Best of both worlds?
Aprilia has launched an interesting new toy on the European market, called the Atlantic Sprint, though there's no guarantee it will make it to Australia. The model claims to have the best of both scooter worlds, with a big powerplant wrapped in a compactThe machine is worth a look because it has claims maxi engine capacity (500cc) and performance, but the maker says it's actually the size of a 250 with about the same level of manoeuvrability.
This could be a good marketing ploy as some of the maxis have been criticised for being a little ungainly – great on the highway but a bit of a handful around town.
Suzuki's super maxi, the 650 Burgman is the most extreme example. It's a big motorcycle by any standards, with vast reserves of performance, but perhaps not such a great proposition around town.
Powering the machine is a 460ccc liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, single with four valves and a single camshaft. It claims a fairly modest 37 horses at 6750rpmm and 42Nm or torque at 5500rpm.
The chassis gets some respectable gear, such as a 35mm fork with 105mm of travel. That, in combination with 14-inch wheels, should give a pretty good ride quality. Tyre sizes seem to be getting bigger all the time, with the front a 120/70 on the front and a 140/60 on the rear.
Linked braking seems to be close to universal in this class -- this toy uses a combination of a three-piston calliper on the sharp end and two-piston down back.
While it may be compact, it's no lightweight, admitting to 199 kilos dry -- which is a substantial lump. None of the maxis would qualify as featherweights and we can see this becoming an area for development -- particularly when motorcycles have lost so much weight over the years.
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