Who is going to buy all these motorcycles?
That’s a question product planners and marketing personnel at every motorcycle factory on Earth have been asking themselves since unit sales, especially of large streetbikes, started to slump in 2007. Although the immediate cause of the slowdown is obvious as the global economy lurches to a halt, even in better times sales were dipping. The present buyers of motorcycles are getting older, and fewer young riders are taking their places. One solution is to make bikes easier to ride for aging consumers-hence the spate of trikes, big scooters and comfy, powerful standards-another is to try bold styling concepts to woo young hipsters.
Aprilia tried both at once in Milan this year with their Mana X concept. Based on the 850 Mana, it has a 90°, 850cc V-Twin mated to a super-sized CVT transmission. It keeps the Mana’s trellis frame, but with a new internally braced swingarm. Wheels are laced jobs, with the rear getting the 180/70-16 Dunlop D427 designed for Harley’s FXDF Fat Bob! Braking is handled by wave-style rotors and the Brembo-like, radial-mount calipers found on the Mana, Shiver and Dorsoduro. The rear shock and muffler are slung underneath, à la Buell. Styling is minimal and chic, with more than a passing nod to American street-trackers. Such spare, aggressive styling is to be expected from Aprilia’s design studio in Noale; it’s headed up by Miguel Galluzzi, who designed the first Ducati Monster in 1992. “All you need,” as the big, friendly Argentine is quoted on Ducati’s history website, “is a saddle, tank, engine, two wheels, and handlebars.”
The Mana X looks like a finished bike, but don’t go wait in line at your Aprilia dealer just yet. It’s a concept, designed to offer “a clear glimpse into the future” of the Mana family. A full line of CVT-equipped motorcycles? Perhaps not what MD readers are asking for, but it could be one way of growing Aprilia’s sales of big bikes.
