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Well, this was the longest I have ever gone in not riding a new (to me) bike. It arrived this past Tuesday, and I just got my first little ride in to warm her up for an oil change. My bike came with the following:

Staintunes & AF1 H-pipe
Tuneboy w/ custom map
Mille airbox boot
Heli’s
Pyramid DB screen
Throttlemeister
and the assorted forum fixes: upgraded reg, rectifier, and chrome plated quick-disconnect fuel fitting.

My thoughts so far:

This exhaust system is equally as loud as my Arrow full system (solo-pipe) without the baffles. It is much too loud for my intended purpose of morning commutes. That said, with the baffles in, its just acceptable. Don’t get me wrong…I love the music that the Rotax makes, but its likely that my neighbors do not. The baffles will come out for the spirited weekend ride.

The ergos on the OE setup are great to start, but the Heli’s and DB screen are an improvement. I am (5′10″) almost upright and the position is very comfortable. The DB screen still keeps the wind clean but brings it to mid-helmet level - an improvement for me because the OE screen place the wind directly on my neck requiring a scarf.

This is my fourth Aprilia and by far the best fueled. I have never gone with custom mapping in the past due to the cost, but might have learned a lesson. This is the smoothest response, idle, and low(er) rpm power I have owned of the Aprilias.

The red has grown on me and I have likely figured out why its better in person than in print. To get a good pic, the bike has to be in the sun. When its in the sun, its orange. The red does not come out very well in pics. To me, its much more red in person and only orange at certain angles. The changing color depending on the lighting is actually pretty cool.

Some possible changes:
If I start to ride the twisties often, I can see braided lines in the future paired with CRG levers. I am going to try to commute without the panniers by using a tail bag…we’ll see how that goes. It not that I don’t like the panniers, its my specific garage situation. Baffles are staying in! There is likely a BEF fender eliminator in the near future. I also want to find those little cargo hooks that fasten into the top of the panniers for over the seat fasteneing. On the possible list and only if I start hitting the twisties regularly would be a set of rearsets. I hated the OE Mille versions because my feet would Rossi off of them in the tight stuff as I would move from side to side. These have the same pegs. I could also see a shock…if I REALLY start hitting the twisties, but for now it’s not necessary.

I have the manual on the way from the previous owner along with all of the OE take-offs just in case.

That’s all for now, but in the end IT’S A KEEPER!