Aprilia made neat black Haga and Edwards commemoratives on the 2003 RSV1000R, and continued applying the signature decals on the early 2nd generation Factory. Rather than the black and Alice livery, the 2004 is an adult multi-grey, with the R’s blue wheels. The Factories had excellent components and this one shows just over 2,200 miles.…
After the introduction of their RSV Mille, Aprilia knew they needed something a little less extreme, at least in terms of riding position. But while Ducati’s original approach to the naked bike was to put a lower-spec engine into a frame from an older sportbike, Aprilia was forced by necessity to go a different route:…
For a while, World Superbike rules favored v-twins, thanks to the… um, influence of Ducati. Soon everybody wanted to get in on the act: Honda switched from a V4 to a twin for their RC51 and Aprilia’s first big bike fit a Rotax v-twin into a revised version of their gorgeous aluminum twin-spar beam frame.…
“A man’s got to know his limitations,” Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry famously deadpans in Magnum Force, a film which happens to feature several Italian motorcycles, none of which are an Aprilia RS250 like this Cup Challenge bike. The decision-makers at Aprilia must have been fans of Clint Eastwood though, as they took that advice to…
Update 7.21.2018: SOLD! -dc Nothing in American motorcycling circles screams “MEH” like a 125cc single cylinder beginner bike, even if it does have a paint job aping a world champion’s race bike. That’s a shame, really, as most of the motorcyclists on these shores end up missing the joys of light, flickable, surprising rides in…
Well-used Aprilia RSV Milles and RSV 1000Rs can be had for silly money these days, nearly as low as some of their Japanese rivals, but with more power and sweeter suspension. They tend to be a damn sight cheaper than contemporary Ducatis. This 2001 Aprilia RSV Mille R does not meet the definition of well-used…
Look, I need to get this out of the way up front: this Aprilia Tuono 1000R Factory is a very ugly bike. The proportions are strange, the details are overwrought, there are creases and angles everywhere… Honestly, the only really positive thing you can say about the bodywork on the Aprilia Tuono 1000R is that…
The 2003 Aprilia RS250GP-1 represents the absolute pinnacle of two-stroke technology and the final gasp of the format’s street-legal heyday. Quite simply, these are the most advanced mass-produced street two strokes that ever roamed the Earth. Since they were never sold in this country officially, finding a decent one is a feat. 2003 Aprilia RS250GP-1…