Even though we expected Jay Leno to own a rather peculiar bike such as the Aprilia 850 Mana, we were somehow surprised to see him ride it and like it. Not that there is something wrong with the Mana, but this bike is a large step form the crowd, so to speak.
Basically we're looking at a bike with no less than 7 speeds and 5 different transmission modes. It can be ridden almost like a normal bike, using the left foot for shifting, but there is no clutch, whatsoever. Or one can use the + and – finger/thumb button shifting, just like when driving a paddleshift car.
The fully-automatic mode comes with three mappings, for Sport, Touring and Rain. The Sport provides the most power and fast response, the Touring mode makes things crunchy yet unintimidating, while the last mode cuts the power and helps the rider by assisting his maneuvers via throttle control.
The parking brake is manual and in case you get the Aprilia 850 Mana, you better remember to use it when stopped. And yes, a great feature is the storage space: a full-face helmet can be accommodated where the tank should be: the reservoir was placed under the seat to lower the center of gravity, significantly raised by the special transmission.
Nice, but a bit weird, isn't it?
The fully-automatic mode comes with three mappings, for Sport, Touring and Rain. The Sport provides the most power and fast response, the Touring mode makes things crunchy yet unintimidating, while the last mode cuts the power and helps the rider by assisting his maneuvers via throttle control.
The parking brake is manual and in case you get the Aprilia 850 Mana, you better remember to use it when stopped. And yes, a great feature is the storage space: a full-face helmet can be accommodated where the tank should be: the reservoir was placed under the seat to lower the center of gravity, significantly raised by the special transmission.
Nice, but a bit weird, isn't it?
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