I’m a sportbike guy; I make no excuses or apologies for that. So what’s in it for me when we’re talking about a sit-up-and-beg, motard-styled, single-cylinder, street bike?
Plenty, if we’re talking about Aprilia’s 650 Strada.
To start with, it’s a remarkably practical round-towner.
The little oddments tray on top of the fuel tank is just the right size for all the parking slips, small change, packs of chewing gum, sunglasses and just plain rubbish that seem to fill the lives (and pockets!) of modern urbanites.
Just a word to the wise: bear in mind that all your minutiae will be on display for the pump jockey the next time you fill up and said worthies are not known for discretion. Keep your more private bits and pieces in the somewhat larger storage space under the seat.
It’s also superbly agile at inner-city speeds, quick-steering almost to a fault, and capable of slipping through surprisingly narrow gaps in the traffic the Strada is not as big as it looks.
The 659cc four-valve, single-cylinder engine is built by Minarelli and used by both Aprilia and Yamaha (in its XT660).
It looks a bit Heath-Robinsonian, festooned as it is with a veritable rats’ nest of external tubes and wires, but has proved to be durable and responsive.
The fuel-injection system with its 44mm throttle body is in fact a little too sensitive at small throttle openings but you soon learn to make allowances for it; the engine works best if the throttle is either slightly open or completely closed.
The torque comes on strong from about 3000rpm, peaking out at about 5000 and tailing off quickly after 6000 revs. Give it big handfuls and the Aprilia will go through the gears quicker than you expect; the shift light often caught me unawares.
Yes, the Aprilia Strada is the only big single I know of with a bright blue light on the instrument panel that tells you when it’s time to change up but on a bike this responsive it’s not a affectation.
On our top-end runs the test bike which had been carefully run in by Cape Town Aprilia agent Eurobike went up to 172km/h in top with the shift light flickering at 6450rpm, and I was able to hold a steady 160km/h with the engine buzzing sweetly at about 6000.
Positive shift action
The clutch is light but takes up firmly and predictably; the gearbox, even well run in, remains distinctly notchy but the shift action is very positive. During the several hundred kilometres of the test rides I never missed a shift.
But the big surprise of this longer review period was the suspension; at the launch I said it was “firm but progressive”; when I ran the bike over our bumpy test track, however, it coped better than most street bikes better, in fact, than some off-road machinery.
The bike neither wallowed nor shook its head but soaked up the bumps and ridges without losing its composure or relaying the impacts to the base of my spine.
Part of that was due to the deeply padded, carefully contoured seat but most of the credit must go to the beautifully progressive action of the shock absorbers at both ends.
It’s worth noting that, even at a steady 90km/h over a road that’s usually difficult at 80, the suspension never bottomed out except when carrying a passenger. The Sachs rear monoshock can be set to cope with the extra payload but the forks offer no adjustment and become prone to excessive dive when overloaded.
Classic Italiana
Like all classic Italiana the Strada handles but does so without relying on rock-hard suspension for stability.
The brakes, powerful as they are when needed on fast, open roads, offer enough feedback for accurate use at traffic-jam speeds, although the rear brake is a little sharp for the gridlock and needs to be applied with care especially in the wet.
Riding a motorcycle, whether hitting the apexes of your favourite twisties on a Sunday morning or slicing through the gridlock out of the city, is an intensely focused process, with little time or attention to spare for additional input which is why only long-haul tourers have sound systems.
Default menu
The Strada’s trip data computer is impressive, both for its wide range of readouts and their ease of accessibility, but the only time we could safely browse its menus was on long straight roads if you seriously need to check your range to the next fuel stop or reset the lap timer, I suggest you stop at the roadside.
Just like using a cell phone while driving, the computer simply takes up too much of the rider’s attention. 95 percent of the time I left it on the default menu, showing the speedometer, time and bar-graph fuel gauge those are after all the three things a rider needs to know.
Fuel consumption over the entire review period, by the way, worked out to 6.45 litres/100km, which is a little on the thirsty side for a midweight single although this one could be forgiven much for its relatively short gearing and sprightly performance.
Aprilia’s 650 single may look like a motard but it’s really a remarkably sophisticated, totally practical streetbike boasting unarguable build quality and unexpected performance credentials.
It’s very nice not having to make excuses for an Italian bike for once.
