THE world has a new most powerful production scooter and it's Aprilia's SRV 850.

The accolade used to belong to the Gilera GP800 and with both manufacturers being part of Piaggio it's no surprise they share the same 839cc, 90-degree V-twin engine. Except the SRV's version has been upgraded to raise power to 76bhp.

You could mistake the sporty SRV for Aprilia's RSV4R superbike if you look at it head-on.

It gets the same triple headlights, air intakes and racing top fairing with pointy mirrors.

The tail also has the sleek shape of the superbike but with LED lights, and the bulbous sides typical of a scooter.

Unlike most scooters however the SRV also gets sophisticated Brembo brakes, motorcycle-style suspension, large aluminium wheel rims and the handling and lean angles of a dedicated sportsbike.

The SRV is designed to give scooter riders a taste of the thrill of riding sports motorcycles, and to entice motorcyclists onto a scooter; I defy any British motorcyclist who turns his nose up at scooters to not have a blast on one of these.

It has all the practicalities of a scooter: unbeatably comfortable seat, feet-up riding position, weather protection from the wraparound fairing and enough underseat storage to accommodate a full-faced helmet.

But the SRV also has the best traits of a motorcycle. It will do 0-60mph in 5.7 seconds, it's as nimble as a supersport machine and with the ride quality of a modern motorcycle, soaking up surface imperfections and remaining composed under heavy braking and acceleration.

It flicks from one side to another, changing direction in an instant; no effort required from the rider, a mere glance in the right direction will do.

Peel into a turn and it holds a tight line, or changes trajectory swiftly with a nudge of the handlebar. Overtakes are fast and safe while extreme lean angles are hampered only by the centrestand touching down, but only once you're pretty far over.

But it's the engine I'm really impressed with; it's meaty with plenty of torque low down, with power coming in so smoothly you can easily regulate small throttle openings round tight twists such as those we negotiated at the Aprilia's Tuscan launch.

Of course it's not as quick to respond to a change of pace as a manual motorcycle where you can kick down the gears, but still it's responsive enough to go from cruising at 50mph to caning it past a truck at 90mph in just a couple of seconds.

And it's relaxing not having to bother with gears, especially during a traffic-heavy commute.

It's also economical; we'd ridden fast for 90 miles on a full 18.5-litre tank and the gauge still pointed to two-thirds of petrol left.

The Aprilia marketing people say the SRV 850 is a scooter for the experienced rider, but I think it makes a perfect machine for the novice too. It's easy to ride, manoeuvrable at low speeds and has a good turning angle.

The machine's weight might sound hefty at a claimed 249kgs dry, but it's beautifully balanced so it simply dissolves to feel light.

It's also easy to reach the ground - at 5'6" I had both feet flat - and the rear shock's preload is adjustable by seven positions so you can lower it even further. The brake levers are adjustable too so you can bring them closer to suit smaller hands.

The only aspect that isn't so novice friendly is the lack of ABS; the brakes are powerful and the rear wheel can lock up if you grab a handful, although they're also progressive with great feedback.

There's a lot to be said for learning to control a bike without modern rider aids, plus no ABS means skids and burnouts are on - the SRV could turn a nun into a hooligan so hang on to your licence!

The Aprilia SRV 850 marries the best of the motorcycling and maxi-scooter worlds.

A machine like this can improve your quality of life, making all your travel fun and easy.

It costs £7,999 and compare this to the price of a rail season card that buys you nothing but frustration from a miserable journey, it makesplenty of  sense.

: 839.3cc, 90° V-twin engine, 4-stroke, EFI, liquid-cooled

: 76 HP @ 7,750 rpm, 76.4 Nm @ 6,000 rpm

: 125mph est

: Double cradle in high strength tubular steel

: (F) Double, 300mm semi-floating stainless steel discs with two Brembo double piston 28mm floating callipers (R) 280mm stainless steel disc and 25.4mm double piston calliper

: 780mm

: 18.5 litres

: 249kg