Ducati Monster Forum

Rockridge 2 Wheels has a Factory, already sold, sitting in its showroom.  I took a seat and chewed the fat with the salesman for a bit.

All of the Aprilias I've sat on before were beasts, but this one felt a lot like my R6.  Very comfortable.  It'd be a lot of fun in the hills and at the track.  The new owner has a Leo Vince carbon pipe to replace that bazooka, too.  Nice bike.

(http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u291/enzo76/2007_0318ApriliaRSV40005.jpg)

What's the salesguy have to say?

Neat pic.  That said, I've never understood the fascination with 'prillers.  Everyone else must know sumptin' I don't.   Wouldn't be the first time.  

BTW, are they all monoposto or just the Factory?

They are getting them in at Scuderia on Sat, along with a huge sale. Ill be there looking at KTM stuff

The RSV4R has a passenger seat, and I spotted foot peg mounting points on the Factory, but no seat.  From what I can tell you get forged wheels, magnesium case covers, carbon fiber and Ohlins all around for the Factory.

The salesman didn't say much beyond how much he loved it.  Duh.  The head is adjustable, as well as the swingarm and the frame...or at least how the engine sits in the frame.  He said the WSBK guys messed with all these adjustments but ended up going back to stock.  Personally, I have enough trouble keeping track of common suspension adjustments to worry about the chassis, but it's cool if you're into that kind of thing.

For me, Aprilias are hit and miss, but this is a well designed machine.  Neither too angular nor too curvy, it's a well balanced, subtle design without being boring.  The tail is a work of art.  It folds back on itself to frame the tail light and seat while referencing today's GP bikes with its diminutive size.  Like Ducati, Aprilia avoids pandering to the 18-24 year old testosterone set with its styling, toning down the flair a bit and letting the bike speak for itself.

I'd love to ride one and see what the fuss over the V4 is all about.  

looks like a dog that got its tail chopped off, but it should have a tail.

The sharp angles are there again. Someone needs to take a belt sander to those edges and round them off a little. i might check it out on Saturday never the less.

I have to say I'm with you on that one. I guess I don't know the same stuff, 'cuz they just don't move me at all.

Have you seen this thing in person? It's friggin tiny. I sat on it at Miller and thought I was on a 250. Worth a stop by the Scuderia open house is you haven't seen it.

I like the pink scooter better.   ;D

What's not to like about the RSV4? It's hyped as theeee sport bike of the year. I'd turn the question back around and ask what you guys know that the people who have ridden and reviewed the bike don't?

I understand statements like "I don't like the looks of the Vette" or "I'm not a fan of Chevy" and so forth. But I can still see why other people who don't have those hangups want a ZR1. Can you guys really not see why someone would want an RSV4?  [popcorn]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man)

Well played..well played.
You learned this in Law school perhaps?

Nope.  By watching cable news. They're the experts.   ;)

Are we gonna have a problem here, gramps? You wanna go outside and resolve this, huh? HUH? AAAAAAArgh HULK SMASH!
 ;)

That said, I would chuck babies into traffic all day long for that thing. Must... resist... Temptation.. of.. Getting... Into... Debt.... I don't really need to go to school next year do I?  ;D

I've heard it's Pedrosa-sized, but until i sit on it I can't say much.  

Lets see if I can employ this correctly.

Well by that logic, you must be saying that function is before form, and therefore any bike that functions very well for its intended purpose  must be likable, so therefore I must reverse my opinion, as it is, about the "Ant eater Bike" (Which picture I shall not post up here) and we should all run out and buy one because it probably is a good bike, regardless of how it looks.



(This is not to be a direct refute to ducleaners comment, but rather an acedemic practice to employ the straw man method of argument)

Here I have made some assertions which ducleaner did not infer, to come out with a lame argument.

Me too!   [thumbsup]

They have an orange and a pink one at the Vespa store in Corte Madera.  I stopped by there killing time before my kid's soccer game and was looking at them and the saleguy was all "Well, you have to have a motorcycle license" and I said "Yeah I have a Ducati."  Vespa was my gateway motorcycle....

I don't know about Aprillia but I do like the V4. I hear they are doing a Touano with a V4 as well. Honda is redoing the interceptor this year with a 1300 V4. Must be a moto gp thing...

We stopped by the Scuderia open house and saw them today. They had two sold bikes under an EZ up, and a display model.

Don fired up the display bike so we could listen. The exhaust note deepens a lot when the bike's in gear...there's a butterfly valve in the exhaust that activates only when the bike is in gear. My first thoughts:

• It's small and compact...very short, very light. Just like my impression when I saw it at Miller.
• The exhaust can is fugly: big, square, long. That'd have to go.
• The cockpit makes you feel like you're on the bike, not in the bike. Reminded me of the way the Streetfighter felt.
• The shifter is a direct connect to the splines for regular shift. GP shift would, presumably, require a linkage and new rearsets. Ouch.
• Lots of carbon fiber on the factory model. Ohlins all around, including a well-hidden transverse steering damper under the top triple.

List on the Factory model is $21k. Not sure I want to spend that for a first model year, but we'll see how this bike develops.

I said I understand choosing form over function. I used my distaste for the Vette as an example.


I only claimed that since taste is subjective, it would be narrow minded to say that you couldn't imagine anyone liking the styling. Remember, you didn't just say "You don't like it." You said you couldn't understand why anyone would like it.


Nope. No more should you do that than should I go buy a Vette which I don't like. Of course you're free to like or dislike it.  I was just suggesting your language about the bike were too  harsh considering how good it is purported to be. In fact, I all but came out and said that you were letting brand loyalty affect your ability to judge the product on its merits. Aprillia came out with a phenomenal bike and by being too effusive in panning it you lost credibility.

Are you thinkin' about gettin' one, DQ?


Uh . . . no one said that.

No. I'd go 1198s before I did the Priller.

Never mind all that. Was my "straw man" done correctly or are you just countering it?