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Aprilia Motorcycles

About Aprilia

Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle company, one of the marques owned by Piaggio.

Aprilia was founded after the Second World War by Cavaliere Alberto Beggio, as a bicycle production factory at Noale, Italy in the province of Venice. Alberto’s son, Ivano Beggio, took over the helm of the company in 1968 and constructed a 50 cc "motorcycle" with a dozen or so collaborators. The first production Aprilia mopeds were named Colibrì, Daniela and Packi. Aprilia later produced a motocross bike in 1970 called the Scarabeo. Produced until the end of the 1970s, the Scarabeo came in 50 and 125 cc versions.

In the 1980s Aprilia added enduro, trials and road bikes of between 50 and 600 cc. In 1981 Aprilia introduced the TL320 trials machine. In 1983 Aprilia launched to St 125 road bike. In 1984 Aprilia launched an improved model called STX, and an enduro, called the ET 50.

In 1985, Aprilia started outsourcing engines for some models to the Austrian company Rotax. In 1985 Aprilia launched a 125 STX and 350 STX. In 1986 Aprilia launched the AF1; a small sports model, and the Tuareg; a large tanked bike for African rallies like the Dakar Rally.

Aprilia has 124 times won 125 and 250 cc class Grand Prix, 15 Road Racing World Championship titles, and 16 European speed titles. Many world champions started on Aprilia such as Biaggi, Capirossi, Gramigni, Locatelli, Sakata and Rossi.

Also in the 1990s, Aprilia entered the scooter market starting in 1990 with Italy’s first all-plastic scooter, the Amico. In 1992, Aprilia introduced the Amico LK and the two stroke Pegaso 125, both with catalytic converters. In 1993 Aprilia launched a large diameter wheel scooter reusing the name Scarabeo with a four-stroke, four-valve engine. Later Aprilia launched more scooters such as the Leonardo, the SR and the Gulliver.

In 1995, Aprilia commissioned Philippe Starck to design the Motò which was shown in New York’s Modern Art Museum. Also in 1995 Aprilia launched the two stroke RS 125 and RS 250 sports bikes. In 1998 Aprilia launched what is its current flagship model the RSV Mille, a 1000cc V-Twin Superbike, and the Falco, a 1000cc V-Twin sport tourer with emphasis on sport. Both bikes used a variation of a Rotax 1000cc engine.

During 2000, Aprilia acquired Moto-Guzzi and Laverda, both historic heritage Italian marques. In 2000 Aprilia launched the 50 cc DiTech (Direct Injection Technology) two stroke engine for scooters which provides high mileage and low emissions, and also the RST Futura, a sport tourer, and the ETV 1000 Caponord; an adventure touring motorcycle. Both of these latter two motorcycles used a variation of the Rotax 1000 cc V-Twin.

Most recently, in 2003, Aprilia launched the RSV Mille Tuono which was essentially an RSV Mille with motorcross-style high handlebars and only a small headlight fairing. Most of the major motorcycle magazines picked it for the best bike of the year. In 2004 Aprilia was acquired by Piaggio & C. SpA, to form the world’s fourth largest motorcycle group with 1.5 billion Euro in sales, an annual production capacity of over 600,000 vehicles, and a presence in 50 countries.

Despite being a relatively small company by global motorcycling standards, Aprilia is very active in motorcycle sports. It contests many Road Racing formulae, including the FIM 125 cc World Championship, the FIM 250 cc World Championship, and the now-defunct FIM 500 cc World Championship.

Moto blog

WSBK 2013: Aragon Race Report

Mon, 15 Apr 2013

BMW Motorrad Goldbet racer Chaz Davies scored his first career World Superbike double victory, taking both races at Spain’s Aragon circuit. The wins were the second and third of Davies’ WSBK career (the first came last year at Nurburgring for the ParkinGo Aprilia team) and the second ever double in the series for BMW. The Welsh rider and former AMA Pro Racing competitor has had some success at Aragon, getting his first career WSBK podium at the Spanish track in 2012.

AMA Pro Racing Announces Basic Twins Flat Track Class for 2014 Season

Fri, 12 Apr 2013

AMA Pro Racing announced a new class for Flat Track racing designed to provide a new stepping stone for up-and-coming Pro-licensed racers, replacing the Pro Singles class in 2014. The new class, to be called Basic Twins, is more or less a revival of the Basic Expert Twins division that ran during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, but dropped when the Pro Singles class was introduced for 2009. The new class will give young racers a chance to showcase their skills on Twins, easing their transition to eventually enter the Grand National Expert Twins class.

