APRILIA LEONARDO 125 - 1999 Manual page 36

Release the brake lever and accelerate
by rotating the throttle grip moderately
(Pos. B); the vehicle will start moving.
CAUTION
Never leave abruptly with cold engine.
To reduce the emission of polluting
substances and the consumption of fu-
el, warm the engine up by proceeding at
low speed for the first miles.
36
use and maintenance Leonardo 125 - Leonardo 150 - Leonardo 250
WARNING
Avoid opening and closing the throttle
repeatedly and continuously, so that
you do not accidentally lose control of
the vehicle.
If you have to brake, close the throttle
and put on both brakes in order to ob-
tain uniform deceleration, properly ex-
erting pressure on the braking parts.
By putting on the front brake only or the
rear brake only, you reduce the braking
force considerably, thus running the
risk of locking one wheel and conse-
quently losing grip.
If you stop uphill, decelerate completely
and use the brakes only to keep the ve-
hicle steady.
The use of the engine to keep the vehi-
cle at a halt may cause the overheating
of the speed variator.
WARNING
Before beginning to turn, slow down or
brake driving at moderate and constant
speed or accelerating slightly; avoid
braking at the last moment: it would be
very easy to skid.
If the brakes are operated continuously
on downhill stretches, the friction mate-
rial may overheat, thus reducing the
braking efficiency.
Exploit the engine compression by
putting on both brakes intermittently.
Never drive downhill with the engine
off!
In case of wet road or scarce wheel grip
(snow, ice, mud, etc.), drive slowly,
avoiding sudden brakings or manoeu-
vres that could make you lose grip and
fall down.
Pay the utmost attention to any obsta-
cle or variation of the road surface.
Uneven roads, rails, manhole covers,
indications painted on the road surface,
building site metal plates become rather
slippery by rain. For this reason all
these obstacles have to be carefully
avoided, driving smoothly and bending
the vehicle as little as possible.