After years of road and track success with their smaller-displacement machines, most notably the sleek, Suzuki-powered RS250, Aprilia decided to move up to the big leagues and take a piece of the big-bike pie away from Ducati with their RSV1000. An intentional move away from Ducati’s sleek but utterly impractical 916, the RSV combined styling…
The Aprilia RS250 was the first two-stroke I actively lusted after. Keep in mind that I grew up in an era when two-strokes, at least here in the US, were basically found in off-road bikes and really annoying yard-care equipment. Not really the sexiest of associations. I still think that the sound of a two-stroke…
The last Aprilia I saw in these colors for sale was listed as a “Rossi Replica,” but this particular paintjob in fact marked the Loris Reggiani replica RS250. Reggiani raced for Aprilia from 1985 through 1995 in the 250 and 500cc classes, the latter on a bored-out 380cc v-twin intended to compete based on its…
In spite of its tiny displacement, by US standards at least, the Aprilia RS250 is not a toy. The RS50 on the other hand? Possibly a toy. But a very serious toy: this may have the displacement of a scooter and may not even require a motorcycle license endorsement in some states, but it’s a…
While they weren’t huge sellers when new, the Aprilia RSV Mille represents one of the best bargains in the sportbike world right now, sort of a “thinking-man’s Italian V-twin.” Which is a much more flattering thing to say about a bike than, “Wow, that thing is pretty odd-looking.” Although, as I’ve said before, these things…
Bike’s like Aprilia’s high-strung RS250 two-stroke is really this website’s raison d’être: specifications that speak to an almost single-minded pursuit of speed, race-bred bodywork, rarity, and an exotic nameplate. The icing on the cake is that the RS250 is relatively attainable, if you are willing to accept the compromises inherent in such a focused design.…
This is one of the nicest Aprilia RS250’s we’ve featured recently, although the seller’s claim that this is a “Rossi Replica” might be a bit of a stretch: Rossi was riding a 250 for Aprilia in 1998, but didn’t win the title until 1999. In 1998 he was second, and prior to that, he was…
Mostly overlooked, even when new, Aprilia’s Falco is an ideal “mature” sportbike for someone who wants to stand out… subtly. Fast and comfortable, the bike featured a slightly detuned version of Aprilia’s 996cc v-twin that produced 118hp along with the usual “improved midrange and low-end power” that seems to feature on naked and sport-touring versions…