Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

FIRST RIDE '" April;a RSV1000 Mille (Above) Twin radiators make space for the front exhaust header. (Left) The RSV's tailsection has a truly unique style, (Below)The rear view is made even more unique by the big. twin-outlet silencer. The fairing provides 'good wind protection while helping the RSVto achieve a drag coefficient of .30 cd. n r ight o" 7000 rpm , w he re ma ximum torqu e is d elivered . But it rec ove red okay , and thes e new-generation Pirellis, d eveloped es p ecia lly for the RSVI 000, deliver amazing levels of grip as well as promot e stability. And besides wearing very even ly, they also continued to hook up hard as the mileage moun ted , provi de you have the suspe nsion d ialed in d properly. Im pressive. It is wo rth notin g th at the 180 /55 rear u ses a 6.00-inc h wheel. and is in fact a hybrid design tha t is effectively equival e nt to a 185 / 55 cover - one reaso n, pe rha ps, ior obtaining suc h good grip without compro mising agi lity in turns unduly. A tt en tion to d etail - th a t su ms up Ap rilia's evid en t approach in developing the Mille, and if the resu lt is a bike that's self-evi d ently as well-h oned and as easy to rid e as a Japanese product, that's not to say it lacks brio or perso nal ity, just becau se it has no rou gh edges masquerading as character, Ita lian-style. The only time you notice it's a 6D-degree V-tw in fitted with twin balance shafts (one is mounted in front of the cra n k driven d ir ectl y o ff it; then, w hen that pro ved insufficient, Ap riJia ad ded a second on e in the rear cylinder head, turning in the same d ireciion as the crank) is when the revs moun t abo ve 7000 rpm and - only if you' re really looking for it yo u not ice so me high -frequ en cy vibration coming at you th rou gh the han dl ebars. Also , a fte r you've bee n rid in g th e bike for a while and then stop, your fingertips keep tingling for a while after yo u dism ount, perhap s for the same reason (or else because yo u got suc h a bu zz from riding the bike: ho, ho...). Bu t th is is nothing you ca n ' t li ve wi th, and most people wo n' t not ice it. But what you will notice are all the gadge ts Aprilia has thoughtfu lly pro vided yo u with , such as not only the cha ngeup light bu t also an on-boar d lap timer, good for 40 la ps of Ra ce r Roa d and opera ted by a swi tch on the left hand lebar. You can then access you r lap times on the LCD info-cen ter, which variously also moni tors speed , mileage and trip (a ll in k ilo me ters o r m il es a t your ch oice), water tem p , battery co ndi tion an a clock, p lus a trip com pu ter wi th a tellta le revealin g not only your ave rage spe ed b ut a ls o th e m a xim u m s p ee d reached since you last switched on the igni tio n. So no more lies at the coffee stop! St y li ng is ind ividua l, in ke ep in g with Ap r ili a ' s h ou s e look , wit h the tri pl e-h ead lamp "fa ce" (the tw in top lights arc for high beam, the single bot tom one for dip) provid in g a quite d istin ctive ap pearan ce, co m p lime n ted by the ray-gun rear lights tha t look ve ry "Sta r Wa rs" - th e Mille' s mien w ould have delighted Darth Vader, es pecially in the more sinis ter-looking black-andsil ver livery of the 'tw o colo r schemes in w hich the model wi ll initially be sold . An d , hey - th ere' s even a si de-s ta nd th at works, wit h an ig nitio n cu to u t whe n a gear is selected . In Ital y!!! Wo nd er s never cease.... Mak e no mi stak e, the lon g-awa ited introduction of the RSVl 000 is a significant step for Italy' s largest mot or cycle compa n y , w hose 1997 re v enu es amo u nted to a n amazing $540 milli on , 50 percent of it fro m sa les outside Italy. But apa rt from the 650cc Pegaso tr a il bike, all of that came from smal l-capac itv tw o-strokes. The Mille's a rrival hera'ids the debut of the Aprilia marque on the world stage - not as a vo lume manu facturerof small-engined scoo ters that also has a well-proven ability to tweak the noses of its mu ch bigger Japan ese rivals by winning a success io n of GP World Cha m p ions hi ps in the 125 a nd 25 0cc classes, bu t as a n ew fo rce in worl d motor cycl in g , a co m pa ny th at aims to com pete effectively in the largecap aci ty four-s tro ke market that is the ke y to build ing sa les in th e United Sta tes (Ap rilia opens its ow n A tla n tabased U.S. o peration next Janua ry ) as well as in markets - such as Britain and Germany - that it has scarcely begun to tap. By starting in a t the top, Aprilia's ga m e p la n is to u se th e RSVlOOO to build a pres tige ima ge via su p erb ik e success on road and track, wi th a comple tely unique prod uct unlike any that may be gli m psed in the showrooms of other manufacturers. With the race versi on of t he Mill e al rea dy prod uci ng com petitive lap times at Mu gello thanks to d e v e lo pmen t in p ut fro m fa med Brit ish race en gineers Co sworth - a nd that's befor e World Su perbike race-wi nncr a nd ex-Ducat i w orks rid er Mauro Lucchiari joins the team next month, to tak e hands-on R&D to a high er level Aprilia has now demonstrat ed with the laun ch of the s t re e t ve rs io n that it knows how to get it right with big bikes as well as with small scooters. The RSV1000 will su rely be a palpable hit , providing spor tbike cu stome rs wi th a new set of V-twin options, comprising a un iqu e mix of ridabilit y and raceability. Its debut on the world stage turns a new page in Apri lia's histor y, with the promis e o f m o re m od e ls to follo w cr u iser, road st e r . s p o r ts to u rer a n d street enduro - all based on a family of 6D-degree V-twin engines like this one . ran ging fro m 750 to 1200cc in cap acity. For Aprilia , th e future s ta rts he re . Th e RSVI 000 p rov e s th e co m pa ny knows wh er e it's going, and as a calling card for the future, it's a ver y impressive debut. .~ Aprilia RSV1000 Specificalions Engine Uquid ·cooled 60 ' V ·twln wi DOHC and four valves per cylinde, Bore x stroke Displacement Compression ..tio Carburetion Ignition Horsepo_r Torque Clutch 97 x 67 .5mm 9976cc 11.4:1 Indirect electron ic multipoint injec tion w 5 1mm throttle bodies Electronic digital wi twin sparkplugs per Cylinder. integrated w ith Inj ec tion 128 @ 9250 rpm 75.94 7 h .·lb. @ 7ooorpm Multiplate wet, pneumatic servo assisted T ..nsmission 6·speed Frame Twin -spar alum inum Wheelbase 55 .7 in.· Rakeltrail 24 'so/97mm Seat height 32.5 in. Suspension Front .43mm Showa inverted cart ridge fork wI 4 .7-in.travel: fully adjustable Rear Single gas-charged Sechs-Boqe shock wi risinq-rate linkag and 5.3·in. travel; fully adjustable Tires Front 120/7 0ZA 17 R_r 180/55ZA17 Brakes Front ... .Dual 320mm Brembo Aoating discs wi four-plston Brembo calipers R_r . . . .. Single 220mm Brembo disc wi two- piston Brembo caliper Claimed dry _ight ~ .416 lb. Fuel capacity 5.3 gal.

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