I'll keep this brief since the ride was brief, and because these sort of posts can go off the hitch in terms of hyperbole and subjectiveness.

Friend let me take his 2016 Aprilia Tuono Factory for the afternoon. We're same weight and bike was set up near perfect.

Riding position: Makes my 1290 feel like a mountain bike. A motard. Which is exactly why I bought my KTM. The Ape's pegs were a little higher and rearward but not obnoxious like my friend's new R1. Handlebars also were not as uncomfortable for me (I'm 5'10" with 32" pant inseam, better than average flexibility, 165 pounds so no beer gut, ha) as the R1 but being risers they were a bit narrow and low bend. Great for aggressive track riding and canyons.....we have no local track and while an R1 makes my wrists beg for mercy after 15 minutes of urban riding the Ape's had me doing the sportbike one-hand sit back and relax posture after an hour. As we know it's possible to ride the upright 1290 in comfort for hours. My friend rides the Aprilia for hours on end with zero issue. He's got decades of sportbike racing experience so his definition of comfort is different than mine.

Electronics: Makes the 1290 feel like a Blackberry and the Ape an iphone/galaxy s7/whatever is new. I had ABS on minimal (I always turn 1290 to supermoto setting), wheelie control on minimal and traction control a little higher. Very, very, nice. Electronic cut-in was less intrusive than the somewhat on/off 1290. It was nice dialing in traction control independently of wheelie control. Oh, and launch control. Nice toy.

Quickshifter: Yep, the 1290 needs one. Ape's was flawless.

Sound: A stock 1290 sounds like a sewing machine. I never thought so until putting a Remus midpipe without cat. If I would've heard the V4 while owning a stock ktm exhaust it probably would've send me over the edge running to buy that V4. You read so much about the Aprilia exhaust being "intoxicating." It is. MotoGP sound. But thankfully my Remus and stock slip-on give a deep throaty non-obnoxious race bike roar and it sounds nearly as good but just a bit different. Again, purely subjective.

Motor: My 1290 is geared down 1 in front. The KTM does hit you like a sledgehammer with a ferocious top end scream to about 9000 rpm. Great fueling. The Aprilia has a little fluffy stumble way down low around 3000, not as bad like the Ducati Streetfighter circa 2009 (?) I almost bought. Then it gets really angry til redline of about 12,000. I usually ride around 3500-8000 on the KTM for street use. The Aprilia wasn't a twist and wait like some litre sport bikes. Great motor, just a little different of course.

Miscellaneous: I like having a hydraulic clutch. The Ape's mechanical clutch reminded me of my old Speed Triple. Not a big deal. Ohlins suspension didn't feel any different than our WP but having adjustable fork preload would be nice. I like single sided swingarm looks better. Subjective, again.

Okay. The End.

Interesting write up Danny. I don't know what the price differential is between the two bikes in your locale (the US I presume?), but were you in the market for a new naked and were faced with the choice, knowing what you do now, would you go for the 1290 SDR or the Tuono Factory?

Interesting... I recently purchased my 2015. In all honesty, my first choice was the Tuono- I really like the V4. However, the closest Aprilia dealer to me was nearly 500 miles, and a KTM dealer is 20 minutes away. It was a difficult decision, but with all the electronics on the bikes these days, my "worst case scenario" fears caused me to go for choice #2, the KTM. Not too bad a trade off, really, it's a great bike.

Add a QS to your 1290.....

Again totally subjective but the look of the Ape is enough for me not to buy one.

The main drawback of the Tuono to me is the minuscule gas tank and corresponding range. I've seen people reporting the low gas indicator coming on at 95 miles. Not worth it to me. If Aprilia could put a tank on the bike giving it the same kind of range as the SDR, then it might be a consideration.

I think it's more about range per tank than cost, but I hear you

I'd guess he finds it funny that we in the States would complain about mpg when the cost of gas here is so cheap compared to just about everywhere else. Or maybe something else.

That I can totally agree with, and have experienced just that on a few trips in the Southwest.

My buddy just got the 1100 Tuono, this bike is so pretty that I am considering trade-in my SDR. Maybe I should ride it first but I am really close.


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