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All Aprilia RST Futura Reviews

Aprilia RST Futura 1000cc Apr '03 (03)

Overall Rating:

Review

Now this is a seriously underestimated bike. When it was launched it was overpriced, had dubious styling & Aprilia had various woes that made them a less than secure choice, for many riders. Which is a shame, because Aprilia got it so right with this one.

Comfort;
Very comfortable (beats XJR for seat comfort), with a relatively short reach to the bars & the pegs only a little way back. The seat is to die for. 2 hours in the saddle is easy, you'd run out of fuel before it started to bother you.

Performance;
With about 113bhp from the 60º Rotax V twin, the rev counter never pauses from 2500 revs to the red line (10,500) in top. This would be about 155mph, plenty. The gearing is a little low, but that makes red light drags much more fun.

Handling;
Showa USDs up front & Sachs unit behind (with a remote pre-load adjuster). Get the suspension dialed in & it's excellant. Not up to a sports bike's speed & agility, but not too far off either.

Economy;
Not bad, I averaged about 43mpg over a year.

Braking;
Again. Decent & progressive from 4 pot Brembos. Usual caveat, use braided lines & it'll be sharp.

Down sides;
Like every vehicle there's something to moan about. On the Futura it's the charging circuit & a cheap fuel quick disconnect (QD). Aprilia skimmped on the wiring & one particular connector when creating this bike, that can reslut in a dead bike at the side of the road. BUT, it's an easy fix. The QD is made of a plastic that gets brittle with age & can break VERY easily. Again easy fix.

Up sides;
It's a very distinctive bike, which makes it a bit exotic & special, though that can polarise opinions.
The clocks are gorgeous, with blue back-lighting (with adjustable brightness) & various LCD pie-chart displays for; engine temp, fuel, ambient air temp along with the usual clock, odo etc. On a related note, I think the speedo is more accurate than most too (but that could be just my perception).
The screen is very good at protecting you, but there does tend to give fair bit of turbulance around the helmet.

Lastly, it's a hoot to ride! If you get one, you'll not be disappointed

Submitted by

egg.n.suz@talkt on 20/04/2008

This review has been shown 53181 times

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Aprilia RST Futura 1000cc Sept '02 (52)