aprilia mana

has any one w/DCT experience piloted a Mana? would like something more powerful than my current ctx700. not a lot of them around. I am interested....dc

I been on a 2015 Aprilia Mana, but I thought they where not being made for 2016. I was on the GT 850, and it was nice. I liked that the spring preload and damper rebound can be adjusted with a knob, big fuel tank, 76 HP, good torque at low rpm's. Reminded me of the Honda NC700X DCT ABS, but with 150 more cc's. The GT 850 had a price tag of $12K, and not knowing much about Aprilia if they where going to stop making the GT 850 I then looked at more Honda models. I would check out the NC750X DCT at $10K or the new VFR1200X DCT. Just my 2 cents but I would say Honda is the leader of the DCT with new models coming out next year. Not saying Honda is better, just that they are big on making more models with DCT. Aprilia makes good bikes but there are not that many dealers around there I live. Honda dealerships are like right around the corner. Just for the record I ended up getting a CTX700 DCT, but I still like checking out and riding (if I can) other brand models......it is fun...someone has to do it..LOL.

It's a CVT trans.
a guy I know rode one several hundred miles in Europe last year and liked it.
A good bit taller than the CTX and a more standard riding position. and as mjc said-dealers are scarce
Here's some info- http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/motorcycles/2015/2015-Aprilia-Mana-850-GT-ABS.htm
and here- http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/aprilia-mana-850-gt/
The VFR1200x would be worth a look. The NC750X is not available here in the US.

I had the Aprilla on my short list for an automatic. But the CVT scared me away. I was never impressed with CVT on cars and the Aprilla appears to have the same idiosyncrasy... like faux gears. Selecting particular gears in any particular gear mode does not have the definitive selection as the DCT. Your more at the decision of the computer to what "gear" you'll be in compared to that of the DCT. The DCT has gears, the CVT has pulleys... not my cup of tea.

I have never rode an Aprilia, but they purportedly weigh the same as the NC, but have 75 horsepower so it makes me wonder if those speed results are fair?. In the video, they chose the NC overall, but they all mentioned "price Point" as one of the reasons. The Aprilia is a much better bike in many ways. It is a lot more solid and in my subjective opinion, is a really beautiful bike. Subject to a test ride, if I were doing it again, I would go with the Aprilia. If anyone is looking for an excellent deal on a slightly used Mana GT, check this out.
http://www.nationalpowersports.net/itemDetail.aspx?itemID=19604

analog rider said:

would like something more powerful than my current ctx700.

Click to expand...

Well, now you can have the VFR1200X and the Africa Twin! They both have DCT and 1200 and 999 cc engines respectively.
(But they are freaking tall)

Two years ago I was considering the Aprilia Mana but:
- It's considerably more expensive than the CTX
- I have a Honda dealer very close by, while the closest Aprilia dealer is about an hour away.
- Honda quality is legendary.

I do like that it has a CVT. As nice as the DCT is, I have to admit that CVT's are smoother.

Watch this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3dOJCiiBNk

Yeah. Cvts are smoother, they are very reliable in motorcycles always in peak power range, look at the sheer numbers of scoots around the world. Bazillion. And they all have Cvts. The problem I have with the Italian bikes is overall reliability. They have a nasty tendency to rot their hoses and have so many of them that you'll never find the leak. I have two buddies with vespa and both did this. Another with a scarabeo was left stranded when his fuel line was rotted off. The Japanese bikes never do this. Plus the lack of a dealer network. Plus you'll never know when they pull out and the parts availability due to low numbers is not good either. I have a Piaggio mp3 too but I'm aware of the issues. Fortunately it's not a main bike but a supplement ride.

There was a time (when I was mourning no longer having CVT transmission) that I was quite interested in the Aprilia Mana ... but there were just no dealers anywhere near me. I'd have had to go out of state to buy one, and where could I get reliable service here for it in the boonies?

No, thanks. I had a bellyful of that when I owned a Victory, and my dealer was 75 miles away. What a PITA that was!

A point in favor of switching to the Honda was that I could buy one from a shop only 30 miles away.

I'll say it one more time, they are beautiful bikes. The one I referenced below is still for sale at National Power Sports. I still think about possibly buying it. At, I believe 9000 miles on it, 5500 is a pretty good price.

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I rode a Mana a few years back. It's a nice bike for a standard and has a gas tank set low to help the COG very much like the CTX. There is a faux "tank" with a skid lid sized storage compartment.

The one I rode back in 2009, had three pre-mapped settings: 1. A wet pavement setting (also useful on gravel and sand), 2. A regular setting, 3. A sport setting. I always thought the wet setting was a nice feature but now traction control is coming to more bikes which is even better.

Mana is not a huge bike, but the foot position is too aggressive for me.