( both up and down ) is a desirable factory option to add to the coolness basket as well . The higher bubble screen is also a nice addition unless you are a bunch shorter than my 1.78m . Nimble without heading into nervous , the aluminium chassis and , considering the take me home price , the suspension ( preload adj only ) hits the mark for the target audience well . My annual pie count would have me adding a bit of preload if I hadn ’ t have been swapping bikes each session . Other details like a classy TFT dash , easy setting menus and a general feeling of a well finished bike , the Aprilia RS457 is a great and very sexy entrant into one of the new
displacement categories of the modern world . For the young guns , the evolving categories are perfectly natural but even for the older rider wanting an inexpensive , cheap to keep ( petrol , rego , parking etc ) lightweight bike that you don ’ t want to feel awkward on , it is a bunch of fun . At the end of the day I was sweaty , tired , a little stiff and sore and smiling my ass off all the way home . Like rolling back the odometer , lapping Hampton Downs on a ‘ young rider ’ s ’ motorcycle certainly entertained the inner child of this grumpy old rider . KEVIN KINGHAN
56 KIWI RIDER