Remember those kids your mother told you not to play with when you were young? Well, don't let your mother see you on a new Aprilia Tuono or you'll be grounded for a month!

I recently spent a day flogging a Tuono around the Jennings, Florida GP track, and I am definitely at the top of the list of kids not to hang out with. Knees and elbows out, scraping and sliding my way around the track like I was riding a Supermotard on steroids, I honestly have not had this much fun on a motorcycle in a long time and never felt so comfortable out on a racetrack.

Second gear power wheelies, monster mid-range and Mille stopping power and handling make the Tuono one of the wildest production bike I have ever ridden. More than a few people came up to me later in the day to say how cool it was to see someone sitting bolt upright flying round the track, and I am sure there are lots of riders wondering what passed them.

The Tuono admittedly hit its limits in some of the expert sessions at the track day, but in fairness, it was wearing street Dunlop 207's and the suspension was only firmed a little past stock.

The bike you see pictured with myself hanging off it was wearing a 'race-only' exhaust system with the air box restrictor removed and a new computer chip. Speaking with Aaron Clark, Aprilia USA's resident racing expert, I was not surprised to learn this combination adds around 8 horsepower through the mid-range. This makes for just brutal acceleration from 5,000rpm, and keeps that power flowing all the way to redline.

Later in the weekend, I took a couple of quick track sessions on a stock Tuono, and there is a noticeable difference. The bike still has the same sweet handling and easy-to-ride nature, it is just not as strong when you crack the throttle, falling off a little earlier in the power department close to redline.

The engine is the same power plant found in the Mille, Aprilia’s top-shelf sport bike. I have tested the Mille a couple of times, including a full two days on the track, and have nothing but positive things to say about the bike and engine. Strong, smooth with linear power, it is more than enough to get you in trouble on the fastest racetracks. Basically, it is a longitudinal 60-degree V-twin with four valves per cylinder, double overhead cams and liquid cooling, and can also be found in various states of tune in the Aprilia’s other big bore bikes, the Caponord, Futura and Falco.

One of the reasons for the smooth power delivery is a patented anti-vibration double countershaft inside the motor. It uses a 97 x 67.5mm bore and stroke, 11.4:1 compression and makes peak horsepower around 9,500 rpm. The factory literature gives anywhere from 126-130 hp at the crank, and I would think with the pipe and chip, the Tuono I was riding made an honest 110+ horsepower at the rear wheel.  The pipe/chip option comes in at around $1,300 in Australia.

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