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Birds of a Feather
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Aprilia Tuono 1000 R and KTM 950 Supermoto
Jeff Buchanan
12/01/2006
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Certainly every motorcyclist knows something about the legend. A 1947
Fourth of July weekend Gypsy Tour gathering of bikers in Hollister, Calif., was
embellished by the fanciful imagination of a San Francisco Chronicle reporter
and became “4000 Touring Cyclists Wreak Havoc in Hollister.” The story is
picked up across the country, culminating with the infamous staged photo of a
slovenly, drunken biker in Life magazine, who became our unelected
representative. The image was burned into America’s collective cornea and we’ve
been dealing with the fallout ever since.
 Close to six
decades since the famous “riot” introduced our bad boy image, we have
been invited to a gathering that underscores how times have changed in the
years since. We are headed to a small costal town—not too far removed from where
the brouhaha began all those years ago—where hordes of bikers are converging to
enjoy themselves in a weekend of motorcycle-related festivities. Although the
basic premise has striking similarities to the Hollister event, I doubt there
will be much hooliganism this time around. The event is the inaugural, Legends
of the Motorcycle, being held at the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay. Yes, times
have definitely changed. (Click image to enlarge)
Further eroding the residue outlaw stigma, we are
part of a contingent of riders participating in another inaugural event, the
Quail Motorcycle Tour. The tour was created by the management of the Quail Lodge
luxury resort in Carmel Valley to accommodate the increasing number of affluent
motorcyclists with a taste for culinary excellence, fine wines, and upscale
lodging. This happy breed of sophisticates, though content to rough it while in
the saddle, catching bugs in their teeth over miles of open road, prefer to
indulge in a little exclusivity when stopped for the night. This segment of
enthusiasts represents an interesting detour from the miscreant image
established in the annals of Life. The tour would cut a lazy, zigzagging route
from Los Angeles to Montecito, up through the Central Coast to Carmel Valley,
culminating in Half Moon Bay on the San Francisco Peninsula, where a bevy of
exotic motorcycles were basking in adoration at the first-ever Legends of the
Motorcycle.
 Photograph by Kevin Wing. (Click image to enlarge)
We used the sinuous tour as a long-distance test bed to evaluate
two examples of the upright/standard sport category. Although we had tackled
this extensive labyrinth of back roads numerous times, we had never done it on
naked bikes. The 900-mile plus round trip presented us with a unique opportunity
to stretch the legs of the streetfighters on a variety of roads and conditions.
On the one hand we had the industry’s established street bully, the
Italian-built Aprilia Tuono 1000 R. On the other was one of the latest entrants
into the fold, the Austrian-made KTM 950 Supermoto. Though the two bikes
share V-twin engine configurations, with six-speed transmissions and 17-inch
wheels, they represent the wide boundaries of the naked spectrum. The Tuono is a
direct descendant of Aprilia’s World Superbike-winning RSV Mille, while the KTM
evolves from the world of small displacement grand prix racing and off-road
competition.
 Legends of the Motorcycle—an unforgettable show in a breathtaking
setting. Photograph by Kristen Loken. (Click image to enlarge)
The tour began with an exquisite dinner at The Roof Garden
Restaurant atop the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills. Against a backdrop of the
city’s neon landscape, we met our riding mates. The next morning we lane-split
the lethargic traffic of Los Angeles, eventually making our way out of the
city, escaping into the canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains, where we found
twisting canyon roads that were much more to the liking of the two naked
machines. The upright seating position of both bikes renders a high line of
sight, with the wide handlebars allowing for exceptional
maneuverability—attributes conducive to spirited riding, as well as
commuting.
Since its electrifying introduction in 2003, the Tuono— Italian
for “thunder”—has been a perennial favorite among many naked enthusiasts. The
Tuono was one of those rarified motorcycles that burst onto the scene and
instantly cut out a distinct niche for itself, ascending to the top of the
throne. To date, Aprilia is still the only naked bike manufacturer that did
little more than take the fairing off its superbike and install raised
handlebars, before calling it a day.
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