Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Ro tax-d eveloped engine wa s first di splaye d at the Bolog na Sho w almost three years ago . We've had to wait since then for the complete bike. When it d id finally make its debut, it was inevitably overshadowed by th e MV Agusta - a bi ke with which it will eve ntu ally have tocompete on the race track, if not pe rhaps in the showroom. -: Aprilia' s first large-ca paci ty motorcy cle us es an al uminum twin-spar fr ame and " q u a s i modo" s w in ga r m , closely derived from its 250cc GP World Champion and clad in styling that, while it doesn't have the groundbreak ing novelty of a Tamburini design, still lias ce rtain d is ti nctive details. These include the tri ple-headlight front end tha t em ploys a single large glass as we ll is the sha rp d eta ils to the rear pa rt of the seat - even if th e overall styling is reco gn izably Aprilia, and so no t rea lly novel (a n d th e twin-e xit ex h a u s t sile ncer id e ntical to a Du cati Supermon o' s). , Inte r es tin gl y , th e Ap rilia Mille's J ig h t-va l ve water -c ooled dry-sump eng in e ha s the sa m e 97 x 67 .5 m m dimensions as the new Au stralian Hunwick H all am Xl R V-twin Su perb ik e, a d thu s a long er s tro ke than th e Du ca ti /H o n d a / Su zu k i o ne-li te r Vtw ins' 98 x 66mm layout. Mean while, the twin overhead camshafts per cylinde r are o perated by the sa m e Rumi Su permo no-deri ved co mbi ne d chain and gea r d rive as the Suzuki TLIOOO Suzuki. Oaimed power from the Mille is 128 bhp at 9250 rpm from the 11.4:1comp ression eng ine in street fonn, wi th twi n-s park ig n ition (two s pa rk plugs per cyli nder) and tw in 51mm throttle bodies for th e mu ltip oint fuel injection. With the 60-degree Vvtwi n format chosen for its com pact layou t to allow optimum 49.2/50.8 percen t we ight d istributio n, according to Aprilia (though the RSV's 55.7-inch wheelbase is actually a tad lon ger than a 9O-degree V-twin 916 Ducari ' s ). a patented sys tem of twin co un terba lancers not needed o n a 90d egree V-twin is employed to reduce vibra tio n - o ne ma in o ne in th e crankcase, with anoth er secondary o ne in the rear cy linder head . Also patented is th e RSV Mill e's ' intake-driven antilock clut ch for the sixs p ee d transmission - patented, even though Bimota used an identical system on its works Supermono racer in 1994. Showa suspension is once again used on an Ita lian Superbike, with a 43 mm upside-down fork and rising-rate rear shock bot h from Japan, though Brembo bra ke s a nd cast-a lloy w heels a re employed - the rear a 6-incher wi th 190 / 5 0 r u bber. D ry weig h t is 415 .8 po unds wi t h full road equipment, incl u di ng an a na log speedome ter flanked by tw o di gital read ou ts - o ne for the tachometer , th e ot her a mu ltifunction information monit or. This mon itor J ot only inclu des a storage faci lity for up to 40 lap times (Racer Road, here we come), but another fac ility borrowed fro m GP raci ng - a gea rs hift warning light th at can be set to flash at your chosen rpm to warn when it's time to shift up . Just like Biaggi . or Rossi, OT, er, Harada... 1 Production of the RSV Mille, expecte d to sell fo r u nd e r 30 mi llion lire ($17,000) in Italy, is scheduled to begin in December, along w ith th e m u ch improved ver sio n o f th e RS250 tw os tro ke la unched at Milan. Th e RS250 reta ins the old-style Suzuki V-twin motor, bu t it h a s b een fill ed with a 41mm Showa upside-down fork while also being uprated stylistically to more closely resemble the w orks 250 with which Tetsuya Harada is attempting to win a World Cham pionship. For a price tag abou t 60 percent hig her than that of the RSV Mille, vou'll be a b le to buy a no ther Suzuki 'v-tw inengi ned La ti n lovely - in the fo r m of Bimot a 's firs t teleforked twin-cylinder Superbike . The SB8R is fitted with the Suzuki TL1000 mo tor in updated form (as la unche d at Milan ih the Japanese co m pa ny' s ow n TL1000R Superbike), with red esi gn ed cy lind er hea d s, new ca m s hafts, a h yd rauli c cl u tc h , and water / oil heat exch anger. However, not only will the Bimota be fitted with the Italian manu facture r's o w n mD/Bimota fuel-injection sys tem (wi th 59mm throttle bodies ins tea d of Su zuki' s 52m m ones), a bigger ai rbox and free r-flo w in g exhaust is ex pecte d to deliver a 10-hp increase to the 98 x 66mm engine. Fu rthermore , while Su zuki ha s con troversially reta ined their unique rotary- damper rear su spens ion on the TLlOOOR (in order, according to Suz uki, to save space wi th the 90-degree V- twi n engine), Bimota has actually reduced the wheelbase by eighHen ths of an inch to 54.9 i nches on th e SB8R w hile s till ret ain in g a co nventio na l Ohlins rear shock. Th ey did thi s by borrowing an idea from the Hunwick Hallam XI Rand locating it forw ard on the right side next to the upper cylinder head, operated by a long alloy rod via a rising-rate linkage off th e swi ngarm. Togeth er with the composite-chass is d esign - using a mixture of carbo n-fiber spars and aluminum castings pioneered on the 1994 Cagiva 500cc GP racer - and with careful all en tio n to detail, Bimo ta d es igner Pierluigi Marconi sa ys he has succeeded in achi evin g a fo rward weigh t bia s unheard of before with any gO-degree V-lwin of 54/46 percent on the 400-pound street bike. Production of th e 350 bikes planned for the '98 model (Top) Mota Guzzi '. V10 centaure reappeared with only minor updates, Inc ludi ng adjustable handlebars. (Abo ve) The biggest news from Guzzi was the V11 sport . an updated version of the 1100 Sport, with a new six-speed version of the fuel-Injected pushrod motor. r-, 0\ 0\ ...... 00 .... Cl) ..c .8 u o 27

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