Sushi or Pasta, both a satisfying choice. A side-by-side Comparison, Part Two.

For the second part of this two-part post I wanted to concentrate on seeing how the spec sheets played out in real life. The weather gave us a break today so we were able to get out and ride. This gave my buddy and I a chance to swap saddles for part two of the comparison. I'm really glad we did as both of us needed a ride. It felt so nice to be back on two wheels that I almost forgot to think of what to write for the blog. Follow along and see if I can manage to string a few thoughts together.

I didn't get any action shots or pics with super scenic California canyon views like the magazines do. That would have required a third rider and a few more hours than either of us had. We did hit one of our standby routes which was perfect for the comparison. The 150 from the 101 to Ojai, CA is a great ride. It is only a 20 minute blast along the coast to the North from my house. It offers a great road with a solid selection of twists that can be ridden as hard as you please. The roads were still pretty damp from the recent wet weather that all of SoCal has been experiencing so we had to rein it back a bit. After recalibrating ourselves to settle for a 6 of 10 ride we hit the turns.

We each rode our own bikes through the first section of the ride from the coast into Ojai. Ojai is a quaint little hippy type town nestled in the Ventura County hills. It offers a nice place to top off the tank and grab a cup of coffee and the roads into it make for a good route especially if you don't have all day to ride. While I was on my bike I worked on being smooth on the controls, good body position through the corners and  looking deep through my curves. After a bagel and coffee with a quick walk through the local farmers market we switched bikes. Taking the time to brief each other on each ride's little idiosyncrasies we were off on a little known back road that completed our loop.

After throwing a leg over the Tuono my first thought was of a comfortable familiarity. The handle bars felt identical in every way I could notice. The bar bend, sweep back, height and grip feel had no difference I could discern. Twisting the throttle on the Aprilia felt more visceral than the Yamaha. That big honking V-Twin sends its character through the frame and into the seat and pegs a bit more than the Yammy's power plant does. The tank to seat transition was much more narrow than the FZ and combined with foot pegs that are a touch higher up in the frame, the sporty nature of the Tuono was apparent. The seat if more firm than the Yamaha's though not at all uncomfortable. I felt I could ride all day on that saddle.

We worked our way through Sunday tourist traffic and made our turn onto a flowing country back road that was dry and clean. The suspension on the Aprilia was more taunt than the Yamaha. My buddy said the rear end of my FZ needs some extra preload. I have only set the sock suspension settings to the owner's manual recommended baseline and will need to finish reading my birthday book to give me some direction for dialing in all of the settings. The way the Tuono turns into corners was also a bit more snappy which is a predictable product of the 2" shorter wheelbase. With my buddy in the lead giving the old FZ the beans we shot off through the forest at a nicely quick clip. I felt very comfortable right away on the Italian rocket. Everything was familiar. The way the bike rode being so natural I had to concentrate on finding what was different.

The engine's character was the biggest difference. Again a very predictable result of the two differing engine types. With the fore-and-aft V-Twin thumping away I could really feel the power when accelerating. The engine growled away happily while I could occasionally hear the Yamaha which buzzed along. The throttle response was identical to the FZ's with the only differences being the vibration and the tachometer position. Everything on the Tuono happens lower in the rev range, but its response to throttle input was so similar to the Yamaha's that I could just throw out a knee and enjoy the rail like ride of the bike as it solidly moved through the bends. Engine braking was something I rapidly had to account for because the Yamaha just doesn't. Combined with an excellent set of Brembo brakes bigger than the FZ's meant stopping wasn't an issue. It did highlight my need to upgrade the stopping power of the FZ and subsequently an order for new stainless steel brake lines was placed.

The gauge panel was hard to get used to and the switch gear felt different. I hit the horn at least twice searching for the turn signal switch. These are minor niggles and I'm sure I could handle them easily if this bike were mine. Both of these bikes are meant to ride with alacrity. They handily tip into a turn and are much more capable than most riders that are graced with their ownership. Speed and power on tap by the boatloads, both bikes want and are happy to cruise at extra legal speeds with additional unused gears remaining. All the things I love about the FZ are there in the Tuono. Being passed by my own bike by my buddy knee out and tilted into a fast left-handed sweeper was one of the highlights of the ride. I kept looking at my bike and feeling that same giddy feeling I had from the first day I took it out.

So, whether you like your bikes with a continental flair or an Asian inclination, you can't go wrong with either of these beauties. Both are great companions and very capable rides. I hope you enjoyed this piece. I know I had fun living it. I'm on the lookout for more comparisons and new-to-me ride reports. I should be getting in the new Galfer Stainless brake line soon so a weekend project will become a post shortly. The weather is good (here at least) so get out and ride.

Blue