Comments on Falco Colours

[Aladinsaneuk]

This thread has been split from the factual information about Falco colours in the Aprilia Technical section.
Here it now serves the purpose of conveying myth, legend and fantasy about the colours as well as becoming the new home of Falco colour prejudice.
It will also give those misguided riders of black Falcos somewhere to post up about how theirs are best - though we all know that however much they bang on about it, it will never become reality .....

and some of the usa colour schemes did make it into the UK....

and oasis green is the rarest colour, black and red are the fastest due to snorkel sizes etc

[mangocrazy]

and some of the usa colour schemes did make it into the UK....

and oasis green is the rarest colour, black is the fastest

Oh dear, I thought Technical stickies were for factual rather than anecdotal content...

[Aladinsaneuk]

and is now factually correct

[FlyingKiwi]

and some of the usa colour schemes did make it into the UK....

and oasis green is the rarest colour, black and bronze is the fastest

Oh dear, I thought Technical stickies were for factual rather than anecdotal content...

We can play this all day

[HisNibbs]

and some of the usa colour schemes did make it into the UK....

and oasis green is the rarest colour, black and bronze is the fastest

Oh dear, I thought Technical stickies were for factual rather than anecdotal content...

We can play this all day

Yep.........

[D-Rider]

black and red are the fastest due to snorkel sizes etc

and is now factually correct

Bit of a leap of logic there!

The only fact is that the red and the black Falcos (and at least one Bronze Falco) have bigger apertures in the air intakes.
This doesn't prove they are any faster.

.... In fact there are things about the later design that I'm wondering about that could mean they may be no less efficient (though I have no firm evidence one way or another)
Interestingly Aprilia didn't change the quoted power figures between the various years.

So .... your statement may be correct but it may not .... one thing we can be sure of is that without better evidence, we can't claim that to be factually correct.

[mrapriliafalco]

I prefer the older switchgear I reckon its far better

[D-Rider]

I prefer the older switchgear I reckon its far better

Now where's the fun in that?

What better way to brighten your day than preparing to turn right and instead of signalling, blasting your horn at a group of pensioners stood at the bus stop.
Laugh a minute the newer switchgear.

[mangocrazy]

.... In fact there are things about the later design that I'm wondering about that could mean they may be no less efficient (though I have no firm evidence one way or another)
Interestingly Aprilia didn't change the quoted power figures between the various years.

I've been thinking that, as well. Just because there is more volume in the earlier air boots does not make them necessarily 'better'. If you get an increase in cross-sectional area, you get a reduction in velocity of gas. If the newer snorkels provide a more consistent cross-sectional area throughout the inlet tract, they may well flow more gas due to less pressure/velocity drops.

In the world of fluid dynamics, things are not as obvious as they may seem.

[HowardQ]

Don't really care about black Falcos being fastest or not, most of the Falcos on here have been modded in some way and even Aprilial dealers have problems differentiating between early Milles and standard Falcos on performance. So nobody on here would notice if somebody swapped their air intakes for some newer or older versions, (although it is good claim to make if you have an early bike).
So what the hell, nobody on here would notice any performance difference betwen early or later Falcos as standard if they were just de-restricted.
All Falcos have what in my, possibly slightly biassed opinion, is the most beautiful frame on any bike.
The best colour to show this frame off and contrast with it is Black, with the early Red getting very close, the other early colours like silver and yellow don't contrast and show the frame off as well, but still have appeal.
The later black framed Falcos still look great and possibly have a bit more of a subtle appeal, but that beautiful frame does not stand out quite as much, although every colour Falco will always look great.
There you have it, a totally unbiassed factual appraisal with no claims about the fastest colour. (Honest. I'm not a politician, so you have to believe me!).

[HowardQ]

Sorry Mango, but the air tubes are not sealed at the frame, (although some people have tried this), so any advantage or disadvantage would be lost by any leaks and turbulance caused by this open joint, unlike the sealed ram air systems on bikes like Kawasakis.
Still can't imagine anybody would ever tell the difference.

[mangocrazy]

Good try Howard, but you forgot part of your constituency....

The early blue ones...

To be honest I think the blue Falcos look great. I'd love to see one of them with a black frame and swingarm...

[HowardQ]

I deliberately left them out because they are somewhere in the middle.
The single colour early Falcos, looked a bit better than the ones with mottled black lower fairings.
But as I said every Falco looks great to me.

[robertorolfo]

Just to add fuel to the fire, it is generally accepted that the larger the airbox volume, the better it is for power. I'm not sure if that has to do with how the power is delivered, or the actual peak number, but the concept is out there.

And while I have an old silver frame Falco, I personally think the newer, black framed ones look much better.

Of the color schemes, the blue has always intrigued me the most.

[mangocrazy]

Just to add fuel to the fire, it is generally accepted that the larger the airbox volume, the better it is for power. I'm not sure if that has to do with how the power is delivered, or the actual peak number, but the concept is out there.

I don't think anybody would argue with that, RR. That's why there are all the various aftermarket permutations to increase effective airbox volume (and quite a few home-brewed ones). I'm currently working on a cunning plan to enlarge the airbox volume on my Falco for just such a reason...

I think the contention is whether the larger airbox inlet 'boot' on the earlier black (and red?) models has a beneficial effect on power or not. For a number of reasons, I'm not so sure. But I'm equally sure that more is better when talking about airbox volume.

And I agree about the black frames; I have one of the later flamingo red and anthracite models and the black frame was one of the things that caught my interest. But I can equally appreciate that others prefer the natural aluminium frames.