basement,either.Lotsoffeelattheleverorpedal
andwithouttoomuchmasstoretard,theyaremore
than upto the jjob.
If we maketheleap of faith thatRotax were in on
the designspecification thendoubtless they added
theirexpertisetothe fivevalve mill andhoneditjust
right for its intended purposes.You wanttobimble
aroundthe potholed back lanesof Blighty all dayina
high gear?The Moto6.5can do that. Alternatively,if
youwant to getawiggleon andworkthatone big
piston,then thanks to Messrs.Rotax,Pirelliand
Marzzochi(purveyors of class rides),itwillhappily
obligeand makeyousmile. Andtalking of themotor,
it is actuallyarather well-keptsecret within thebike
worldandIwonder why we don’t hearmore about it
to be honest.It’s ridiculouslysmooth forasingle,as
wellasbeing remarkably tractable. It’sashappyona
whiff of throttle as it iswhen givenafistful. And
knowing thatthis is acarburated engine and not
somemodern,fly-by-wire, multi-microchip,multiple
sensor, fuel-injected device, it makes it feel even
more impressive.The moreIride PhillippeStarck’s
interpretation ofacar driver-friendlymotorcycle the
moreIget tolike it and, ratherworryingly,evenits
looks arebeginning tomakesense!
Negatives to owningaMoto 6.5?Well, obviously the
designer didn’t do the job free of charge and his fees
may account for the variable quality of some of thebike’speripheralfitments.Someofthegreycablingis
nowyellowbrownandtobehonesttherereallyisn’tan
excuse ffor thhiis. TThheBBiigFFour hhaddUUVVresiistant cabblles
sussed out in the 60s so it begs the question, why did
Aprilia’ssuppliers cut costs here? It can makeagood
ride look shabby far too soon. Another styling foible,
the beige switch gear and the pipe to the rear master
cylinder are similarly seemingly discoloured. Also with
astainless steel collector box fitted, why should the
twin exhaust headers not be made of the same please?
Finally,the initially comfortable seat becomes harder
after an hour or so into our ride.
And yet I’m really only nit-picking. The nuts and
bolts on the bike have stood up fine and much better
than many machines from Italy.The Moto 6.5 is a
genuinely involving machine to ride and enjoy...
providing you can get along with its looks. Ultimately
the bike remains nothing more thanaflawed
hypothesis; car drivers are never going to take up two
wheels no matter how you styleamotorcycle. For me
the bike remainsabold and daring exercise, yet one
that was ultimately doomed to failure. The silver and
beige example here is for me justalittle too safe
cosmetically and the all black one looks like an
undercover camouflaged prototype. But the orange and
silver Aprilia Moto 6.5... now,thatmakes me smile.
Rather worryingly,Ido believe MonsieurStarck’s
vision has madealastingimpression!Thanks to:Madein
ItalyMotorcycl es for
theloanofthe bike
0144961290.The signature tells the story.It hasastyle allits own.Chain adjustment is pretty simple.36 / classic motorcyclemechanics