All Tests – SRV 850 Test: Aprilia also has its Hyperscooter! – The most powerful scooter in the world!

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SRV 850 test: Aprilia also has its Hyperscooter !

All Tests - SRV 850 Test: Aprilia also has its Hyperscooter! - The most powerful scooter in the world!

With its 76 hp vario and its RSV4 boil, the Aprilia SRV 850 has no shortage of arguments to appeal to fans of punchy maxi-scooters! Is this Gilera GP800 clone a real Hyperscooter? Site went to test it in Tuscany… Test !

The most powerful scooter in the world !

Now adorned with a red border of the most beautiful effect, the electric opening saddle is just as comfortable and soft as on the GP800. The seat offers excellent support, in particular thanks to the presence of an adjustable backrest in which the lower back naturally rests..

On the other hand, even if it culminates 10 mm less high (780 mm against 790 mm on the Gilera), its pronounced width still forces the pilots of less than 1.80m to advance towards the handlebars to reduce the "arcade" and touch the ground flat. A detail to take into account when maneuvering at low speed, just like the heavy weight of the SRV850 and its tendency to engage slightly below 40 km / h.

Once installed behind the superb aluminum uprights of the handlebars, the fate reserved for the legs is not as enviable as expected: even by placing the backrest in its third and last position, a 1.75m rider cannot fully extend. his legs by placing his shoes on the oblique part of the steps. A roof on a maxi-scooter 2237 mm long and 790 mm wide !

And those who thought that these generous dimensions concealed the carrying capacity to match will be disappointed: just like that of the Gilera GP800, the SRV850 apron does not have a storage compartment, while the illuminated trunk struggles to close on a large integral or modular…

Aprilia makes up for it thanks to its practicality – not to say essential given the weight! – handbrake, its 12 V socket and its readable and complete dashboard (read the "Instrumentation" section of our technical sheet on the following pages). Similar to that of the Gilera GP800 and the Piaggio MP3, this console allows you to scroll through the two daily trips and the outside temperature of a flick on the right stalk.

The (big) lion sticks out his (big) claws…

Remarkably balanced, the SRV850 is quick to forget its curves once launched: its 16-inch front wheel (15 at the rear) steers correctly and offers appreciable guidance precision. And its almost 250 kg dry does not prevent the Aprilia from playing with the usual difficulties encountered in built-up areas with certain brilliance..

This is explained in particular by the smoothness of its transmission, the perfectly calibrated injection and the imperturbable stability: with 1593 mm of wheelbase and a lattice frame as rigid as that of a motorcycle, the Italian maxi-scooter is firmly anchored to the ground and never breaks up.

And that’s no small feat, considering the health of the 839.3 cc twin! Showing 76 hp at 7,750 rpm and 76.4 Nm at 6,000 rpm (against 75 hp at 7,250 rpm and 76.4 Nm at 5,750 rpm against for the Gilera), the engine of the Aprilia is the most powerful ever installed in a production scooter: the SRV850 sticks almost 30 hp to the Tmax 530 and 16 to the new BMW C 600 Sport (see box below) !

Thanks to work on injection, Aprilia announces that it has improved the efficiency of the air-fuel mixture, which explains the increase in power and torque values ​​compared to the GP800. According to the Italians, these changes would also result in a gain of torque at mid-range and fuel economy..

Handlebars in hand, if it is difficult to measure real changes compared to the Gilera, the cannon accelerations and the vigor of the recoveries offered by the SRV850 provide just as many sensations! Capable of making the Pirelli Diablo Scooter whistle – whose grip is nevertheless excellent – during a sudden start on a slippery surface, the twin is present at all speeds and helps to forget the weight of the machine.

Available from 3000 rpm, it then pushes with a conviction that never seems to weaken: the times between 90 and 150 km / h are simply astounding for a scooter, while the needle of the meter can exceed 200 km / h without too much difficulty. Like the GP800, the SRV850 fines most of its competitors mechanically.

At the level of the cycle part, however, the finding is not quite up to the sportiness suggested by the sharp lines and these accèl ‘"beefy". Although the front is quite playful and shows a good tolerance for improvisation, the very (too?) Flexible suspension settings end up harming the sporting ambitions of the Aprilia scooter..

The rear adjustable in preload (provided you remove a housing fixed by 6 screws to the front of the trunk) then starts to rebound on the bumps rather than damping them, which generates some parasitic movements. The phenomenon is not really crippling, but its appearance encourages you to give up your hand slightly so as not to get carried away.

Verdict: a hell of a toy !

The competitors of the SRV 850

  • BMW C600 Sport : 647 cc, 60 hp, 66 Nm of torque, 249 kg in running order – € 11,100

  • Gilera GP800 : 839.3 cc, 75 hp, 76.4 Nm of torque, 249 kg dry – € 8,999

  • Honda Integra : 669.6 cc, 51.8 hp, 62 Nm of torque, 238 kg all full facts – € 8,490

  • Yamaha Tmax 530 : 530 cc, 46.5 hp, 52.3 Nm of torque, 217 kg fully loaded (221 with ABS) – € 10,499 (+ € 500 with ABS)

    • Favoring a cast driving, the SRV850 is also not equipped with particularly incisive braking: spongy when taking the lever, the front lacks bite and needs to be actuated with force to obtain the necessary power to stop the ( heavy) crew.

    In the absence of ABS – an option that should normally be offered in June in the form of a pack also containing an anti-skid – the rear requires vigilance to avoid untimely blockages.

    Less efficient than a Yamaha Tmax 530 or a BMW C600 Sport in the viroleux, the SRV850 requires more effort and attention on the rapid changes of angles because of its weight, and the orientation much more "comfort "that" sport "of its suspensions.

    The Aprilia, however, opposes its rivals a look of hell and especially a temperament and mechanical performance that are simply enjoyable on this type of vehicle! Are you looking for a racy maxi-scooter, capable of leaving behind all the other maxi-scooters with a simple twist of the right wrist? Then the SRV850 is for you !

    And as its price (€ 9,799 until mid-April 2012, € 10,299 thereafter) is relatively well placed, everything suggests that the success of the "new" scooter of Noale’s crest should at least equal that of its " cousin ": in 2011, Gilera had marketed some 892 units of its GP800 in France.

    A score that seems to confirm the interest in the concept of "Hyperscooter", knowing that over the same period the brand with which the late Marco Simoncelli won the world title in 250 cc in 2008 totaled only 1097 sales in the hexagon…

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