This past weekend, I had an interesting opportunity. One of the dealerships in the area had the Aprilia Demo Truck in town and was doing a different kind of test ride. Since it is a sister store to the one I do some part time work at, I had the chance to go work the event. Though I could have ridden several of the bikes, I have to be honest that the weekends appeal for me was less about riding and m ore about visiting with the folks that were riding, before and after.
Generally, I think dealership test rides are too short to get a real feel for the bikes we buy. 5-10 minutes in a controlled area just doesn't cut it. With the Aprilia Adventure Rides, they are tackling that issue. Taking 10-12 riders out on an hour long test ride using a collection of demo bikes, riders get a chance to really get a feel for the bikes. I had the opportunity to visit with the riders before and after, and found that I am not alone. These rides are one of the best tools out there for evaluating the bikes.
Spending the day listening, It was fun to hear some of my own opinions echoed back at me, particularly with regards to the Aprilia Mana. If you can don't have an issue with a bike that doesn't have a clutch, there is not a more fun and practical motorcycle on the market. The other thing that I found interesting is the shop in question brought out a curiously mixed crowd and elicited some even more curious reactions.
You see, the shop is a scooter shop first. They happen to also carry Aprilia and Moto Guzzi motorcycles, but the shop is a Vespa, Aprilia, Piaggio shop first. Needless to say, most of the adventure riders came for ride the sport bikes. The RSV was a big attraction, but having folks walk through a shop filled with scooters brought more than a few comments about how much cooler the scooters where than they thought.
So perhaps exposure is the key to breaking stereotypes.
Either way, it was an excellent opportunity to meet and greet folks outside my normal circle, and for that I had a great time, working at what my wife accurately calls my 'play job'.
It may be a little longer than normal until my next post. I have been working on something for a couple of weeks that I hope to publish as my next post regarding the 'costs' of riding.