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Ride Review: 2009 Aprilia Mana 850 (long)

9K views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  arcticamt6 
#1 ·
I like being thorough, so this is pretty long winded. If you dont wanna read it all just skip to the last couple paragraphs.

My mom recently sold her old bike, and this weekend she picked up her new Aprilia. Previously she had a Honda Shadow VLX 600. It was a nice bike for her, but heavy, underpowered, and with only 4 gears it really struggled on the freeway. Last november we attended the annual Long Beach Motorcycle show, and after test riding an RSV1000 I noticed the demo ride leader pointing out the details of the Mana to some people and found some really interesting features. I called my mom over and she was really interested. Even though the demo rides were over for the day she asked if she could ride it around the lot. The ride leader was nice enough to grab a bike, and lead her on her own private demo ride for about 20min. After that she was sold on the bike, and has been planning the purchase ever since.

This weekend we took a trip up to Pro Italia in Glendale, CA to pick up the new bike. We had arranged the deal over the phone, and I think they gave us a very good deal. Everyone there was really helpful and pleasant. Really great to work with, I just wish we lived close enough to use them for service as well. Pro Italia actually just recently became an Aprilia dealer (in addition to Ducati and MV) and my mom was actually their first official Aprilia buyer.


Ok on to the bike.



This afternoon I decided to take moms new bike for a ride, since she's keepin it in my garage right now :banana . The first think you'll notice about this bike is that there's no clutch lever. It uses a CVT drive system similar to a large scooter, so shifting is not required, though it is an option (i'll get to that later). The next big feature is that the tank isn't a tank at all. The fuel is stored under the seats, and the filler is under the passenger seat. The "tank" is actually a very large storage compartment, specifically shaped to fit a full face helmet. Very cool. In addition there is a small dome light inside this compartment and a 12V power port for charging your phone or whatever.

Now for the actual riding.

Ergos are very comfy. Seating is very upright, quite similar to my Z1000, SV650 or any of a number of standards and nakeds. The seat height is great for me at 6', but is a touch high for my mom at 5'4. I ended up putting the rear preload at its lowest setting to help it sag more so she could get her feet down more comfortably. The seat is VERY comfy, and would probably be good for long rides. I only rode it to work and back (~10 miles each way). The digital display is nice and has all sorts of features, like fuel economy, trip meters, timer, etc, and also displays the gear selection if you're in manual mode, or if you manually downshift in an auto mode. I found the numbers on the analog speedo to be a bit small and hard to read though. I like the big digital readouts on my Kawasakis better.

The engine is an 850 V-Twin, but the combination of the tuning and the transmission means it really feels more like a 650 twin. It's not spectacular when it comes to power, but it's quite respectable. The transmission has 3 "automatic" modes, rain, touring and sport, as well as the manual "sport gear" mode. The interesting thing about the auto modes is that because it's actually a CVT there really aren't any gears at all. When you twist the throttle the bike takes off smoothly and gets up to a certain RPM (not sure what rpm as there is no tach) and it just holds there as you accelerate. It's really deceiving because you're so used to the engine reving up and down as it goes through the gears, and this simply doesn't. it's just one continuous woosh of acceleration. The different gear modes seem to just be different RPM settings Rain and Touring keep the revs fairly low, and the power down, and sport lets the motor rev up a bit higher for quicker response. The biggest thing I noticed right off was that there didn't seem to be a lot of engine braking, and at very low speeds the transmission seems to release entirely and coast. Though the clutch lever is missing the shifter is still in it's place, and there are also + and - buttons on the left handlebar. When in the auto modes these allow you to manually downshift whenever you like. This helps with the lack of engine braking a lot if you like to use the gearbox to slow down a lot. As soon as you grab the throttle again the bike goes back to it's normal automatic gearing.

When you select the manual mode is when it really gets to be a fun bike. In Gear mode you can select from 7 different "gears" by using either the traditional foot shifter or the +- buttons on the left grip. Unlike many tiptronic tranny setups I've driven in cars this bike will hold whatever gear you are in right to the rev limiter and not automatically upshift. I really like that, as when I select manual, I want manual. Now that you can rev the bike out it really comes alive. Though there is no tach there is a really nice 4 LED progressive shift light setup that I actually like even better. It lights up 3 yellow LEDs in sequence then a red one just before the rev limiter. The funnest part is that because there's no clutch you just keep it pinned and press the shift button and it grabs the next gear instantly. There's virtually no lag in the shifting and you never have to let up. Again, it's just a constant woosh of acceleration. It's not as fast as my Z1000, or my ZX6RR, but it feels quite quick, and is really fun to ride.


