Cycle News Lowside
COLUMN
Aprilia is conspicuous by its absence in a class it sorely needs to be in.
A few months ago, I wrote a column on the changing face of superbike racing and how, eventually, the current next-generation supersport class will replace 1000cc superbikes. There are a few reasons for this, namely MotoGP’s new 850cc rule for 2027 to slow the bikes down and the fact you can’t have production superbike be faster than MotoGP prototypes, which they would be in current spec. Also, the manufacturers are not selling enough 1000cc sportbikes to keep propping the class up. Only BMW, Ducati and Honda have invested in 1000cc sportbikes in the last five years, and that’s not good enough to keep that particular ball rolling.
The supersport class, on the other hand, boy, howdy! This is where the action is if you’re a sportbike manufacturer. The class offers a massive array of diverse bikes and specs, such as the four-cylinder machines of the Yamaha YZF-R6 (599cc), Kawasaki ZX-6R (636cc) and Suzuki GSX-R750 (750cc); triples from MV Agusta’s F3 800 (798cc) and Triumph’s Street Triple 765 RS (765cc); and the twins of Ducati with its 955cc Panigale V2 and the incoming KTM 990 RCR/RCR Track.
Oh, and the “we-don’t-comment-on-any-possible-future-models-but-everyone-knows-it’s-coming,” Yamaha USA spokespersons, three-cylinder Yamaha YZF-R9. There’s also the emerging threat 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 manufacturer 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 Motorcycles format for the Junior Cup class that is about to be rebranded 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 organizations 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 unfeasible that Aprilia will develop an entirely new, small-displacement V4 like the RSV4 to meet the current rule book, as the costs of doing so would be prohibitive. That engine has been in development since the first RSV4 at the beginning 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 bottom 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 journalism 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 suspension 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’ Betsy, 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, especially given its tagline is “Ready to Race.” But if Aprilia is to keep that reputation alive for creating 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
Click here to read the Lowside Column in the Cycle News Digital Edition Magazine.
Click here for all the latest MotoGP news.
