB, choice of rubber, saddle, bars and sprockets is all you need. My big tank is only warranted on looong trips.

Other than that, for most realistic street needs my VTR just dam works for the money I could have spent on a Suzi TL-RV, Aprilia ST (or even a Tuano), Duc ST2 or 3 (maintenance issues though), etc. A ST'd KTM Duke V990 would be interesting, and the Speed3 is a hoot. But again, dollar-wise, the VTR still beats them all...

 

I like how when they mention the VTR they struggle for bad things to say about it. And hell it was clearly the winner at 1000 pounds cheaper than the Mille.