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Post by termite on Jul 9, 2007 19:35:13 GMT -5
Has anyone actually seen(in person) or rode one of these yet? Looks nice to me. Sport styling, but with the bigger wheels of the "People type" style. www.scooteringusa.com/aprilia/ |
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Post by MLN on Jul 9, 2007 20:27:29 GMT -5
There seems to be no room for your feet. The floor board is very short! Nice looking scoot though.
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Post by tastroman on Jul 9, 2007 20:53:20 GMT -5
I sat on one but the dealer would not let me take it on a test drive. I am 6'1" and fit on it just fine. It is a very nice looking, sporty scooter. They sell a full coverage after market windshield that looks nice also. If it was not for Aprilia owners complaining of difficulty obtaining parts I would have purchased it.
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Post by ronnath on Jul 20, 2007 9:58:02 GMT -5
I took delivery of an Aprilia Sportcity 250 about a month ago and wanted to post some thoughts on the bike. The Aprilia replaced a Reflex that was totaled in an accident.
First Impressions
The Sportcity is a new model in 2007. It came to the US to replace the Scarabeo 250. I’ve never even seen a Beo 250, so I can’t provide any thoughts on the differences or similarities between the two.
Since I have only the Reflex to compare with the Sportcity my impressions of the latter have to be made with the former in mind.
When I took delivery the bike had 25 miles on the clock. The dealer explained that as they assemble each new bike they take them for a thorough test ride to check for squeaks, rattles, leaks, throttle response, brakes and so on.
The ride from the dealer to my house (about 15 miles) largely confirmed what I was told. It was rock solid, the brakes worked well, and the bike performed flawlessly.
My first impressions produced some mixed emotions:
The Sportcity is clearly smaller than the Reflex. It is a bit shorter, has slightly less foot room on the floorboard, and is lighter by about 50 pounds. One issue is the seat height. It’s maybe two to three inches taller than the Reflex. As a result I can only flat foot one foot at a time. It’s close, but I would prefer to flat foot both sides. I’m 6 foot, with a 32 inch inseam, by the way.
The Sportcity does not have a side stand. What were they thinking! The lighter weight makes it easier than the Reflex to get up on the center stand.
The instrumentation does not include a tachometer. No tach will be no big deal for me. The speedometer is analog. The clock, fuel and temperature gauges are digital. There’s also a digital volt meter.
There’s much less room under the seat than on the Reflex. My full face modular XL helmet won’t quite fit. The gas cap is also under there and feeds the 2.4 gallon tank. (The dealer claims it should be good for 70 mpg. I got 62 with my Reflex and a friend claims 65 on his. A real gripe – the octane recommendations are in European ratings – not US. Some folks on another board said to go with 87 and switch up if it pings. Sigh.)
The battery lurks under a panel at the front of the floorboard.
There’s a very small two-sided “glove box” inside the front leg shield. The skimpy tool kit resides there and takes up a goodly share of the space on the right side. For the smokers, you can squeeze a pack of cigarettes into the same area. However, that’s also the location for the cell phone plug-in, so pack accordingly. The left side is almost useless-maybe sunglasses?
Immediately above the glove box is a swing-out bag holder, but the owner’s manual almost discourages you from using it – swinging weight, you know.
The rear rack is a plastic/heavy vinyl-type material. The warning sticker places the weight limit at 15 pounds. I’ll probably get a top case for it because of the cramped under-seat storage. Gotta have a place for the rain suit, walk-around hat, tire repair kit and such.
The next impression was the ride. Smooth, describes it very well. There’s a bit more spring travel, but those 15 inch wheels are really what does it. Much smoother riding than the Reflex.
The Sportcity is fuel injected and makes for very smooth throttle response. Even though they are both 250cc engines, the Sportcity is much torquier than the Reflex. My Reflex had the K-modification done to it, which made for a much better response from a dead stop and cured the dead spot between 30 and 40, but it still had a fair amount of vibration throughout the range. The Sportcity doesn’t. It’s really twist-n-go. Almost no vibration from a dead stop all the way to 50. After I get the break-in done, the real test will be performed – dead stop to my comfort zone top end.
