Moto blog

Piaggio Opening New Design Center in US

Piaggio announced it is opening a new design center in Pasadena, Calif., to be headed by Aprilia RSV4 designer Miguel Galluzzi. Roberto Colaninno, chairman and chief executive officer of  the Piaggio Group, announced plans for the new Advanced Design Center at a dealer convention for the Piaggio Group Americas in Miami, Fla. At the moment, North American customers usually have to wait a little longer before they receive new Piaggio models, with most models arriving on these shores months after they are available in Europe.

How I'll remember Marco

I think we'll all be mourning the loss of Marco Simoncelli for a long time yet; his full potential will remain an unanswerable topic of many pub debates for years to come. But one thing's for sure: he was unique and this year he injected so much energy, plenty of controversy and a whole load of 'what ifs' to the sport. I must admit, for years I used to sacrifice whatever was happening on a Sunday to make sure I could watch the GP but this year I haven't seen every race, it just hasn't been the same: Stoner has been dominant, the grid has been embarrassingly low on numbers, Rossi has been absent and the battles have - in general - not been memorable.

Mega-rare Aprilia RSV250 GP bike on eBay

THIS SUPER-RARE 1997 Aprilia RSV250 is for sale on eBay, offered for a gulp-inducing £25,000.The seller says bike was purchased in 1998 through Aprilia Racing by Moto Gold Racing and was campaigned in the 1997 European 250 GP championship series, consistently scoring "top high speeds. "It's claimed the machine was raced by Nobi Iso in AMA in 2002 and 2003. It's since undergone a full restoration and comes with a comprehensive spares package,  Don't confuse this with the road-going RS250 Aprilia; it's a proper GP250 machine, similar to the bikes raced by Biaggi and Rossi in the early part of their careers.