Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127759
(Right) Though it's hard to tell by looking, there's a 41Occ, rotary-valve V· twin wedged into that curvaceous aluminum frame. Chief race engineer Jan Wltteveen says that with the help of a magnesium crankcase the RSV400's powerplant weighs the same as the company's championship-winning 250. (Below) Ohlins front end is set up very stiff - it has to be. With the weight advantage, hard, late braking is one of the keys to turning quick laps on the RSV400. else you'll £load the motor - depending on the revs - and it won't pull cleanly until its cleared itself. The trick is to use the sweet-,action gearbox with inbuilt speedshifter to keep the revs dialed way up high - the Aprilia likes to operate in its super-powerband between 10,000 and 12,500 rpm, which is where Reggiani shifts when he isn't taking advantage of the overrev to ·13,000 - I tried it, and the power doesn't drop off much, though if you rev it any higher you will break the big end. But be overenthusastic with the right hand, and get ready to have the front wheel pop in the air wrule you're cranked over - a heady experience. I'm glad to say the new rear Dunlop proved capable of taking in its stride. The way the little 400 accelerates out of comers may not be as potent as a 500 V-four, but it seems even faster because you think you're on a 250 and your terms of reference are out of synch. Result: more thrills. The engine picks up revs very quickly in spite of the big-bore cylinders, and it also runs very cool, too: 55 degrees is optimum, enough to make the mechanics rip some tape off the radiator to cool it down from 65 degrees when I stopped. There's a little bit of vibration through the footpegs, but not as much as I expected - though consid- (Above) The streamlined fairing provides good protection for the rider, and Loris Reggiani's low bars help keep the rider out of the slipstream. Further, (below) there is a cutout in the tank to accept the chin of the pilot's helmet. APRILIA RSV400 SpecilIclIIIoa ly different from anything else heard in a racing paddock today. Snuggling into the cockpit of the RSV400 seems a bit like preparing to become top gun: You feel you're nestling in the bike, cocooned by bodywork a bit like in. a fighter aircraft, with the narrow, domed screen acting as a cockpit canopy and the wide flanks of the streamlined fairing spreading over your shoulders. Reggiani's distinctive dropped handlebars allow you to tuck yourself down low to maximize straight-line speed and minimize drag, dropping the chin of your helmet to the deep cutout provided in the carbonfiber fuel tank. Now comes .the tricky part: Engage bottom gear and prepare for takeoff. Actuall y, not tricky at all if you just want to cruise gently down pit lane and out onto the track: The RSV400 pulls cleanly from way down low and comes on strong from 9000 rpm upwards with the aid of the electronic power valve, even without any power-jet on the 39.5mm Dello'Orto flat-slides. But fast rewind, and now try to do the same thing in GP mode, by simulating a race start as I did the second time I exited the pits, after stopping to check the carburetion. Ohrnigawd. Is this thing going to loop the loop, or what? As little, as light (223.3 pounds in the fonn I rode) and as short (1345mm wheelbase, 20mm longer than the 250) as the Aprilia is, gassing it up and dumping the clutch is an easy route to a monster wheelie. Only - you ain't gain' nowhere. Okay - try again: not much better - at least this time I was . ready for the fly-by front wheel. But it's very hard to gas the Aprilia up hard from a standstill without having to back off the throttle to push the front end down in the bottom three gears because 6f the mega midrange torque - and it'll pull a pretty meaty wheelie even in fourth gear. This means that throttle control is critical - just as on the NSR500. This is not a bike to gas wide open exiting a turn, unlike its 250 kid brother which is much more controllable in terms of power delivery. But the 400's pickup is very aggressive, meaning you must feed the power in carefully and gradually: Gas it wide open.too early, and you'll have the back tire scrabbling for grip, or EngIne w.r-cooled, 9lkIegnle v-twin, rotary-vaNe twcHtroke with twin CXlllbllotali IQ C1811kshalls and electronic guillotine power vaNe DlmelIIioI Not cIsdosed CIpIcIly 410CC 0Ulput ...........................................• , .. 129 bl1l 1112.200 rpm (II ge8Ibox) eon".I.IDti liiio 16:1 CJrburIIIall 2 x39.5 mm DeI'OI1o ftaHlide (willoul power-jel) JgnIlIcIIl ........•....•.•..........•..•...... Nippolldellso digital COl will d1y-ce1112v l8Ilery ~ ~ exbllClable with inbuiIt speed shiflBr CIuIch MullipIaIJ dry a.Fabricallld aluminium twilHpar SuIP II'IlIIon . Front _ 42mm 0hIins InveI1Illd teleeoopic forks " - ...........•....... C8rborHIler swingInn with APS rising-raIe linkage and 0Ii1llS shock Held IIlgIiI 21 degrves TI'III '.' •...............•........................................... 76rml WIlJJIbaJe .............•......•........................................... 1345 mm WeIght ....•..........•....... , ...•........... 215.6 pounds with oilIwaIer. without lueI1ank WeIght dIItrlbulIon 5.u46% sialic 8rJkIII Front . , ..........•........ 2 x273mm Brembo carbon discs with four-plslon Brembo calipers RMr ..........•.............. 1 x184mm Brembo steel disc with twcrpisIon Brembo caHper W111111J111. FroId 3.1014.80-17 Dunlop radial on 3.75-in. Marchesini wheel .................................... 17!iJ60.17 Dunlop radial on 5.75-in. MllIChesini wheel Top 1pIId................•....................................... 190.9 mph (MugeIo) V . 01 COIIIlrudIon . 1994 Owner : . . . .. . •. . . . •. . . . . . .. . . . .. . Aprilia SpA, NoaIe (VEl, Italy ~ """" ("J' """" l-< OJ "E OJ u OJ a 17