Ending summary:
The handling is great, it's very nimble and light. The brakes are very good, on par with most other sport bikes I've ridden. The suspension is very comfortable but doesn't seem too soft in the corners. The engine isn't a powerhouse, but for commuting and just general riding it's plenty. The storage compartment is awesome, and the transmission can be quite fun. It's not an all out sportbike, or even a hooligan bike, it's just good simple transportation with the added simplicity of not needing to clutch or shift.

It's not for everybody, not even for me, but for someone like my mom who just loves to be on a bike it's fantastic. She doesn't care about getting the most performance possible, and though she can work a clutch just fine she's quite happy to not have to shift. She just likes to get on it and enjoy the ride. For commuters this bike is perfect, easy to ride and comfortable with adequate power and storage too. I like it a lot, and I think my mom will absolutely love it.
 

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#2 ·
Some really cool features on that bike, and it looks pretty good, but man that CVT transmission just kills what it means to me to be on a bike. I like to be fully involved in all the motions attatched to riding, I'd feel like I was riding a scooter.

Definitely a neat bike though, I bet it does well in sales. Lots of people looking for an easy to ride bike that still looks good and is functional as a mode of transportation.

That gas tank shell helmet holder is probably the coolest thing I've seen in awhile though :)
 
#6 ·
Why did you go all the way up to Pro Italia, instead of going to GP Motorcycles on India St.? They've been an Aprilia dealer for quite a while. Or Oceanside Aprilia/MotoGuzzi/Piaggio?

PhilB
 
#7 · (Edited)
Price, plain and simple Pro Italia offered the biggest discount. We will probably take it to one of the local dealers for the major services.

As for the CVT killing the ride, I kind of expected that to be the case but it's really not as tall. In auto mode this bike is just nice simple transportation, but in manual mode it really is a lot of fun. The shifts are instantaneous and you have full control over them. The only thing the bike stops you from doing is downshifting past the rev limiter, which I think is good. It doesn't feel like a scooter at all. It just doesn't require you to wear out your left hand in traffic.

This really isn't the bike for all out sport riders that absolutely have to control every little thing. It is a wonderful bike for the majority of people that use their bike for transportation and to cruise around on the weekends. You can switch to manual mode to have fun, and then switch back when its time to go back to commuting.
 
#9 ·
The Mana kills that pathetic Honda DN-01, or whatever it's called, at a much lower price and far better looks.

Nice write up! :)
 
#10 ·
Thank you very much for this write-up! My mum has a 400 Burgman scoot and has shown interest in this since it works like a scooter, but looks and feels like a proper bike. Also, my father is interested because his bike (victory vision) is NOT a good commuter, and he's looking for something more along these lines, or another such standard bike.

One question (for now): My mother likes to ride, but isn't the most confident. Does this bike inspire confidence the way bikes like the ninja 250/500 do?
 
#12 ·
5'1 is gonna be a little tough unless she has really long legs, or you lower the bike. I'm not exactly sure what the actual bike price was, but I know the total was just a touch over $11k out the door including tax and all the various fees.

As for inspiring confidence I'd have to go with a big yes. My mom rode for years when I was little, but got out of it for about 15 years, and when she got back on a bike she was pretty much a newbie again. With her shadow I could tell that the weight made things a little tough, and she was always very slow off the start, which I think had a lot to do with the clutch. Take away that sensitive control and you have a bike ANYONE can ride. Especially in the rain and touring modes it's very smooth of the line and doesn't do anything that could surprise you. Even in sport mode you'd have to grab a big handful of throttle from a stop to get squirrely. The only thing to note is that there is technically no neutral, so you cant sit and rev it at a light or in the driveway. It'll just take off. The neat thing is that you can stop, drop the kickstand and just hop off, which is nice for those of us that need to manually open gates or garage doors. No fiddling it into neutral, or shutting it off needed. Just stop hop off, open door/gate, hop back on and twist the grip.
 
#13 ·
Yeah, we're gonna have to at the very least shave the seat of a 250 for her. That is actually pretty neat about the CVT. I haven't really heard too many positive things about CVT that auto manufacturers have other than the new Nissan Murano. This is a very nice looking bike though, and I love that storage area. That should be the norm for any bikes that would be decent commuters/tourers.
 
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