Aprilia Leonardo 300

Had an Aprilia Leonardo 300 for two years now. Never had a problem. Always starts first prod and warms up quickly. Great handling, stable with great turn in, brakes strong with plenty of feel. Huge underseat storage, small rackspace and 'curry hook'between legs for lighter items.

0-50 mph is very quick, but soon runs out of steam above 70mph. Ideal for fast A roads, but not quite enough power for motorways on a regular basis. As a town/local commuter it is one of the best. 60-70 mpg is easily available. It's also easy to thread through traffic due to it's light weight.

As a 6'1" rider it is a bit cramped, but would be ideal for someome a bit shorter, maybe 5'10" or so.

Overall a great bike for shorter journeys.

Sadly, the Leonardo has gone the way of many European products... too expensive initially, and disgracefully poor dealer network. Buy Japanese equivalents.

The Aprilia Leonardo 300 is a fine bike at the £2300 price new.

Handles round town or at speed in the country. Comfortable on the rear and quite an easy reach to the floor. Exhaust very heavy and worth ditching. Auto choke means you can get going almost straight away. Gets 65-75 mpg, tops off at 85mph, nearly GTi quick just not as fast as expected - soured slightly by the fact it's a 264cc not 300cc. I reckon it sticks on a 9 second 0-60mph car at least until 50mph. What makes it fast in practice is the fact it's an auto and the engine's not tuned for top end - hence the torque response is quite good and always there. If you need speed get a Benelli Velvet 400 new for £2000 like I did!