Brace Yourselves For Falco Prices Falling

Message

D-Rider · #1 Post by **D-Rider** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:41 pm

We usually enjoy most of what the press has to say about the Falco - it normally wins group tests hands-down and testers can't believe how it "got away" from main stream attention in the first place.
These articles are usually followed by a clamour of interest and a bit of a price hike.

However, this morning the February 2012 copy of Performance Bikes dropped on my doormat and I think we've caught the other side of the coin this time .... a pretty severe hatchet job in a group test:

2005 Ducati 1000SS: Lusty, Simple, Evocative
2001 Honda SP1: Cohesive, Tactile, Desirable
2005 Aprilia Falco: Difficult, Portly, Practical

Despite the bollox (such as handling that I suspect to be mainly down to tyres and tyre pressures as much as the blue spring shock) ..... they do seem have hit on some truth ....

"So who would want a Falco, Kev?"
"An odd fella. Someone with a beard. A Fen dweller. They like their twins"

Anyway, before you all rush out to buy your own copies, here's the bit on the Falco:

I think that this time Falcos will become harder to sell.
For most of us that's an irrelevance - contrary to the article (and despite the fact that we can still get on a modern sportsbike - many having less "sporty" riding positions) the Falco comes so clearly above other bikes that we'll be more than happy to keep them for years to come.

flatlander · #2 Post by **flatlander** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:08 pm

There is a reason I don't buy shite magazines

I bought the triumph after reading all the reviews ...the last time I do that I remember thinking after.

I had the Bandits for 10 years only ever saw 2-3 articles about them and I think the Bandit outsold the SP1 ?

does that make it a better bike?

Just an articler by idiots "the more soulful BMW ?" the last time I saw someone on one at a bike meet they were on their own being pointed at and laughed about and they looked over 73 years old LOL

i could go on but I an tell I am ranting not so much about thje Falco but the crap state of Motorcycle press generally don't think I have ever had a bike that comes up more than once

Tonyunn · #3 Post by **Tonyunn** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:52 pm

The answer is in the title of the magazine, Performance bikes, these wannabe racers probably hated all of the bikes they tested and had to choose which is the least worst in their opinion.

I read up on lots of v-twins before I got the Falco, I bought it because it was a softer taller version of a Mille, I bought it because it was Italian.

Most motoring jounalists are critics and critics can never be happy with something that is after all at least 6 years old, none of the bikes tested are superstars so in a sense it was a pontless article, a page filler at a quiet time of the year.

I paid £2000 for a Falco so the price matter is irrelevant to me, the bike will be loved and cherished by me the owner not some ex racer who gets paid to ride.

Best thing to do is do not buy the mag.

Happy new year.

Shetland Woody · #4 Post by **Shetland Woody** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 2:45 pm

flatlander wrote:There is a reason I don't buy shite magazines

agreed, ^^^ i don't buy performance bike magazine and i won't be now lol
the one bike mag i do buy is Ride which does tend to repeat itself alot but always sings the praises of the falco. Why he try's to compare it to a honda is beyond me especially to suggest could it have been a 1000cc competitor for the vfr spot. I had a VFR in the past and yes it was reliable and did everything it says on the tin but that just made it seem... a bit boring. I'm kinda glad though this reporter has said a few of his negative impressions as it makes the falco out to be what it is unique and thats why i bought mine as there just a bit different. Any price drop won't worry me as mine won't be for sale any time soon.

MartDude · #5 Post by **MartDude** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 2:56 pm

If I'd followed the views of the majority of the magazines, I'd never have got a Futura - damned with faint praise. I don't think the Caponord fared well in contemporary reviews, either. That generation of Aprilias, other than the RSVs, seem to have been condemned from the outset, by virtue of not being mainstream. Which was a major attraction for me.

davebms · #6 Post by **davebms** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 3:29 pm

that's just men being paid for something they did not want to do !!
they failed to mention that the radiators fall of the SP1 every 1000 mls
also ,don't do what i did and forget what your riding and slam it shut in the wet !! the duke ,runs out off puff (all the time) you can try the thrash it down a bumpy back road ..the grey bit and green bit get mixed up they call it suspension

its not just me getting old fart ,i went to lemons with them (and others) all younger.. i the falco pilot got off walked to the bar all good they laid on the floor for a hour

it depends if you want to use it ,or just ride it to the cafe for an hour

I paid TOP money for mine ,but it was what i wanted, very low miles ohlins ,new rubber ,nice no regrets
BMW.. a friend has one of them in sooo many bits (gear box) but you cant get em out

all the best for 2012 ... dave

flatlander · #7 Post by **flatlander** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 3:36 pm

and on a completely unjustified note
"So who would want a Falco, Kev?"

One of my brothers is called Kev

He´s a complete To55er

D-Rider · #8 Post by **D-Rider** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 3:38 pm

Despite the comments about the press the overwhelming consensus of Falco reviews has been extremely positive - almost always their pick from a group test.
This one is unusual as it flies in the face of the normal trend.

My point isn't so much whether they are right or wrong (though they are wrong) or whether us lot actually take any notice but that the bike riding public that do read it will have their views influenced and just as the positive reviews have boosted forum membership, popularity of the bike and prices, this will have a negative effect.
Really this is just an observation.

As for PB itself, well in the past it has been positive about the Falco.
For some time now I've noticed that it has been going downhill somewhat and becoming increasingly Gixer-centric. In fact less and less gets read each month and I've been wondering whether it's worth continuing to subscribe (that's not a reaction to the Falco article but the fact that for some time it's been getting very boring)

Dalemac · #9 Post by **Dalemac** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:03 pm

The what magazine? never heard of it.

I won't be selling mine anytime soon, so i dont really care what anyone says about it!

Oh, and im not an odd, beirded old man, in 22.

Dale

#10 Post by **Kwackerz** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:35 pm

Shouldnt the Falco be in Classics Monthly by now?

Performance bikes reviewing an 05 plater? REALLY?? Thats the last time I buy that mag then. I buy it for the rave reviews on current weapons of choice and for the bird draped over the bike.. things to drool and lust after, not a review on a pile of 6 year old bikes.

Besides all that.. thats an awfully shite review and i assume its not one of ours who was asked?

#11 Post by **mangocrazy** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 6:26 pm

As others have said, the fact that this latest review may drop the notional resale value of my Falco by a couple of percentage points is of no concern to me at all. It's not for sale, so ner ner ni ner ner...

PB have always been a bit supersports-centric. But pitting the Falco against the SP1 is pointless. The obvious candidate for that job would be the RSV, as that was Aprilia's WSB weapon of choice, as was the SP1 for Honda.

The Ducati 1000SS makes more sense as a comparison, but apart from being blinded by the name and deafened by the clutch rattle, the only area where the Duke wins out is the rear suspension, and we're all well aware of the blue-spring Sachs' shortcomings. They say it would take £500 to sort out - for that money you could have suspension that would equal or beat the SP1.

They did get one conclusion right though - it IS a relaxed sportsbike, which just happens to be exactly what I want. It's a street sleeper, a wolf in sheep's clothing - a relaxed sportsbike. You can go two-up to the South of France and do track days on it with equal facility. What's not to like about that?

blinkey501 · #12 Post by **blinkey501** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 6:49 pm

Love mine

Fuc* em

Paz0274 · #13 Post by **Paz0274** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 8:34 pm

I agree with previous posts that PB is slowly becoming shite. I'm a subscriber and only really get it for the modded project bikes. They normally like left field stuff like Falcos. And I also agree that pitting the Falco against an sp1 is a bit arse.

A couple of issues ago they were touting the charms of TRX850s, for christs sake! A sales failure for Yamaha but with a cult following like Falcos (yes I meant to type cult)

hornetrider · #14 Post by **hornetrider** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 11:49 pm

What a very large pile of steaming turd that article is. That said - all of us here see the basic bike as a starting point don't we - and tweak it to how we want it with the available kit.

blinkey501 · #15 Post by **blinkey501** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 1:56 am

Now i have sobered up a bit

I would love a job where i get to road test bikes like the people who write for the magazines. There would be some bikes i don't like the feel of.
Has i have said in the past i found the falco odd when i first bought it, riding wise.
Now i am aquainted i don't really look at jap bikes in the same way has i used too.
I love the lines of the body work of the falco and for me i think the engine and its sound track is awsome.
Has in regards to prices of the falco dropping, i think it won't happen has there will always be a market for these beutifull machines.
These bikes are for people who are fed up with the"norm" in my opinion, and i will not be selling mine in the forseeable future.