2012 Aprilia Tuono V4 R Aprc on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Aprilia SMV750 Dorsoduro

After gaining experience from GP and supermotard circuits, Aprilia has designed and produced the Aprilia SMV750 Dorsoduro. Named after an area of Venice, the Dorsoduro utilizes a derivative of Aprilia’s 92 hp 750cc liquid-cooled engine with a second generation ride-by-wire control system. With the US debut of the mid-size SMV750 Dorsoduro, the Italian manufacturer now offers American riding enthusiasts a lightweight, high-performance V-Twin streetbike that combinesall the benefits of supermoto styling and riding position with precision handling and race-bred technology.

New Aprilia Scarabeo Scooter Videos are Kinda Lame

Aprilia just posted some new videos on YouTube for their 2009 Scarabeo scooters and damn, they are cheesy.  The most cheesy thing about them is the music.  The 80′s called… The 3 minute video features several different kinds of Aprilia Scarabeo scooter and each one has its own “music” to accompany it.  Awesome! Check the full article for the post.  Make sure you have your speakers cranked so people around you can enjoy. Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Bahrain track days

A few months ago, expat (and ex racer) John Beddall made contact to ask if I fancied doing some track day instruction out in Bahrain.  After thinking about it for two seconds, flights were booked and a plan was put in place to look after around forty riders for a day at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).  Young Taylor Mac was also recruited to look after any tasty riders that I couldn’t deal with   The Brits out there love their bikes, however, quite a few locals also turned up plus a few others from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.  Most were on high end Superbikes, like S1000s, Panigales and RSV4s but there was also a healthy number R6s and new 675Rs.   Although this fabulous Hermann Tilke designed circuit is around ten years old incredibly it has never hosted a bike race.  The highlight of the year there is F1 but being owned by the Bahrainian Royal family, there is no desperate need for the circuit to operate as a profitable business.  The track reminded me of Qatar but much more interesting as some great undulations have been built into its desert location. We shared the track with Supercars on the day (20mins on/20mins off) and as you might imagine it was betty swollocks for seven hours in the 30 plus temperatures.  As usual there was a few offs with poor old RS1000 Aprilia mounted Andy breaking his femur early in the day.  Two other buddies appeared to swap bikes mid air in another incident but fortunately escaped unhurt.In the evening everyone stayed for an al fresco dinner in the paddock with the craic going on for hours as the Fosters kept flowing.   All in all it was a brilliant trip and it has left me thinking there could be cost effective ways of getting Brits out there for track days next winter.  I'll keep you posted.Cape Town next to make my racing comeback at the Killarney 8 hour on a CBR150 Honda.  Hopefully I can manage the beast, I'll post a full report next week.