I was kinda interested in the blurb on the V4 motor
does any1 have anything on this mill?
The V4 will be what Aprilia uses when they go back to WSBK, in 2008 most likely. They are also working on a 1200cc twin sportbike, IMO as a production model which also could be the WSBK bike should it prove faster. IIRC both bikes are due to be shown this September at Intermot.
I hope the V4 engine is as good (relative to its contemporaries) as the Mille was in 1999. Price it right ($14,995 ) and it will sell like crazy.
Nice looking motor! That's a MUCH more compact motor than the Deci V-4, so it will allow Aprilia to place the motor much more forward for better weight distribution, the major difficulty Ducati faces with the very long "L-twin" or Deci design. Of course, it's all in the details....and we'll see how effectively they get to use that theoretical advantage out in the real world!
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Good looking engine and bike, but I have a feeling that this will not be a relative affordable model for most of us. I remember Honda RC45's going for $25+ K back then (and plenty were just sitting in the dealership floor for a while before being sold for less $$$).
Nice looking motor! That's a MUCH more compact motor than the Deci V-4, so it will allow Aprilia to place the motor much more forward for better weight distribution, the major difficulty Ducati faces with the very long "L-twin" or Deci design. Of course, it's all in the details....and we'll see how effectively they get to use that theoretical advantage out in the real world!
That was the conventional thinking with the Mille but it did not translate to too much success in WSB. Wait and see.
That was the conventional thinking with the Mille but it did not translate to too much success in WSB. Wait and see.
It actually made the podium several times and was an outstanding effort for Aprilia's first attempt. Corser still insists it was the best bike on the grid at the time and his all time favorite WSBK bike.
I caught Corbin's Ride On last night & they were touring the Aprilia factory
they did a little segment on the new V4 & talked about racing it & designing a new line of bikes around it, as well as having a new 90 degree twin
I never really liked Aprilia other then the pingers, & would never have chosen one over a Ducati, but if the V4 lives up to half the hype I will be selling the stamp collection
Nice, but I see too much Brutale when I look at the photo.
Is that photo the v4 bike?. For some reason I am unable to follow any of the links to read up further, but why is there only 1 exhaust pipe leaving the visible head?
Thus that engine looks like a twin, as surely Aprilia have not built a siamese ported head??
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Is that photo the v4 bike?. For some reason I am unable to follow any of the links to read up further, but why is there only 1 exhaust pipe leaving the visible head?
Thus that engine looks like a twin, as surely Aprilia have not built a siamese ported head??
Aprilia has not yet displayed a chassis for the new V4 engine... it has been revealed that it will be their future 1000 cc WSBK entry.
Aprilia has always had excellent engines - the Mille uses an Aprilia designed, Rotax built engine and it really is bullet proof... I have both a Ducati and a Mille and there really is no comparison, the Priller has a rock solid build quality and reliability that the Duc will never approach...
Aprilia have made some really cool bikes, but there are some things that drive me nuts about the company, and would prevent me from buying one of their products:
1. The company itself is run by monekys. They continually make some of the most bone-headed decisions imaginable.
a. The decision to abandon WSBK (where they were achieving successes and more importantly establishing a reputation fo rperformance for the brand) in favor of MotoGP with a $100M techno-overkill bike that didn't run well at all. This alone almost bankrupted the company, and destroyed any image they had for performance.
b. The decision to pay three times market value for Moto Guzzi just to assuage the desires of their CEO - what the MotoGP effort didn't spend, this move did, leaving the company cash starved just in time for the EU to ruin the scooter market. This situation almost ruined their relationship with Rotax (engine supplier) when they went seriously into arrears.
c. The decision to paint their 06 bikes a series of horrible colors that did anything buy portray a performance image (gold frames? Black bike? And what's with the lion?).
d. Finally, somewhat related to c., above, and worst of all, running a company with no vision of what it wants to be - even the Japanese companies each have their personalities - Aprilia has none, no company or corporate culture other than selling bikes.
2. The distributor in the US - the most arrogant, poorly run business I have come across in the industry. Their conduct at the IMS tour last year was beyond belief - they treated their dealers like dirt.
3. Just try getting parts - if you think Ducati is bad, you are in for a real treat.
Just my .