Speaking of the break-in period, the manual is rather vague on the subject. For example, it recommends riding on lots of twisty roads for the first 60 miles. The reason? To get the steering, shocks, and brakes broken in. Then work up to about 300 miles at limited speeds and varying throttle usage to work on the engine and drive train. Then do moderate throttle usage up to about 600 miles at which point they want you back at the dealer for the first service.
And speaking of the manual, I won’t, except to say it’s in two languages, with side-by-side columns in English and French, no index (!), and so damn many bold face warnings and cautions that one is almost discouraged from reading it. What’s not boldfaced is in a tiny font. I found the manual as a PDF file on Aprilia’s site and downloaded that. I can at least enlarge it to make the tiny print a bit more legible.
That’s about it at this point. More later as the odometer builds.
Following the above comments by several days, I attended a meeting of our scoot club. After the meeting, we decided to take a ride. By the time I returned home I’d clocked another 75 or so miles. The weather was very hot and humid, and there was a wind of about 25 or so out of the northwest. Our ride was on both highways and byways. Speed limits ranged from 25 to 55.
That said, here are additional impressions.
- that lack of space under the seat is a real pain in the ass. And to open the seat there is a key lock on the side below the seat AND below a bulge in the plastic panel. Standing beside the bike (i'm a six footer) and looking downward, i have to lean over to see the lock. For me, an inconvenience, for shorter riders perhaps no big deal.
And on the subject of storage, I really need to get a top box. I’ve never been a big fan of them because of my sense of aesthetics – that is, I think they “spoil the lines” of scoots. However I feel about it, a top box is a necessary evil.
Since I’m still observing break-in mileage I cooled it a little on a stretch of highway we covered in the ride and I had a difficult time keeping up with the leader. Once I’m past the 300 mile mark it’s fairly obvious there won’t be problem. The scoot moves right out to my self-imposed 55 limit and there was a fair bit of twist left in the throttle. The Sportcity should be good for upwards of 70/75. I think 80 might be possible, but that would be well beyond my aforementioned comfort zone.
Since I hadn’t really been on a bike in over a month, and it was very hot out, my butt got pretty uncomfortable after about 50 of the miles and I greeted the odd stop sign and stop light with the relief of being able to stand up and let my ass cool off. The ride, however, was as good as my initial impressions noted earlier. Those big wheels and the long spring travel make for a pretty comfortable ride. I think the seat might have a bit less padding than the flex, but I’m not really sure.
In addition to ride comfort I should mention the handling. It handles very nicely. It may be for a couple of reasons: the big tires, and the lighter weight. It goes where you point it and takes curves very nicely. I’ve always been leery of really tight turns but I’m finding the bike to be pretty easy to make those turns.
A comment on the weight: I find it very easy to move around in the garage. It’s only about 50 pounds lighter than the flex, but it just seems so much easier to push backwards while in the saddle or on your feet turning it around. The Sportcity is several inches shorter than the flex, so that may also contribute.
The bike ran very nicely without a hiccup anywhere along the line. It may be because of the fuel injection, but I couldn’t spot a “dead zone” anywhere through the throttle range – very unlike the Reflexes with the same size engine. The Reflex vibrates right from the git-go and has a dead spot between about 30 and 40 but pulls fairly well both above and below that range. Reflexes really benefit from the “K-mod”. While there is some vibration (all “thumpers” ((one cylinder bikes)) do that), the Sportcity’s isn’t particularly noticeable.
I still don’t know about the gas mileage. At the end of the ride I was down to two “bars” on the gas gauge and went ahead and filled it. The 1.75 gallons it took worked out to about 62 mpg but I hadn’t been careful of noting the mileage so I’m waiting for the next fill.
