ENGINE TYPE
649cc water-cooled, four
stroke single,DOHC,
five-valve head
BORE AND STROKE
100.0x82.7mm
CLAIMED HORSEPOWER
43bhp@7000rpm
MAXIMUM TORQUE
39.1ft-lb@5000rpm
TRANSMISSION TYPE
5speed
COMPRESSION RATIO
9.0:1
CARBURETION
Mikuni 40mm
TYRES
100/90x18(F) 130/90x17
(R)
FUELCAPACITY
3.4 gallons (16.0 litres)
BRAKES
Disc (F&R)
DRYWEIGHT
150kg (330lb)SPECIFICATION
When astylist designs amotorcycle
The prototypeApriliaMoto6.5wasbased
aroundastrippeddownPegasotrail bike,fitted
withthereliableandwell proven,Rotax-
developed, water-cooled,five-valve,6 50 cc
single-cylinder engine.DesignerPhillippeStarck
onceopinedduringaninterview:“I candesigna
chairintwominutesandahotelinaday-and-a-
half. I’mlikeDoctorFaust.Iwouldsign a
contractwiththe devilandsellmylifeforthe
sakeofcreativity.Iworkwithonlypaperand
penthen maketheprototype–until anengineer
explains tomethereisatechnical problem, I
don’t changeathing.”Soyoucanimagehow
manyconversationsStarckprobably had with
Aprilia’sR&D teams!Unlikeachair, afood
blender orevenahotel,the designconstraints
andrestrictionsaroundamotorcycleare
somewhat morelimited.There’sonlyafinite
amountofspaceavailableandeverythinghasto
fitwithinagiven silhouette.Unlikesomeof
Stark’sother designsit’s simplynot possibleto
increaseadimensionjustto
accommodatesome aesthetic
fripperyorother.
Numerousexternalagencieshave
beenbroughtintochangetheprofile ofthe
humblemotorcycle.Ogle Designstyledthe
original BSARocket3and Triumph Tridentand
theAmericans(andmanyBrits) hatedit. Craig
Vetterthankfullydidamuchbetter jobwiththe
X-75Hurricane.Perhapsthemostfamousis
TargetDesign’s reworkingofnumerousSuzuki
foursto delivertheseminalKatanarange...
whichagainpolarisedopinionatitslaunch.
Eventhesupersuccessfulstylistsattheold
Meriden Triumphfactorycoulddropthe
occasionalclanger. Headlampnacellesmight
havebeenok,butwhenthefactoryrolledout
theso-calledbathtubfairedtwins,buyers
votedwiththeir feetandwentelsewhere.Will
theApriliaMoto6.5latterlybecomeastyleicon
orawhiteelephant?Onlytimewill tell.Astrange sightonUKroads.But enough
about Scoop –- the 6.5 rides well!