The Aprilia Mana 850 GT ABS, Touring on Cruise-Control

The Aprilia Mana 850 GT ABS is the grand touring version and comes equipped with a half-fairing, readying it for those rides that take you far beyond the city limits.

The automatic-transmission Aprilia Mana GT I'm riding is doing a fin job of living up to its surroundings. The Grand Touring version of the more suburban Aprilia Mana. The Aprilia Mana 850 GT's new fairing does a fine job of deflecting most of the airflow off my chest, but just in case the weather takes a turn for the worse, I've stashed my water-proof jacket in one of the spacious accessory saddlebags. Acing through the fantastic curves of these country roads, the new Aprilia Mana 850 GT feels roomy, comfortable and well equipped – read to take on anything.

Performance is pretty good, too. The Aprilia Mana 850 GT accelerates out of hairpin bends with a satisfying midrange punch, heading for a top speed of about 120km/h. The 839cc V-twin produces a troaty exhaust note that rises and falls rapidly as I thumb through the seven-speed sequential gearbox. Alternatively, I could use the foot shift lever, through it feels pretty odd to operate it without a clutch.

Switching to automatic mode means the CVT takes care of everything – all I have to do is point the Aprilia Mana GT where I want it to go. But on these technical roads it's more fun to take control of the engine.

When it comes to shedding speed, the Aprilia Mana GT benefits from a powerful braking package complete with competent ABS circuitry as standard equipment. The Aprilia Mana GT navigates corners quite well thanks to its well-chosen geometry, well-damped suspension and reasonable sticky Pirelli Angel ST tires.

The Aprilia Mana GT has a fair share of scooter-style practicality. The 16 liter fuel tank lives under the seat, allowing the dummy tank to act as a lockable storage compartment. Large enough to hold my fuel full face helmet, the compartment features a small dome light as well as a power outlet for charging a mobile phone, iPod or the GPS unit.

The potential for combining commuting chores with more interesting riding makes the Aprilia Mana unique, especially with the Grand Touring model's additional wind protection and saddlebags. The windscreen is height-adjustable, though not by much. The seating position is unchanged from that of the standard Aprilia Mana 850, offering roomy and comfortable ergonomics suitable for long hauls.

The Aprilia Mana GT's main drawback is the powerrobbing influence of its CVT transmission, which reduces output to a claimed 76 horsepower. Despite having nearly a 100cc displacement advantage over Aprilia's manual-shifted Shiver, it's not nearly as fast.