Over in Italy at the moment and have had a chance to really get to know the bike well and it’s the “Unicorn” of all the ADV bikes, in my opinion! Will be purchasing one when I return back California.
Thank you for your informative videos, Chris. You've been very helpful with my bike, Trinity's twin, "Whisper" (that stock exhaust sound lol) '13 CB500X. I'm coming up on my first year of riding with this being my first bike, bought used @4200 miles, brought back into service after a lot of time sitting in someones garage. We're now at 12000 miles together, my daily drive to work and a 1300 mile round trip 4 day weekend. Sprockets and chain swapped, tires, brakes, fuel pump sensor fixed, forks rebuilt, wired for accessories, a whole plethora of other little things, and between your vids, my want's, and what the bike's needed I've come far in understanding and being comfortable with turning a wrench on my own vehicle. Sad to see Trinity go but wish you and your future adventures well, thank you again.
Thanks for the awesome comment, Duranture! I appreciate your feedback and am so happy we could help in your journey with Whisper! Check out our First video on the Tuareg, as the first half of it is a fun tribute to Trinity!!! 🙂 And don't be a stranger. My CB500X will always be a big part of my heart!
I’d name her Giorgia after the new Prime minister of Italy. She’s a real fire brand. Traditional woman. Tough as nails and not afraid to voice her opinion.
Oh, and you got the best colour option too. Nice! I was wondering about how you'd cope with that 33.8 inch (860mm) seat height, but clearly no issue. Names are such personal things and really only you can decide what strikes the right cord. My thought process (for what it's worth) was: Tuareg, a people famously associated with the Sahara; Zerzura, a fabled oasis in the Sahara that many have sought but never found; Zura - yeah, I could like that as a name. YMMV. I'll bet you're just itching to get the next adventure underway, weather permitting.
I'm fond of the red as well. And I love the way you think when it comes to names! I've already been wandering down that "nomadic people of Africa" route myself. 🙂 I might go for their "lowered" seat so I'm not quite so tippy-toed. But I'll give the stock seat a whirl first!
@@MotoPhotoAdventuresThe lower comfort seat is not great. I have one and I would not recommend it. I rode a few hundred miles on it and immediately put the original seat back on. Hopefully Seat Concepts comes out with some additional options.
@@williamb.6918 that's good to know! I'll stick with the stock seat for now. It's quite comfortable...would love to have one exactly the same but maybe with less foam (and firmer foam) for an inch lower seat height!
The Taureg is really an awesome bike I have an acid gold which is the best color. I only have 3,700 mi on mine. It is a fantastic bike and does off-road and road amazingly. I did have one hiccup my TFT screen went out but it was replaced under warranty. The CB500X is a bulletproof Honda I hope the Taureg turns out to be bulletproof also. I know the service costs for the 12,000 mi service for quite high as are all the other services at an Aprilia dealer. But there is no comparison between the two bikes. One is a very basic piece of transportation and one is a sexy exotic temptress
Haha...well said! I already have almost 4,000 miles on mine. If you haven't seen it yet, we did an 1800 mile trip around Nova Scotia recently: ru-vid.com/group/PLMpCu16Bx7xPTXncD0Nn3BNq6E_id2I5B&si=bRrdxdka-XV-OQs2. And I'm headed off to do another one in Florida next week. We already have a rapidly growing playlist of tips, mods, and accesories for the Aprilia if you want to check it out: ru-vid.com/group/PLMpCu16Bx7xMLl4ieTqBAce95UHO5UuGT&si=dRHUMeH4_IGjYo-C. I am totally in love with the Aprilia!!!
Really is a good looking bike. So was is the CB500X. I went with the CB500X for the legendary Honda reliability and the easy maintenance, but I find it pretty miserable over 70MPH. So much vibration, but sub 70 it's a dream. I plan to tough it out and see if I can tighten stuff up and get it to not shake my kidneys loose, but the Tuareg is so light for the power. I'm just afraid of the reliability concerns that come with Italian bikes. I'm actually heavily considering a big fat Super Tenere for the shaft drive because I hate the chain maintenance. I don't plan for more than dirt roads either, so I am not sure I need more off road chops. I'll definitely be interested in any of the negatives you come across on the Aprilia, especially for maintenance or reliability. Positives too, of course, but I can't consider it if my reliability fears aren't put to rest. TLDR: Congrats! I hope it works great and I plan to watch how it unfolds!
