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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

Death of a sailsman

Wed, 31 Oct 2012

Former Apple head honcho Steve Jobs liked his bikes, so when he fancied a great big yacht, it's probably not too surprising he asked French design guru Philippe Starck to pen it. You may recall that Starck, who has designed everything from juicers to hotels, also drew up the Aprilia 6.5 Moto (pictured, right) back in the 90s - a motorcycle whose main achievement has been polarising opinion ever since. (You say minimalist icon, I say F650 wearing a blanket. An orange blanket.) Anyway, when Jobs met Starck, minimal, yacht-shaped sparks evidently flew and the result - after six years of hard work at Dutch builders Feadship and Mr Jobs' passing into the Great Docking Port in the Sky - is this sleek, 80-metre superyacht named Venus. The interiors that are all flat teak decks and walls of glass, with a bridge sporting an array of iMacs.

Will the road-going RCV look like this?

Thu, 25 Oct 2012

Honda announced in a dry-as-you-like press release that a new bike was coming.  Not another motorcycle-cum-medical aid like the DN-01 or Integra, this is going to be a proper bike. A bike in a similar vein to previous bikes in the RC series, the RC30, RC45 and RC51, aimed squarely at winning races. So what's it going to look like?

Jeff Koons-style RSV4

Wed, 10 Oct 2012

Spotted this Aprilia RSV4 showing off its fancy new paintjob. I'm guessing it's based on the Jeff Koons M3 GTS that raced at Le Mans in 2010, pictured right. I love the car, the paint makes it look like it's going at 150mph even when it's standing still.

WSBK: 2012 Magny-Cours Results – Championship Decided by Half a Point

Tue, 09 Oct 2012

You would think carrying a 30.5 point lead into the final round of the 2012 World Superbike Championship would be a safe enough margin to win the title. Aprilia‘s Max Biaggi made it interesting, inexplicably crashing out of the first race at the finale in Magny-C0urs before scoring a fifth place finish in Race Two to give him a 0.5 point margin over Kawasaki‘s Tom Sykes to win the title. The 358 to 357.5 point difference is the narrowest finish ever in WSBK.

Intermot 2012: More Power and ABS for 2013 Aprilia RSV4 Factory

Tue, 02 Oct 2012

Current World Superbike points leader Max Biaggi was on hand as Aprilia announced a number of updates to its RSV4 flagship sportbike at the 2012 Intermot show in Cologne, Germany. The Aprilia RSV4 Factory returns with its impressive APRC electronics package and 1000cc V4 engine, but adds anti-lock brakes, and a larger fuel tank. Aprilia also gave the RSV4 a performance boost, claiming 181.5 hp and 86.3 ft-lb.

WSBK: 2012 Moscow Results

Mon, 27 Aug 2012

The historic race first-ever World Superbike Championship round in Russia provided plenty of drama with several top riders crashing out of both races and a new leader emerge in the chase for the 2012 WSBK Championship. Superpole qualifying made for four different manufacturers lining up in the first row of the grid, with Carlos Checa taking pole position for Althea Ducati ahead of Kawasaki‘s Tom Sykes, Aprilia‘s Eugene Laverty and BMW rider Leon Haslam. A slightly damp and unfamiliar track likely contributed to a number of crashes and collisions.

Piaggio Reports Q2 2012 Results

Fri, 27 Jul 2012

The Piaggio Group reported a 4.8% drop in motorcycle and scooter sales over the first half of 2012 thanks to the continuing struggles of the European economy. The Piaggio Group includes the brands Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Vespa. According to the company’s second quarter report, the Piaggio Group sold 216,700 motorcycles and scooters in the first half of 2012, compared to 227,700 units in 2011.

2013 Aprilia SR50 Biaggi Race Replica Scooter Arrives in US Dealerships

Thu, 26 Jul 2012

Aprilia USA announced the arrival of a new Max Biaggi race replica version of its two-stroke SR 50 scooter as a new 2013 model. The Aprilia SR50 Race Replica is dressed to match the livery of Biaggi’s RSV4 World Superbike racer. Aprilia had previously produced a race replica SR50, but that was with the white Aprilia Alitalia livery from 2009.

WSBK: 2012 Brno Results

Mon, 23 Jul 2012

Marco Melandri bit a chunk off of Max Biaggi‘s World Superbike championship points lead by taking a pair of wins at Brno. The double was the first in Melandri’s career and the first for BMW. Biaggi, who arrived in the Czech Republic with four wins and nine podium finishes in ten previous races at Brno, was held off the podium this year, shrinking his lead in the championship to 21 points from 48.

Aprilia RS4 125 WSBK Replica Announced – Still Waiting for North American Arrival

Wed, 18 Jul 2012

Aprilia announced a new replica version of its entry-level RS4 125 sportbike, making it look even more like the company’s World Superbike Championship contender, the RSV4. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for the eighth-liter sportbike to arrive in North American showrooms despite Aprilia‘s promise of a late-2011 availability. The replica version features graphics including the #3 to match the RSV4 of Max Biaggi who captured the 2010 WSBK title on the RSV4.