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/128088
Troy Corser's Aprilia RSV1000 save yourself a couple of gearshifts, because you can feel that by then the engine has stopped pulling and power has started to flatten off. By this time, the noticeably gr ater engine vibration at lower re compared to the Ducati has smooth out: the 60-de ee engine with one balance shaft moved does tingle more low do n, and it's this which probably ma me think at first the bike was a re; yer. It has a higherpitched engin ote, thanks to the narrower cylinder angle, there's more vibration, an it's not as meaty in terms of 'drange torque as the Ducati - a of which combines to make yo' think at first you must use the gea x to rev it up high all the time. Only you don't have to. Instead, you need to convince yourself to use that one gear higher, rolli g back and forth on the throttle as ou hold the same gear between turlJ . The Aprilia engine definitely pi s up revs faster than the meatierfee mg Ducati, perhaps indicating a re uced flywheel mass and less internal friction. However, it still pulls a second-gear wheelie quite happily en you gas it up hard in the fat part of the power band, and there's a pie horsepower and torque to hold the front wheel in the air as you accelerate along the short back straight at Valencia, tapping through ttie gears up to fourth as the handlebars wave lazily in your hands. Nice. The Nippondenso electronic fuel injection's throttle response is extremely precise and predictable, Cathcart at speed on the RSV1000. even if Corser says it took a long time dial out the jerky pickup that gave '. 700-800 unwanted revs just as soon as he thought about cracking open the gas even a fraction. No tr;3ce of that, now - the Aprilia has a completely linear throttle response, w'th the famous direct connection from right wrist to rear tire that every r cer dreams of enjoying. However, arguably the crucial redient in the Aprilia's success is n e VIr S the peerless handling of its GP-st race-bred twin-spar chassis. T i allows you to carry lots of corn ~ speed through almost any kind 0 turn - more than I can ever recal using even at my humble level 0 another Superbike. A key ingredie in this is the trademark Corser setu which from racing in a class Ii Supermono on underpowered bikes where momentum is everything, I've already come to appreciate from rid While the Aprllla's 1000cc engine Is no slouch, the most Important ingredient in the bike's success is its impeccable handling traits. It's stabl yet requires very litUe effort to get tumed in slow comers. ing his Ducatis in the past. He uses a lower rear ride height coupled with slightly wider fork angle and mo e trail on the steering geometry - a d this delivers a bike that's super-stable in faster turns, at the cost of a little more effort needed to make it ste r okay in slower ones. You do need ~o muscle it around to change direction quickly, like in the fast Valencia chicane leading into the infield hairpin. T~is balanced geometry may not be to the taste of barely refo,med flat-trackers like Ben Bostrom, but it does allow you to carry high cornering speeds and use lots of angle crucial elements in getting a fast lap time on anything other tha a pointand-squirt motorcycle, W ich the Aprilia most definitely is no A vital factor in obtaining this of course is front tire grip, and here not only the fat, forgiving ntact patch of the Aprilia's 16.5- ch front Dunlop plays a key role l:iut also the way the more concen ed mass of the compact 60-de ee V-twin motor delivers extra eight to the front wheel· in tu nhancing grip. The Apr' 'a's 54j46-percent frontal weight 'as is much more pronoum: than any Ducati could ever b, anks to the way its crank is cated 100mm closer to the front wheel than on the desmoquattro and this pays off in the way you can crank the Mille hard over to maximize