Unusual classic bike, great price, really under-rated!
Discussion
I just bought an Aprilia Moto 6.5. Not everyone likes the styling, but for £1,800 in great condition i think it's a steal.
It's a 650cc single with a very high specification. DOHC. 5 valve head. Electronic ignition. Fuel injection. It even has dry sump.
45 bhp and 140 kgs means it's got the same sort of PTW ratio as a Yamaha RD350LC so it's no slouch.
I know nothing else sub-£2,000 in the single-cylinder category that i'd get in this condition that goes, handles and sounds as good. It doesn't rev very high but the mid-range is very useful.
Rare and under-rated bike. But i've now got too many bloody bikes!
It's a 650cc single with a very high specification. DOHC. 5 valve head. Electronic ignition. Fuel injection. It even has dry sump.
45 bhp and 140 kgs means it's got the same sort of PTW ratio as a Yamaha RD350LC so it's no slouch.
I know nothing else sub-£2,000 in the single-cylinder category that i'd get in this condition that goes, handles and sounds as good. It doesn't rev very high but the mid-range is very useful.
Rare and under-rated bike. But i've now got too many bloody bikes!
I had one from new, bought from Shirlaws in Aberdeen - by then they were desperate to get rid of it and I got the touring kit included.
I loved the looks, but it was a very underwhelming ride. The factory tyres were dreadful and the engine always felt breathless. It looked amazing from a distance, but close up it was built down to a price. It suffered from excessive vibration and when bits started to fall off randomly I decided to get shut of it.
In fact, I sold it for close to £1800 back then, having cost me around £3250 new if I remember.
A collector's bike for sure, a bit like the Buell I sold in haste, now very rare and quite sought after by those who appreciate its charms.
As a sunny day bumbling bike the Moto 6.5 has a lot to offer and looks great parked up.
I loved the looks, but it was a very underwhelming ride. The factory tyres were dreadful and the engine always felt breathless. It looked amazing from a distance, but close up it was built down to a price. It suffered from excessive vibration and when bits started to fall off randomly I decided to get shut of it.
In fact, I sold it for close to £1800 back then, having cost me around £3250 new if I remember.
A collector's bike for sure, a bit like the Buell I sold in haste, now very rare and quite sought after by those who appreciate its charms.
As a sunny day bumbling bike the Moto 6.5 has a lot to offer and looks great parked up.
At that price I think you have a good deal, have been watching these and most have been going for more.
My thoughts of them are tainted by memories of a French registered 6.5 going round Falmouth with a tall slim female rider, good looks & an open faced lid appealed to a 20yr old RG500 owner!!
My thoughts of them are tainted by memories of a French registered 6.5 going round Falmouth with a tall slim female rider, good looks & an open faced lid appealed to a 20yr old RG500 owner!!
They got dreadful reviews when launched. I'm not a fan of the looks, either. I guess if you like the look and only using it for bimbling, though...
ETA:
ETA:
MCN said:
Whatever star quality the Philippe Starck-designed Aprilia Moto 6.5 may possess as a motorcycling design icon (and it has lots), it’s sadly more than matched by its overwhelming ‘averageness’ in terms of performance. The Aprilia Moto 6.5 is OK, in a F650/Pegaso sort of way, but you’ve got to love to weird looks to contemplate it.
Also, MCN says 42bhpEdited by Pothole on Tuesday 2nd April 08:04
You need to use the gearbox but ''a to b'' it's very quick for a lightweight bike if you ride it right and use the mid-range torque. It's very light and with the sticky Pirellis i have fitted handles very well indeed. But the price did it for me as well.
You can certainly fault it compared with more modern bikes but when i compare it with something like my Yamaha XT500 or even more so my British 500 singles, it's like a GP bike!
The only performance comparison i have so far is a friend's Honda RVF400 which i thought would demolish the single but didn't at all and he had to work a lot harder than me, using all of his 15,000 rpm in the process. We only got to about 75 mph down the lanes but it got and stayed ahead of the beautiful Honda. (I had 2 of those, still like them).
You can certainly fault it compared with more modern bikes but when i compare it with something like my Yamaha XT500 or even more so my British 500 singles, it's like a GP bike!
The only performance comparison i have so far is a friend's Honda RVF400 which i thought would demolish the single but didn't at all and he had to work a lot harder than me, using all of his 15,000 rpm in the process. We only got to about 75 mph down the lanes but it got and stayed ahead of the beautiful Honda. (I had 2 of those, still like them).
40-45bhp is plenty to have fun on a lightweight bike. You'll not hear many people say that a Velocette Thruxton, DBD34 Goldstar or T120 Bonneville feels boring or slow!
I always liked those Aprilias when new and saw one in a strange colour for sale quite cheap recently. I thought they were all orange and silver when new but don't profess to know much about them! When I spotted it, it did get me looking at other cool modern(ish) singles I liked in that era.
My other favourites, which seem similar money:
Suzuki Goose:
Yamaha SZR660:
I tried to find a good Goose to buy a few years ago but at that time couldn't find one. Seems there's some nice ones for sale now I'm not looking, typically!
I always liked those Aprilias when new and saw one in a strange colour for sale quite cheap recently. I thought they were all orange and silver when new but don't profess to know much about them! When I spotted it, it did get me looking at other cool modern(ish) singles I liked in that era.
My other favourites, which seem similar money:
Suzuki Goose:
Yamaha SZR660:
I tried to find a good Goose to buy a few years ago but at that time couldn't find one. Seems there's some nice ones for sale now I'm not looking, typically!
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