Aprilia Demo Days in Denver

Erico Motorsports, a Ducati and Triumph dealer near downtown Denver, has added Aprilia motorcycles. They will be having the Aprilia Demo Truck at the dealer on May 25 and 26. More info later.

damn! how soon is the next flight to CO? :lol:

damn! how soon is the next flight to CO? :lol: No chit... meet ya there!!

The Aprilia demo rides started at 10am today. Perfect weather. I got there at 10:30, figuring that the first wave of riders would be finished. I couldn't believe there was no one there. I signed up for the Tuono for my first ride and the Mille Factory for my second ride. The Tuono was nice. A real honest-to God handlebar and great seating position. A slight stumble off idle, but tons of torque. We went on a short 8-mile ride that included streets and interstate. I hit the horn button several times while using the turnsignals. The little windscreen didn't block much wind. The bike handled and accelerated smartly. There was some potholes I couldn't avoid, but the suspension soaked it up. I liked it. I couldn't wait to try the Ohlin forks and shock on the Factory. Getting on the Factory from the Tuono was like night and day. The clip-ons were set so low it felt like they were connected to the front axle. Not only were the clip-ons super low, they were set at weird downward angles. The mirrors showed a nice view of my elbows. No matter how I adjusted them. The seat was hard and sharp-edged. For an expensive bike, the Factory's body work was a mixture of flat black, shiny black, and carbon fiber. Looked kind of boring, but the frame and Oz wheels were a nice muted gold color. I guess I'm not used to stubby clip-ons, but they needed a good shove to get the bike turned. I much preferred the Tuono's handlebar. I was actually scared on the highway. Since the mirrors were useless, I had to really crank my head to see if there was a car or bike next to me when I changed lanes. It's pretty hard to see around your shoulders when you're laying on the gas tank. And I do yoga. On the streets, it had the same stumble off idle as the Tuono. The suspension was better than the Tuono, but not that much better. Did I mention the brakes? Terrific brakes on both bikes. We had a different leader the second time and I asked her if she was taking the same route. She said yes. I was the second bike behind her coming off the interstate. We rode staggered and I was by the curb. There was no traffic to merge with, so I was leaned over about to accelerate onto the street. There was a concrete triangle that separated traffic going south from traffic that had to stop at the light to turn north. With the other leader we turned south. All of a sudden she slows and turns on the other side of the triangle to head north. Meanwhile, I'm on the inside of the curve accelerating south. I grab the brakes. The bike stood up and decelerated with some skidding. This put me on the outside of the curve, but I was past the turnoff to go north. I stopped the bike without hitting the triangle or falling down. But now I'm facing south and I can't back up on the off ramp. She turns south and I catch up with her at the next light. She said she went the wrong way, but I felt like a jerk. Even though the Factory was super uncomfortable, I liked the engine, suspension and brakes. I never revved the engine over 9 grand and I'm sure it's terrific on a race course, but I would take the Tuono over the Factory on the street or a race course. They served food and drinks and had three stunters give a long demo on wheelies, stoppies and burnouts. I talked to a rep from the demo truck and mentioned the engine stumble and he said the bikes had come from sea level in southern CA. Anyway, I had a great time and am looking forward to the next demo truck. Triumph or Ducati anyone?

No Worries... great write up. I wish I would have been there. Sounds like fun. Plus upload your pic to the My TWF Shirt (http://www.twowheelforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php/cat/548) gallery.