Futurama

FUTURAMA

ITALY 2001

Aprilia's sport-tourer of tomorrow

BRIAN CATTERSON

THE EARTH TREMBLED, BOULDERS TUMBLED, STEAM BILLOWED FROM THE MOUNtaintop and then it exploded, shooting flames a thousand feet high. Brimstone rained down from the heavens, lava flowed in crimson streams, and when the smoke finally cleared, there amid the jagged black volcanic rock stood a vision in shimmering silver: The Aprilia RST 1000 Futura was born.

Okay, so maybe it didn’t happen exactly like that, but all the elements were in place. To introduce its new sport-tourer to the motorcycling press, Aprilia flew us to Sicily, an island off the southern tip of Italy-or as one local described it, “the football being kicked by the boot.” Centerpiece of said isle is Mount Etna, a mile-high active volcano that does in fact erupt every once in a while, though the locals seem to have a pretty good handle on which way the lava flows. Even so, visions of Vesuvius danced through my head.

Sicily would seem an unlikely location for a press intro, but for two reasons: 1) The winter weather is much more temperate there than farther north in Europe and 2) the road to the top of Etna is epic, with something like 30 miles of switchbacks! The choice of venue was critical because this was the first Aprilia intro not held at a racetrack since the RSV Mille was launched three years ago.

In that short period, Aprilia has matured from a manufacturer of lightweights and scooters into a bonafide player in the big-bore sportbike market. The Futura further widens Aprilia’s scope in that it gives the company an entry into the sport-touring segment. More so even than the SL 1000 Falco, the Futura is based on the RSV Mille. It utilizes the same basic twin-spar aluminum frame, albeit with a few decimal points greater rake, trail and wheelbase for enhanced stability. New is the single-sided alloy swingarm, which adds an element of Italian high-tech chic while theoretically permitting quicker tire changes, and the bolt-on steel subframe, which is larger to support the massive twoperson saddle.

The shape of the seat drew some heat at the Futura’s debut at last fall’s Munich Show; one miffed company employee likened it to that of a three-passenger personal watercraft. As a result, the Futura’s official launch was delayed while the seat was redesigned-or rather restyled, because the seat itself is unchanged, it just gained decorative plastic trim around its flanks. The entire thing comes off in one piece after turning a key in the lower left comer of the dashboard-a long reach even for knuckle-dragging Neanderthals. Taller handlebars and lower footpegs make for a more relaxed riding position than on any of Aprilia’s other sportbikes.

The wind tunnel-developed bodywork is all-new, and reflects the current trend toward angular shapes inspired by the F-l 17 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter. While there’s no denying that the look is distinctive, it’s definitely an acquired taste, and arguably pointless-perhaps the designers at the Lockheed Skunk Works should have reminded their counterparts at Aprilia that the point of the exercise was not to be seen. It would be one thing if the Futura’s fairing deflected radar (now there ’s an idea!), but it doesn’t. Heightening the weirdness are the curious pentagonal mirrors with integral tumsignals, plus the squarish instruments on the redesigned dash. A neat touch is the iuel-filler cap positioned at the right edge of the plastic tank top, allowing complete fill-ups while the bike is on its sidestand. A centerstand (remember those?) comes standard.

There was some discussion of global-positioning systems, and while an Aprilia spokesperson admitted that the company is working on one for the Futura and the forthcoming CapoNord adventure-tourer, they have yet to find a GPS that is small or mgged enough for use on a production motorcycle.

Also new is the Futura’s stainless-steel exhaust system, which snakes beneath the engine before rising up past the rider’s right instep and culminating in an oddball triangular underseat muffler. The double-pronged goal here was to isolate the rider and passenger from exhaust heat while allowing the saddlebags to nestle tightly against the body. Though the bikes we rode were not so equipped, hard luggage will come standard on U.S. models.

Engine-wise, the RST is RSV all the way, with the notable exception of a Sagem engine-management system (replacing the previously used Denso unit) that allegedly allows finer tailoring of the air/fuel mixture and spark timing. A larger generator provides increased voltage for the powerful headlights and touring accessories, as well as increasing flywheel inertia for smoother power delivery. Otherwise, the Futura engine was built to Mille specs, so as not to diminish its intended role as a sort of supersport-touring bike.

In that respect, Aprilia hit the nail square on the head. Like the Mille and Falco before it, the Futura’s Rotax-built, 998cc, 60-degree V-Twin combines the traditional virtues of a twincylinder engine (tractability, bottom-end grunt) with those of a more modem four-valver (linear powerband, top-end zing).

Think of it as a Ducati ST2 and ST4 combined. Claimed output is 113 crankshaft horsepower and 71 foot-pounds of torque.

The test loop Aprilia laid out for us in Sicily began with a quick blast down the autostrada, and at an indicated 200 kph (approx. 125 mph), the Futura was dead-nuts stable. Yet once we’d exited onto twisty backroads, the bike flicked easily into comers, particularly after I’d dialed-in some additional shock-spring preload via the convenient hydraulic adjuster. The Showa fork and Sachs shock are both preload and rebound-damping adjustable, and perform admirably, even if the slightly soft springs let the centerstand drag at racier lean angles. The Brembo brakes are similarly excellent.

While engine performance is spectacular, the counterbalanced V-Twin didn’t mn as smoothly as I remembered. The last time I rode a Mille, it impressed me as being smoother and more refined than a 996. But compared to an ST4, the RST felt coarse, a little unsophisticated even.

As on the Mille, the Futura’s pneumatic-assisted clutch causes the lever to pulsate when it’s pulled in partway at idle, but that’s transparent in motion. What is apparent is the narrow range of clutch engagement and abrupt off/on throttle response, which conspire to impede low-speed rideability. Try maldng a U-turn on a narrow road, as I did numerous times while riding back and forth for the photographer’s camera, and you’ll feel yourself starting to tip over until you stumble upon the justright combination of throttle opening and clutch slippage.

That might not sound like a big deal, but on the day before our ride, a German journalist actually dropped a bike while performing just such a maneuver! The Aprilia folks were quick to blame him, suggesting that he wasn’t a skilled operator, but the bike was at least partly to blame. Unladen, the Futura weighs a claimed 462 pounds, 50 more than a Mille. Add the weight of a passenger and luggage, high up on the motorcycle, and the situation would only be exacerbated.

When I mentioned this to Futura project manager Pierluigi Marconi (a former Bimota employee who developed the SB8R, among other models), he nodded knowingly, and admitted that his team is still working on a cure. Hopefully, they’ll find one, because with that fixed, the Futura would be a near-flawless motorcycle, quite probably the best in its class. Just the kind of bike you’d want to be on if, say, your friendly neighborhood volcano suddenly erupted and you had to get far, far away as fast as possible.

Unless you lived on a small island, in which case you’d be toast. Futura flambé, anyone? U