Aprilia’s RS250 is well known to regular readers, and this particular bike, while not completely original, looks like it’s in great shape and has relatively low miles on it. The RS250 was a lightweight machine with an aluminum frame, distinctive banana-shaped aluminum swingarm that allowed the bulging expansion chambers to tuck in for good ground-clearance, and basically the same brake set up as the much-heavier Ducati 916… Powered by a heavily-modified two-stroke v-twin from Suzuki’s RGV250 that generated 60hp and required commitment to use effectively, the bike rewarded riding skill with sublime handling that is, for most riders, as close as they’ll ever get to a true Moto GP experience, especially in a road-legal package…
Coming in at the very-tail end of the two-stroke sportbike era, road-legality of these does vary a bit by year and state. This particular example looks like it was originally a track-only bike, or had the standard fairing replaced with one intended for a trackbike. In the above picture, you can see the headlight tucked into the fairing. Very low-profile, but perhaps a bit too non-stock for the readers of this site…
From the original eBay listing: 2000 Aprilia RS250 for Sale
2000 Aprilia RS250 street legal bike, recently serviced, runs beautiful and has the look to match with very low miles, this bike is LIKE NEW. This very rare Italian bike has new JNL racing pipes, new marchesini magnesium rims, a big beautiful tank without any scraps or dents, gorgeous seat… lots of beautiful aluminum and carbon fiber fairings. Never been laid down, this bike looks even better than the pictures! Bike has been garaged it’s life, and is still of course being garaged as you see in the photos.
As many motorcycle enthusiasts know, Aprilia is famous for winning 14 out of the 16 world championship races in 2003. No longer in production, this bike is admirable to look at with shiny, smooth fairings, the twin spar combo of aluminum, magnesium alloy frame and a swinging arm of the same material keep the bike solid but lighter than comparable bikes (can this bike even be compared?), and as anyone who’s ever been lucky enough to ride one will tell you, its a dream drive! Sophisticated digital instrument panel and a chronometer that can remember up to 40 lap times will make this bike the envy of your friends!
2004 was the last production date for the Aprilia. This 2000 Aprilia model has a clear title and we can even arrange delivery within the west coast for $1.00 per mile. This is one of the most beautiful and rarest racing bikes we’ve be able to offer in our over 10 years of selling rare and vintage motorcycles and motorcycle parts on ebay.
There’s plenty of time left on this auction and, at $2,100 the reserve is unsurprisingly not yet met. The seller mentions that this is street-legal, but the bodywork suggests that it may not have started out that way, so do a bit of homework if you live in draconian California and plan to register it for road use. While I do like the deceptively track-only look, I’m not sure that offset, blue-lensed headlight tucked into the fairing on the right side will be to everyone’s taste. Luckily, that can be changed, although it would obviously be easier to go track-0nly, since sourcing an original headlight/fairing combo could be expensive… Those additional decals should probably go as well, but that is fairly easy to do.
While the Marchesini wheels do look to be wider than stock, that may just be the pics. Probably a question for the seller, since wider wheels and tires could make the RS250’s famously nimble handling less so, and the extra rubber probably isn’t necessary, considering the power on tap. They look pretty good and might be lighter than stock, but this bike is really about form following function.
-tad