Thanks for the great comment, Nunya! Well as you know, my CB500X was an absolute dream and took me to far-flung adventures for 60k miles! The seat was more comfy than the Tuareg. The engine was so smooth and reliable. But I did have to replace the water pump. I also HIGHLY recommend the 16T upgrade if you get vibrations at 70mph: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-icaJFIgS_a0.htmlsi=Kpx0SwbBjkmNCzVW. Or do the 39T rear upgrade: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Je6LdgYt9fg.htmlsi=zHVqyaKyd_D1IfVJ. My CB500x was smooth as butter even up to 75/80. But having just finished an 1800 mile trip around Nova Scotia on the Tuareg 660, I can safely say it is an absolute dream of a bike!!! I'll keep posting the modifications and maintenance I do on it, as well as any issues. But so far I'm happy with the decision...well...except when my backside gets sore at the end of a long day. 🙂
@@MotoPhotoAdventures a sore backside just means you had a good day, because it was spent riding! IDK if they do one for the Tuareg, but I hear good things about Seat Concepts. Another yootoober, Dork In The Road, has some reviews on them and I believe he has a discount code to save something like 10% if you decide to go that route.
@@NunyaBusiness... I totally agree! It's always a good day when you're on a bike! 😁 Dork in the road is great. Sadly Seat Concepts, Corbin, and the other seat makers don't have one yet for this bike. They are supposedly designing them and should be out soon. Aprilia makes 2 other "comfort" seats. So I could try one of those.
@@MotoPhotoAdventures Ah, the price of being on the latest and greatest bike! Maybe if you inquire you can luck out and be one of their guinea pigs to test/review them. I mean, if you guys get sent weedeaters, why not seat covers? LOL
@@MotoPhotoAdventures It's what the Etruscans called themselves. They were the first large civilization of the Italian peninsula. So my thought was, this is your first Italian bike, so why not name it after the first Italians 😁 - Frank
I am far more than a little bit jealous! How many mods can you do, it's already been tastefully farkled with upper an flower bars and the best tail rack available! 😊 Congratulations Chris, it's a gorgeous machine that performs just like one would expect from a performance machine. - Frank
Thanks Frank! Yup, she's got about $2k in farkles already...besides what you mentioned it includes the quick-shifter, heated grips, handguards, and bash plate. I do need to figure out how I'm going to deal with luggage. My initial thoughts are to get the Givi racks just like I had on my CB500X. We'll see...
@@MotoPhotoAdventures I ordered Tusk racks for my 790... Then sent them back. The extra weight of the bike pushed me to try rackless bags again. - Frank
So many features on that thing. Just cruise control is the thing I would love. Call it Mama Mia 😂.. You are a much better rider now that when you began doing off road stuff. So that will help out with the seat height. You should feel more confident. Get handguards that are strong and mirrors that flex. Should be fine. Mama Mia!
Hey Kevin! I'm sure my wife would love that name...it's one of her favorite movies! 🙂 Thanks for the vote of confidence too. I'll see how it goes with the stock seat. If I want to plant my feet more firmly, they make a lowered seat.
@@staopaopa1 ooooh...that sounds really cool! Although it's Finnish in origin. If it were Italian, it might make more sense for an Aprilia...HA! But I love the suggestion and will think about it. Thank you!
Absolutely! I bought it at just under 600 miles on it. So I took it directly to the largest Aprilia dealer in the country for it's 600 mile First Service because I also wanted them to check it carefully, make sure nothing had been adjusted too far out of whack by the previous owner, and to also update the firmware. But I had an excellent conversation with their lead tech (and Tuareg expert). He told me most of the guys they sell this to do their own maintenance. The engine is rock solid. They've had very few issues...one or two fuel injector sensors went bad on early models...but other than that zero issues since. He also said any time I want to come in for them to plug it into the computer to check for ecu updates, or to clear engine codes, they'd do it for free. Super nice folks. And the bike still has over a year left on the factory warranty! Design is definitely a personal thing. I wasn't sure at first. But I fell in love with the design of this bike! The fit and finish on all the controls and parts is superb!
A bit over 6K, one BDR, and a couple of rallies on mine so far with no issues aside from a broken shifter pivot bolt (a fairly common issue for these). A $10 or a $30 fix if you go for the stronger titanium one that AF1 Racing has produced (I went the titanium route).
@@williamb.6918 that's awesome! I'm hearing similar feedback from other riders, as well as the local Aprilia Technician (7 hears experience with the brand, and a huge fan of the Tuareg). I guess I need to replace that bolt though. Any other mods/changes I should look at?
@@MotoPhotoAdventures Regardless of adventure bike model full wraparound hand guards are usually first for me (I run the HDBs because there is nothing tougher). That shifter pivot bolt can leave you stuck on the trail (or at least with one gear to choose from at a time) if you do not have an easyout and a mechanism to drive it (those bolts tend to break off just inside). I would probably recommend sorting that out before you even hit the trail as I have seen quite a few reports like mine. The oil filter sticks out and is vulnerable to a frontal strike just like the Tenere so that is something to consider (I purchased the GC Corse skid plate). The Aprilia branded crash bars are very solid and good insurance IMO. I have been down a couple times and they have done their job well. Given parts availability these days I would keep spares for the commonly needed model specific parts on hand (i.e. f&r sprocket, air filter, brake pads, etc).
