Mostly overlooked, even when new, Aprilia’s Falco is an ideal “mature” sportbike for someone who wants to stand out… subtly. Fast and comfortable, the bike featured a slightly detuned version of Aprilia’s 996cc v-twin that produced 118hp along with the usual “improved midrange and low-end power” that seems to feature on naked and sport-touring versions of these bikes. Still, the bike is good for a 160mph top speed, which really is plenty fast.
The unusual 60° v-twin configuration was chosen as a balance between smoothness and packaging. Ducati’s 90° twin is smooth, but notoriously difficult to package effectively: with that horizontal front cylinder, it’s a very long engine. Suzuki tried to make it work by fitting a rotary damper in place of a normal shock to save space, and that didn’t work out so well. Today, even Ducati has been forced to come up with interesting solutions at the rear to allow for an ideal swingarm length that works with their L-twin.
It’s maybe not the sexiest machine ever designed, the Falco still looks sleek, with interesting details like that frame, funky three-lobed headlight, and angular bodywork. It’s a bit like an MZ 1000S, but with better parts availability: the Falco and RSV share all their important spin-y and reciprocate-y bits, so it should be easy to keep one running, and the RSV is known to be durable and reliable, so problems shouldn’t crop up very often.
From the original eBay listing: 2001 Aprilia Falco SL1000 for Sale
Great bike for the value. I hate to part with it but I could use the cash for my business. The suggested retail value (kbb.com) is $3210.00. Could use some new back rubber but other than that the bike is in excellent condition as you can see by the pictures. No damage never laid down.
Sales were disappointing during the bike’s run between 1999 and 2003, making used Falcos correspondingly rare, although the ones I’ve seen do appear to have been well taken care of. At under 14,000, mileage isn’t collector-bike-low, but seems very reasonable, considering the bike’s original sport-touring mission.
The only thing that concerns me is the complete lack of badging. The seller maintains that the bike was never crashed, but was it repainted? Did he simply have any decals removed? Regardless, the paint does look nice in the photos, and you can certainly add the original decals if you like. In contrast to the sometimes garish RSV graphics, the Falco had pretty discreet badges and logos.
With a starting bid of $2,800 and no takers as yet, riders on a limited budget looking for something classy, reliable, and fun should take note.
-tad
these may be rare but not all that desirable
Is this really what passes for a rare sportbike these days?
Porky pile. Pass…
I own one that is as clean as this example. It’s a wonderful machine, mine is equipped with Ohlins front and rear, helibars, DB windscreen, it is also uncorked and remapped. Putting down 130+hp and gobs of torque on tap I prefer it over my 06 CBR1000rr for almost every occasion. They didn’t sell very well, but its a great bike for majority of folks wanting something other than the norm at a great price. Glad to see it on the site.
Better fits the site than the Yamaha YSR50 the other day!
gl with the sale but pretty much no one lusts after these
Well if we have to look at Buell’s on this site, then I don’t see an issue with throwing a Falco up there. I work in the powersports industry and have never met a single person that lusted after ANY Buell.
GLWS, keep posting up these odd bikes. If you don’t find it interesting, just do what you did before the internet and STFU.