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Aprilia have made some really cool bikes, but there are some things that drive me nuts about the company, and would prevent me from buying one of their products:
1. The company itself is run by monekys. They continually make some of the most bone-headed decisions imaginable.
a. The decision to abandon WSBK (where they were achieving successes and more importantly establishing a reputation fo rperformance for the brand) in favor of MotoGP with a $100M techno-overkill bike that didn't run well at all. This alone almost bankrupted the company, and destroyed any image they had for performance.
b. The decision to pay three times market value for Moto Guzzi just to assuage the desires of their CEO - what the MotoGP effort didn't spend, this move did, leaving the company cash starved just in time for the EU to ruin the scooter market. This situation almost ruined their relationship with Rotax (engine supplier) when they went seriously into arrears.
c. The decision to paint their 06 bikes a series of horrible colors that did anything buy portray a performance image (gold frames? Black bike? And what's with the lion?).
d. Finally, somewhat related to c., above, and worst of all, running a company with no vision of what it wants to be - even the Japanese companies each have their personalities - Aprilia has none, no company or corporate culture other than selling bikes.
2. The distributor in the US - the most arrogant, poorly run business I have come across in the industry. Their conduct at the IMS tour last year was beyond belief - they treated their dealers like dirt.
3. Just try getting parts - if you think Ducati is bad, you are in for a real treat.
"Exercise restraint and discipline, only responding to posts from legit customers and those with constructive positive intent, you will find that the handgrenades explode harmlessly. You have many satisfied customers who are happy to have the parts you've made. My suggestion to you is keep making good parts, keep getting more customers, take care of them and let them speak for you."
You should be happy to note that Aprilia was acquired by Piaggio last year and Ivano Beggio who was the majority owner and the guy responsible for buying and completely re-tooling Moto Guzzi (his boyhood dream) along with the US Distibutor have been terminated... things are getting better but it will indeed take some time for Piaggio to turn things around.
Even with all of the flaws, they still do somewhat ok with that 125 & 250 MotoGP racing stuff....
2008 Aprilia RS1000 V4, gets the Robbiano treatment!
Sergio Robbiano started as an apprentice to Massimo Tamburini and helped with the design work on Cagiva Mito that is a carbon copy of the legendary Ducati 916.
Many years later he is the man behind Bimota's latest design masterpieces DB5 and DB6 Delirio
FP = Francesco Polimeni, Motorbike Category Manager at Aprilia
AC = Alberto Cappella, responsible for the Shiver and V4 design projects.
EXTRACT...
TS: Which brings us onto the subject of the V4 race bike, I know there are many secrets that will remain secrets until Aprilia are ready to launch it. But please tell me something about the progress, what does it look like? Double or single headlights?
FP: The V4 race bike as we call it will enter the market as a roadbike in 2009. There is not much I can tell you about this project now. We don't want our competition to know exactly what or where we are going with the V4 project now. For this reason we keep the secrets to ourselves at the moment. I am not sure whether we should have shown the engine at the EICMA show last year as it creates confusion for people particularly relating to the RSV future.
But I can tell you that we have found a final design. Handling and aerodynamics are very important as well as huge torque. Traction control and power mode options are likely to be featured on the production version of this bike. We have not decided on a name yet because that is one of the last things we do in the process.
3 Clay models were made by different designers and a focus group of 60 people were allowed to see them and judge them. The first clay model was a conservative design based on the current RSV. The second clay model was something in the middle between conservative and futuristic. The third and final clay model is a very innovative and futuristic design. That is all that I can tell you about the V4 race bike now.
TS: Tell me about the three V4 clay models, which design won the voting? AC: It was not just the voting that decided. Aprilia also choose the most innovative and beautiful solution. It was always my favourite design and I am very satisfied with it. We have reached all our objectives with no compromises.
It is certainly no secret and one we have been mentioning in this column for a long time, but now a picture of Aprilia's 1000cc V-4 Superbike has been seen outside the factory. Looking every inch a MotoGP clone, it is likely to be officially seen in public at the end of this year, although it will not be on sale until 2009. You may well remember the engine, a 65-degree V-4, was actually shown to the public at shows last year, but nothing in the way of styling or the chassis details has been leaked before.
It would appear that the bike will use an aluminum beam frame to mount the 210-hp motor which, it is hoped, will be a lot better than the competition's, like Ducati's Desmocedici RR. The bike will hopefully cost less than half of the Ducati, although given the lead time, this is difficult to accurately predict until the final production version is revealed and production costs known.
Aprilia V4
) and it will sell like crazy.
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