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Troy Corser's Aprilia RSV1000 The author recently had the opportunJt,- to ride the factory AprIlia RSV1000 In Valencia, Spain. This year, NorlyukJ Haga takes over as the team's only rider. By ALAN CATHCART PHOTOS By KEL EDGE s far as most paddock insiders were concerned, the 2001 World Superbike season was over almost before it had begun. Aprilia's dominant display at the opening round at Valencia in March, when Troy Corser scored two start-to-finish wins on the latest Evoluzione version of the RSV1000SP on which he'd already scored five race victories in 2000, en route to third place in the World Championship, seemed to presage a sea-change in World Superb ike supremacy, in favor of Superbike racing's third member of the V-twin triumvirate. But although Corser ran almost as strongly in the next round in South Africa, with two second places at Kyalami that still left him leading the world title chase, that was as good as it got all season long for the Australian former World Champion and the Italian team. Though Corser's teammate, the otherwise largely lackluster Regis Laconi, scored a contract-time win in 20 FEBRUARY 20, 2002' cue • the final race of the season at Imola, those two Valencia victories were the only occasions Corser reached the highest step of the rostrum all season long - among the 10 visits he made there en route to fourth place in the series point standings in a season bedeviled with constant complaints about the quality of manufacture and consistency of the Dunlop tires he raced with. The Aprilia had flattered to deceive - even if Laconi's fine two end-of-season rides seemed to augur well for the '02 season. But now, with the news that the Italian factory has redoubled its efforts to achieve the same degree of World Superbike success it has already enjoyed in 125 and 250cc GP racing, by signing Japanese superstar Noriyuki Haga to ride the RSV1000SP next season on his return to the Superb ike category, suddenly the Aprilia is a contender again. Which made the chance to test Corser's bike on a sunny winter day at the same Valencia circuit where he scored his double-up victory at the start of the year all the more interesting. n .. _ s • Having been fortunate enough to test ride each of the factory teams' World Superbike contenders every year for the past decade, I'm surer than ever: the Aprilia remains the best-handling Superbike I've yet ridden - just as I first found it to be one year ago. That's especially true with Corser's balanced chassis setup, with a low rear ride height, softish suspension settings, conservative steering geometry and spacious riding stance, all aimed at keeping up cornering speed and extracting maximum benefit from the Aprilia's superlative handling. Ben Bostrom hated having to use Corser's chassis geometry when he started riding for Ducati, instead of his own much looser setup - but I've always liked doing so, because it's the way 1 set my own bikes up. But the Aprilia's compact mass, thanks to the more contained bulk of its 60degree V-twin engine compared to its gO-degree rivals, delivers confident, predictable handling that makes you feel at home on the bike very quickly, and the fact that the more compact engine can be positioned further for- ward in the wheelbase than the L-twin Ducati's longer motor means the Aprilia has an ideal 54/46-percent forward weight bias which helps glue the front Dunlop to the tarmac. That means you don't get the front wheel shimmying from side to side down the straight, or the handlebars flapping in your hand as you back into a turn, as you do with the Bostrom option at the other extreme of the setup envelope. Instead, the Aprilia feels so poised and confidence inspiring by contrast - mainly an issue of rider setup choice, I know, but still, the RSV chassis has to be the Superbike class benchmark. It's also extremely stable and predictable on turn-in under really heavy 'braking, like for Valencia's turn-two hairpin where the reduced weight transfer - thanks to Corser's preferred low rear ride height - keeps the back wheel only hovering slightly above the ground, meaning in tum that the Aprilia goes exactly where you point it as you peel off into the apex, cranking the bike over to maximum lean to keep up tum speed. You can use the slipper clutch to best advantage to help yourself slow down with the aid of engine braking, all the time remembering that "This Is Not a Desmo," so you can't do a Troy Bayliss and buzz the engine to fourteen grand and higher on the downshifts: But the Aprilia is great on the brakes - and great in the turns, too, where the ideal weight distribution, the dialed-in Ohlins forks that seem to deliver a bit more feel from the front tire in the smaller 42mm diameter used here, compared to the bigger sizes, and that fabulous 16.5-inch front Dunlop, all mean you can surprise yourself how fast you can corner on this balanced, sweet-steering motorcycle. It's a very, very satisfying bike to ride hard, especially as the Corser suspension settings proved to be soft but compliant even with my extra body weight.