Aprilia Pegaso ie

[Basspete]

As Ive owned my Pegaso for 4 months now, and put around 3000 kms on it, I thought I would post how life with the Peg has been so far.

Shortly after buying the bike, I noticed it was losing oil from the top end. As it was still under warranty, I took it back to Two Wheels in Edinburgh, where I bought it. As they are a Honda dealer, and having heard the horror stories about Aprilia parts, I thought I could be in for a bit of a wait. A week later, the bike was back in my hands, with a new rocker cover gasket. Problem solved, and job well done to the guys at Two Wheels!

The bike has been used for day to day work, (I ride my bike between schools in my job as a pupil support worker) 2 up work, a bit of trail riding and a run up through Glencoe to the British Trials round at Kinlochleven. The only other incident with the bike was the drive chain flying off on my way home from work. It had a split link rather than a rivit link, and it gave up the ghost. A new chain and chainguard later, and I'm back on the road.

The bike will give around 210 kms until the fuel light comes on. When the light comes on, there is still 5 litres in the tank. No complaints there.

The riding position is very good, my seat was cut down by a previous owner, but in day to day use, on the run up to Kinlochleven or a bit of a two up blast I've had no numb bum issues. The controls fall to hand nicely, the only bugbear for me is the unfeasibly large horn button. Far too easy to hit by mistake!

Where the Peg does really score is the engine. It's smooth, responsive and pulls in the upper rev range like a twin. It's nice to ride a single that can roll on in top to overtake without losing any dental repairs.

The handling works great for me, it goes where you point it, and does what it says on the tin. The Brembo brakes are excellent, bloody good stopping power and nice feel.

Finish is pretty good, it's been ridden on salt encrusted Scottish winter roads, and with a regular clean, it looks great. Oil consumption is somewhere between zero and negligible.

Off road, it doesn't have the "go anywhere" ability of my old Tenere, but the low seat height makes "dabbing" so much easier! That said, the Peg was never intended as a direct rival to the old XTs, so comparison isnt really fair.

As you can probably tell, I'm thoroughly enjoying Pegaso ownership. The taller Givi screen fitted to mine does give me a bit of turbulance and wind noise which can be a pain, but for day to day use, the Givi Monokey luggage is a lifesaver. I usually just use the panniers, and leave the top box at home.


I'll keep you posted with how my life with the Pegaso is in future.

Pete