Aprilia Futura – Dash/ instrument problems
The Aprilia Futura’s dash is a thing of beauty, especially after dark when its instruments look back at you bathed in a blue glow. But they can go wrong.
Sadly, it seems that problems with the dash are becoming more common as the bikes get older, and they appear vulnerable to electrical problems elsewhere on the bike, especially the voltage spikes caused by a failing regulator/rectifier.
The first thing you need to know is it is not compatible with the dash fitted to the Caponord, which gives a false speed readout when fitted to a Futura and also doesn’t have an air temp readout.
The dash, when it fails, usually fails completely, though other odd behaviour has been known. This is probably down to poor soldering in production, which later fails. At upwards of 600 quid for a new one, it’s nice to know it can sometimes be fixed.
Apriliaforum member Meanstrk has come to the rescue with a step by step set of instructions to fix your own dash. You’d need to be pretty good – never mind confident – with the soldering iron to attempt this though. Meanstrk does a postal repair service for US riders: