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/1524398
VOLUME ISSUE JULY , P139 from China with the QJ Motor SRK 800 RR, although that bike is still a few years from challenging the establishment. That's an impressive list of bikes from all the major players in the current sportbike game. All except one—Aprilia. Aprilia is conspicuous by its absence in a class it sorely needs to be in. The Noale manu - facturer has been pretty heavy on sportbike development in recent years, starting off with the RS660 twin-cylinder that took Twins Cup grids by storm over the past few seasons and, more recently, with its RS457. The RS457 arrived just in time for MotoAmerica to decide on an all-Krämer Motor - cycles format for the Junior Cup class that is about to be rebrand- ed as the MotoAmerica Talent Cup for 2025 and beyond. The RSV4 1100 is an odd case because while it essentially can't compete in superbike racing due to its displacement advantage over the traditional 1000cc four- strokes, various race organiza - tions across the world have let it in because regular superbikes are now so fast that they make Aprilia's advantages obsolete. It won't just be a case of Aprilia stuffing an existing engine into a sporty chassis and calling it a supersport bike. Looking at its current lineup, it seems unfea - sible that Aprilia will develop an entirely new, small-displacement V4 like the RSV4 to meet the cur- rent rule book, as the costs of do- ing so would be prohibitive. That engine has been in development since the first RSV4 at the begin - ning of the previous decade, a time when development dollars were far easier to come by (not to mention way fewer emissions rules the company would now have to meet). It is possible it could take the RS660's 100 horsepower, 659cc parallel-twin and extrapolate it, but that again would require some serious engineering work to get it anywhere near the power numbers pumped out by Ducati and MV Agusta. No, a new engine will need to be created, and I'll bet my bot - tom dollar it will be a twin. However, Aprilia doesn't need to look too far into its history to find a model that could provide some inspiration. The Aprilia RSV1000, which ran from 1998 to 2010, remains one of the finest sportbikes created over the last 30 years. Powered by a 998cc, 60-valve V-twin, the RSV pumped out a claimed 128 horsepower at its birth (in real-world terms, it was about 115 horsepower), which puts it right on the money for today's supersport class. Later models would produce upwards of 145 horsepower. Although being a tad heavy, when set up correctly, the RSV Mille was smooth as silk to ride. A very early memory in my jour - nalism career was when working at the now-defunct Rapid Bikes magazine in Sydney in 2008 and riding an RSV Mille that was set up by former factory Aprilia WorldSBK rider and suspen - sion whiz Peter Goddard. That particular RSV would turn with the speed of a bike half its size and, although it lacked the brute horsepower kick that came from the menacing new breed of 1000cc four-cylinder superbikes that had none of the fun-sapping electronics we have today, it was glorious to ride. Now, look, I'm not saying Aprilia should just roll out ol' Bet - sy, give it a freshen-up, and call it a supersport bike. That would be daft. But the Mille does show Aprilia has the proven chops to make what is now a superb middleweight sportbike—isn't it wild that a 1000cc V-twin is now considered middleweight? Aprilia is one of the most sport- focused manufacturers out there right now; perhaps only KTM could claim to be more so, espe - cially given its tagline is "Ready to Race." But if Aprilia is to keep that reputation alive for creat- ing racetrack shredders like the RS250, RSV 1000/SP/Factory and the all-conquering RSV4 range, they need to be in this fight for the new generation of sportbikes. Everyone else is there, so, Aprilia, where art thou? CN APRILIA IS CONSPICUOUS BY ITS ABSENCE IN A CLASS IT SORELY NEEDS TO BE IN.