Aprilia Sport City 250 review

I've had my Aprilia for a month now and ridden a little over 1100 miles on it. I thought I would do a review of the scooter.

First, I'll answer the question that so many in the battle scooter section are preoccupied with:

Thank you for answering that...so 90 indicated suggests about 83 or so true speed.

Tell us about the other aspects of the bike...handling, fuel economy, ergonomics, storage, etc...

Since you asked

Someone on the Aprilia forum posted a GPS speed of 82.

Gas mileage has varied from 72 to 83 MPG, about the same as my Super 8

Underseat storage isn't quite big enough for a full face helmet, but the GIVI tail trunk will hold two. Here's a pic.



Oh Yeah, the little insulated cooler hanging from the hook will hold three bottles of water.

Handling is pretty good but much different from my Super 8. I'm not really used to it yet. Let me try to explain. The same thing happened years ago when I went from an EX500 to a SV650. I think that the main difference in handling is due to the wide, round profile tires on the Aprilia. The Kymco has fairly wide tires but they have a triagular profile - that makes them feel like narrower tires. The Kymco has very light and fast steering - it just snaps in corners and is always neutral. It feels like a little race bike. The aprilia has wide, round profile tires. It rolls over on its round tires in curves and is more affected by bumps in corners and braking in corners. Mainly, it just feels different The Aprilia also has a softer suspension making it feel much more plush but also not quite as well planted in fast bumpy curves.

The triple disc brakes work great. I doubt you'll find a scooter with better brakes. I also like the fact that the brakes are not linked. I HATE linked brakes.

I had a great ride in the North Georgia mountains and even spent some time riding with some 650-1200cc motorcyles. My ride report is here:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=694932


Overall, it works really well on the types of roads I like to ride.

Comfort and ergonomics:

The seat is real comfortable, both for me and my wife as a passenger. The ergonomics felt great on the test ride but on a longer ride my back starts to bother me. The riding position is similar to my Super 8 but I think my feet are a little further forward and the seat isn't sloped forward like my Super 8. i think that these two thing are what is causing my back pain. If I don't get used to it I may try modifying the seat.

There isn't much wind protection so I'll probably add a small windscreen. Piug make a couple that look great.

My wife and I spent a weekend riding in the North Carolina Mountains. We had a blast. She was very comfortable on the back until the very end of the second day when her tailbone started to hurt. The passenger pegs are pretty far forward putting more weight on her tailbone.

Here's a pic of us two up:



I've got a lot more pics and a full ride report of that trip here:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=693143

How are the rear shocks? I read a test by MCN a few years ago that indicated the damping was weak. Your experience seems to indicate otherwise.

I think he mentioned in his RR that for 2-up riding, he dialed it up a bit.

The rear supension does seem to be a little too soft. It could use stiffer shocks and springs.

Stop it dammit. You are going to make me want one.:eek1

Howdy,

Congrats on that gorgeous new Aprilia, Klaviator! I couldn't help but notice a fair resemblence between it and my Sh150i. Sounds like Aprilia didn't skimp on the brakes, though!
I noticed that you and your wife were properly "geared up" for the ride-good job. Also, those pics were really something. Thanks for posting.

Interestingly enough, most of the motorcyle riders (and passengers) at Deals Gap were wearing very little safety gear. It was usually jeans (or shorts:huh) and t shirts.

Preload, OK, but I'm referring to compression & rebound damping...

That is one fine looking scooter, KL! That pic of you taking that turn makes me want to go out and find some twisty roads right now!

Hope it treats you well!

OK, I see what you mean. In post #8 he said it could use a stiffer shock/springs set-up.

I may look into getting shocks with stiffer springs and adjustable damping. With the preload set on high the damping is to light. The suspension on my Kymco S-8 works much better for sport riding but at the cost of a much stiffer ride.

BTW, one thing I do like about the Aprilia is that it has much better cornering clearance than my S-8. I have yet to scrape anything in the curves and I have done quite a few twisty roads on it.

Another "interesting" features is the fuel gauge. It doesn't move at all until it burns about a gallon of gas. Then it goes from full to nearly empty in the next gallon. Tank size is 2.4 gallons. On the plus side, it has two tripmeters. I reset #1 when I fill up and use #2 to track my daily mileage.

My husband will be riding our Sports City 250 when we go from Breckenridge, CO to Fallbrook, CA the end of this month. He and my son love the Sports City. I find the seating position too cramped, I feel like I'm on top of the handlebars but then I'm a Vespa GTS or Scarabeo 500 rider by preference.

Did you add a windscreen to your Sport City?

Interest about feeling cramped. I'm 6-2 and fit on it fine.

Very nice looking scoot. Good review.

No windscreen, my husband says he doesn't want one though I suspect my son would prefer one since he has one on the Buddy.

For me it is the position over the handlebars that make me feel cramped not the footboard so much. The one time I rode on the back I found it surprisingly comfortable on the back seat especially since I don't really like to ride on the back.