Aprilia SportCity 250 i.e. has landed on US soil!

(Looking at her in person reveals why "Sport" is part of her name. Click on the image to see a few more photos.)

Here we've got a 244.29cc 4-stroke pushing 15" wheels up to nearly 80 MPH all in a compact yet comfortable package. But, don't let that tiny frame fool you. This baby is SOLID and you're gonna need a little muscle to maneuver her with the engine off, due to her weigh of 326 lbs and that's without the 2.7 gallons of gas in her tank.

I'm very excited that Aprilia decided to bring the SportCity 250 to us (too bad the bike wasn't prepped for me to test ride today). All I can say is "thanks" to Warren over at Ducati Austin for giving us the scoop on her arrival. He said that he'd call us next week after she's been given her check up. JOY!

If you don't mind watching raw footage without audio, you can at least see how she handles here.

I believe the MSRP on the 2007 SportCity 250 i.e. is $4,599.00. Pricey? A bit, but when you look at the Honda Reflex at $6,049, the Honda Helix is 5,299, the Honda Big Ruckus is $5,499 and Vespa GTS 250 is $5,999 it seems to be a good deal. I'll have to verify that MSRP with Warren next week as well.

Sorry I don't have a whole lot more details, but you can always click on the title link to see what the Aprilia USA site has to say about her.

***Update***
As you know, I was a bit uncertain on that MSRP at $4,599.00, it seemed lower than I anticipated AND after hearing that the Scooter Diva's buyers guide had it listed at $6,299.00 I had to follow up. After checking with my local Aprilia shop it is confirmed at $4,599.00. Woohoo!

Looking forward to my test drive in the next couple weeks!

2strokebuzz Reviews the new Genuine Blur 150

2strokebuzz: The Blur 150: Modern scooters aren't rubbish:

Well Illnoise dun diddit. He went and reviewed him a scooter. His first since he started covering scooters more than 10 years ago (has it been that long???). What he says sounds promising. I'd suggest clicking the title link to read the unabridged version. One bit that really stood out for me was when Bryan said:

"I'm seriously considering trading in one of the rusty, cable-eating, oil-leaking vintage bikes in my garage and selling out to the four-stroke automatic world."

What?! What did you say?! ("The counclers are Jedi Knights, I believe." Um, sorry I always do that.) Anywayz, I couldn't believe my ears either. TSS trades in an automatic for a 'vintage' and 2SB considers trading a vintage for an automatic?!?! I think this is one of the signs of the apocalypse... I'm sure Nostradamus mentioned it somewhere, or maybe I saw it in the Di Vinci Code. Who knows.

One commenter (Prof. Matt) from 2SB noted that the FLY150 from Piaggio retails for $100 less than the Blur, and you know you love you some Piaggio!

I'll be leaving DC in the morning. I can sleep. It's 3:25am right now and I have a wake up call scheduled for 4:30am so I can get to my 7am flight back home. I blame it on that damned Arizona Energy Drink I had today. I'm gonna be draggin' a$$ tomorrow. Good night.