Show your other bike(s) - What else do you ride?

Something a bit more tame here.
Show your other bike(s) - What else do you ride?
 
Not too much action here lately, so I'll post this one. My belated 80th birthday present. Not mine yet, but I just put down a deposit on the first one my local dealer gets. Should arrive some time in March. 2022 Aprilia Tuono 660 Factory.

399 lbs. wet, 100 hp, all the electronic trickery gadgets one could possibly want, and a comfortable sit-up position. Ride reports claim excellent handling, braking, etc. Fits right in with my shift towards smaller, lighter weight bikes. And I really want to try all the new leaned-over braking and traction control stuff.

More details here:


View attachment 85074

Ken

Finally! I picked the bike up yesterday at the dealer and rode it home. It think it's going to be really fun. Very much like my old Triumph Street Triple, but with way more electronic wizardry.

Right 1200.JPG


Left 1200.JPG


Now to get some break-in miles out of the way.

Ken
 
Nice one Ken!

I was looking at the RS 660 as a track toy a little while back. I think this 660 platform is great, decent power, simple, light and with that little bit of Italian va-va-voom to boot !

Enjoy.
 
This is my '82 Suzuki GS1100E Mr Turbo ex Bonneville and El Mirage race bike, taken new to Don Vesco's shop and fitted with the turbo plus lots of other work. Only 2,750 miles, 182 RWHP with a smallish MIkuni HSR42 running lower boost. Ran 25 lbs and did 184 MPH in '96. EPM magnesium wheels on it. It was street registered and the PO said it was the fasted documented street legal bike for quite some time. Maybe others were faster but I have time slips :cool: . A bit of a beast!

Show your other bike(s) - What else do you ride?


Show your other bike(s) - What else do you ride?


Show your other bike(s) - What else do you ride?


Show your other bike(s) - What else do you ride?
 
I couldn't resist this one. I've been looking for a nice KTM 690 DUKE for a couple of years, and finally settled on this one. It's a 2018 model, the last year they were made. It has almost 12,000 miles on the clock, but seems pretty well cared for. The owner had already added adjustable Andreani fork cartridges and a better shock. It weighs 352 lbs. wet and makes 73 hp at the crank. Not a bad power/weight ratio. What's not to like?

Show your other bike(s) - What else do you ride?


Show your other bike(s) - What else do you ride?


Ken
 
A mate of mine has owned one of those 690s from new, & we ride together a lot. It is light, chuckable, & stops well. It goes like stink, & has the same performance as my 920 Commando. The only downside is at lower speeds where it's very lumpy, due I think, to the lack of flywheel effect.
Something to watch out for, is the rocker spindle bearings can, & do disintegrate, usually at around the 12 to 15 thousand mile mark.

Martyn.
 
Whats it like to ride Ken?

And how does it compare to the 660 ?

Well, so far I've only put 30 miles on it, and I'm already convinced it's a keeper. It's pretty much just like Martyn described. But it is quite different from my Aprilia 660, especially the riding ergos. The sit-up style is much easier on my back and neck, but I'll have to wait to see how it feels with some more aggressive riding. So far the only negative I've noticed is the engine roughness at low speed that Martyn mentioned. It runs great as long as it's got a few rpm going and the throttle open a bit. It doesn't like to be lugged down in the higher gears, and it's a bit lumpy trying to just cruise at low throttle and low load. But as long as you're in the right gear, it pulls like crazy above 4,000 rpm or so. The PO had removed the O2 sensor and fitted a shorting plug, claiming it improved the low rpm torque. I think I'll plug it back in to compare. I'll probably also be playing with the gearing and suspension settings a bit to suit my riding, but I don't think it needs a lot. I did reset the front and rear spring preloads to get the sag where I like it. The PO was a lot heavier than I, and rode some really rough roads up in the mountains, so the settings were pretty far off for me. I'm probably going to the next softer fork springs, and maybe gearing down a little. As it is, I can't really use sixth gear until past legal highway speeds.

Ken
 
A mate of mine has owned one of those 690s from new, & we ride together a lot. It is light, chuckable, & stops well. It goes like stink, & has the same performance as my 920 Commando. The only downside is at lower speeds where it's very lumpy, due I think, to the lack of flywheel effect.
Something to watch out for, is the rocker spindle bearings can, & do disintegrate, usually at around the 12 to 15 thousand mile mark.

Martyn.
Thanks for the warning, Martyn. I'll be doing a service on it in a couple hundred more miles, and I'll be sure to check the rockers.

Ken
 
I have several other bikes, including the Honda VF750F mentioned in my barndo thread. This is the next one that is getting "un-storage" treatment; it needs a battery, carbs cleaned, brakes unstuck, and probably a tank flush.

Show your other bike(s) - What else do you ride?


This is a fun bike.
 
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