2013 Aprilia Caponord 1200 Review – First Impressions

Thu, 21 Mar 2013

Aprilia is going after Ducati‘s Multistrada big time with the new Caponord 1200. It’s taken the V-Twin from its Dorsoduro 1200 model and tuned it for touring perfection with torque in all the right places. The Caponord 1200 is comfortable with a not too high seat and very good ergonomics.

Internet Porn Company to Sponsor Paul Bird Motorsports MotoGP Team

Mon, 04 Mar 2013

Earlier this year, we reported on Dakar racer Hugo Payen and his X-rated sponsor, pornographer Marc Dourcel. Payen seems to have started a trend as British MotoGP team Paul Bird Motorsports has signed a sponsorship deal with erotic movie website MinxFlix.com. The website will back PBM’s Michael Laverty and Yonny Hernandez who will ride on CRT machines featuring Aprilia V4 engines and its own proprietary chassis developed with builder GPMS.

Piaggio Reports 2012 Sales Results

Wed, 27 Feb 2013

The Piaggio Group reported a 7.3% decrease in net sales and a 9.0% decrease in net profit for 2012, thanks in large part to a sharp decline in demand in Europe including an all-time low for motorcycle sales in Italy. Piaggio reported net sales of 1.406 billion euros (US$1.842 billion) in 2012, down from 1.516 billion euros in 2011. Motorcycles and scooters accounted for net sales of 993.3 million euros  (US$1.301 billion), a 3.1% decrease from 1.025 billion euros reported for 2011.

Aprilia Reportedly Developing 250cc Sportbike

Mon, 25 Feb 2013

For a company with such a rich history in motorcycle racing including nine World Championships in the 250cc Grand Prix category, it comes as a bit of a surprise Aprilia does not already have a 250cc sportbike in production. From 1994 to 2007, Aprilia won nine 250cc Grand Prix championships with an impressive roster of riders which includes Valentino Rossi, Max Biaggi, Jorge Lorenzo, Loris Capirossi and Marco Melandri winning titles. Despite making a name for itself racing in the 250cc class, Aprilia does not have a 250cc production sportbike to compete against the likes of the Kawasaki Ninja 250 (and its replacement, the Ninja 300) or the Honda CBR250R.

WSBK 2013: Phillip Island Race Report

Mon, 25 Feb 2013

Max Biaggi who? The Roman Emperor’s retirement after winning the 2012 World Superbike Championship marked the end of an era for Aprilia, with the 2013 campaign marking the first without Biaggi since the Italian manufacturer came back to the WSBK scene with the RSV4. If Aprilia misses its two-time WSBK Champion, it sure didn’t show it with a dominating display at the 2013 season opener in Australia.

FIM Updates Superbike Racing Homologation Lists for 2013

Tue, 19 Feb 2013

The International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) has released an updated list of motorcycles homologated for the 2013 Superbike, Supersport, and Superstock racing season. Notable additions include the new BMW S1000RR HP4, the MV Agusta F3 and the Superbike-spec Ducati 1199 Panigale R. To qualify a production-based racebike for FIM homologations, manufacturers have to meet certain production thresholds.

Aprilia Launches 2013 WSBK Campaign, Begins Life Without Max Biaggi

Thu, 07 Feb 2013

Aprilia opened a new chapter in its racing history, unveiling its team livery for the RSV4 for the 2013 World Superbike Championship. The 2013 season will be the first since the Italian brand returned to WSBK racing in 2009 without “the Roman Emperor” Max Biaggi who retired at the end of last season after winning his second title in three years on Aprilia’s flagship V4 sportbike. Despite the departure of Biaggi, who is moving up to the broadcast booth to cover WSBK for Italian television, Aprilia hopes to remain a title contender with the returning Eugene Laverty and the newly-signed Sylvain Guintoli.

2012 US Motorcycle Sales Results – Industry Reports 2.6% Increase

Tue, 05 Feb 2013

The Motorcycle Industry Council reported a 2.6% increase in motorcycle sales in the U.S. market for 2012. According to the industry group’s figures, American consumers purchased 452,386 motorcycles in 2012 compared to 440,899 motorcycles in 2011.