The Sportcity comes with a very small windshield (mentioned above) and is comparable in size to the one on the Reflex Sport model. Mine was the regular Reflex so the windshield was much taller and did an excellent job deflecting wind from your upper body and helmet. I was interested in feeling the difference and this ride (with the above mentioned northwestly winds) was a pretty good tryout. Lo and behold, we were well into the ride before I even thought about it. I wear a full face helmet, but I didn’t even really feel any undue wind on my chest. The only time I noticed the wind was when it was coming from the side and I had to lean into it a little bit.
at this point i'm satisfied with the Sportcity.
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Post by tastroman on Jul 20, 2007 16:32:21 GMT -5
Thanks for the review. Nice job.
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Post by scooterollie on Jul 20, 2007 17:41:06 GMT -5
Ronanth:
Awesome scoot and great review. As you probably already know, most important thing on break in is varying speed - no long hauls at a constant speed. My preference is also for the "soft" break in but I don't get ridiculous about it. I think you are right, the big wheels are the secret to better handling. Too many of the Chinese scoots I have been on had very stiff suspensions, probably to accommodate two riders, that take away some of the joy of riding. Keep us posted!
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Post by ronnath on Jul 28, 2007 9:24:39 GMT -5
here's an update to my previous report on the Sportcity.
i decided to add to the storage capability that i complained about. i went to Newenough.com and bought a Nelson Rigg rear bag. it doubles as a carrying case and has the capacity to hold my FF helmet in size XL. it's held on the bike by bungie cords and i've found it to be rock solid at highway speeds.
i just poured in my third tank of gas and was very pleasantly suprised to find i got 73 mpg on the tank.
my odomoter has moved into the mid 400s and i'm starting to really like this bike. it starts instantly and i let it warm up for a minute or so and then take off. throttle response is instant and i've found it to be quicker than the K-modded Reflex to get to speed.
At the rate i'm putting miles on "Guido" i'll be at the 600 mile point in a week or so and then will take it back to the dealer for the recommended checkup, oil change, and whatever other magic they perform at that point.
My biggest disappointment is that lousy owner's manual (i mentioned that in my original post). i mentioned i ended up downloading the manual from Aprilia's website. just out of curiousity i looked for, and found, the manual for the Scarabeo 250 and downloaded that. the Beo's manual was very complete, with loads of illustrations. i'd kill for a comparable manual for my bike.
i'll post more later if anyone's interested in follow-up impressions. i'm getting the urge to go for a ride to the post office and drop a letter in the mail. i'm pretty sure it's critical to get that letter mailed RIGHT NOW! ;D
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Post by gusset on Jul 28, 2007 11:52:33 GMT -5
i'll post more later if anyone's interested in follow-up impressions. i'm getting the urge to go for a ride to the post office and drop a letter in the mail. i'm pretty sure it's critical to get that letter mailed RIGHT NOW! ;D :-) |
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Post by termite on Jul 28, 2007 23:50:57 GMT -5
Termite: Awesome scoot and great review. As you probably already know, most important thing on break in is varying speed - no long hauls at a constant speed. My preference is also for the "soft" break in but I don't get ridiculous about it. I think you are right, the big wheels are the secret to better handling. Too many of the Chinese scoots I have been on had very stiff suspensions, probably to accommodate two riders, that take away some of the joy of riding. Keep us posted! Wasn't me, rollie. That was Ronnath. I just ask the initial question. |
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Post by scooterollie on Jul 29, 2007 7:05:01 GMT -5
Termite;
Sorry, got the names backwards!
ScooterOllie
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Post by aristide1 on Aug 2, 2007 15:42:31 GMT -5
here's an update to my previous report on the Sportcity. ........... i just poured in my third tank of gas and was very pleasantly suprised to find i got 73 mpg on the tank. my odomoter has moved into the mid 400s and i'm starting to really like this bike. Fuel injected and 4 valves, a win-win combo. And given your mileage it's bound to get better. Does it have an oil filter?? Actually everything has a "worst" point about itself somewhere. If the manual is the worst point that sounds like a winning scoot to me. |
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