A welcomed late-surprise at the EICMA show in Milan, two Italian names in small-displacement racing have come together to get young riders on the race track.
I am of course talking about Aprilia and Ohvale, which have collaborated to build the Aprilia RS 250 SP race bike.
A purpose built racing machine, the Aprilia RS 250 SP is like a bigger Ohvale in its presentation, complete with 17″ wheels, and all the high-performance parts you would expect to see on a proper racing machine.
How do you follow up a class-killing motorcycle like the Aprilia RS 660? You turn around and do it again, in a different category. That is what the Aprilia Tuono 660 aims to do next year, with the concept of the machine debuting today at EICMA.
Based off the same parallel-twin engine design, the Aprilia Tuono 660 makes 95hp – only a 5hp difference to its 100hp full-fairing sibling.
It is strange that Aprilia is talking power figures so soon, but we suspect it is to whet our appetites on the new Tuono 660. The Italian brand has signaled too that a 46hp (34 kW) A2 license compliant model will also be available next year.
One of the most anticipated motorcycles for the 2019 EICMA show, we have been waiting for the 2020 Aprilia RS 660 to set the middleweight twins category on its head, and now that we have the spec sheet, we know that it will.
Try this on for size: 100hp from the 660cc parallel-twin engine, in a package that weighs 372 lbs (dry). Even with the fuzzy math the comes from dry to wet weight conversions, it is clear that the Aprilia RS 660 is going to lead its class on power-to-weight ratios.
But the Italian aren’t stopping there with their twin-cylinder assault. The 2020 Aprilia RS 660 also comes with the brand’s robust APRC electronics suite, which means IMU-powered traction control, wheelie control, and cornering ABS, along with an up/down quickshifter, cruise control, and switchable power modes.
We know that the Aprilia RS 660 will debut as a production bike at EICMA next week, and we know that the Italian brand plans to make a few different machines off its middleweight twin platform.
So, they leaves us making some very obvious guesses about what will come next from Noale, and an Aprilia Tuono 660 is perhaps the most logical of those thought processes.
Confirming that suspicion, it seems that Aprilia was showing off its smaller Tuono model at an Imola track day, with the above spy shot getting snapped by the folks at ApriliaCup.
Spy shots from Europe show that the 2020 Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory (say that three times fast) is set to show off a new suspension upgrade for the EICMA show in a few weeks’ time.
The news, confirmed by our Bothan spies, sees next year’s Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory getting semi-active electronic suspension pieces from Öhlins, along with a new tricolore color scheme.
While the MotoGP paddock is away, the test teams will play. In the middle of the Asia-Pacific flyaways, back in Europe the test teams are preparing for the start of 2020.
In the coming days, test teams for Aprilia, KTM, and Ducati will all take to the track, while Honda will be testing directly after Sepang.
It is hard to believe that it has been 10 years since the Aprilia RSV4 debuted, and yet after a decade of service, the V4-powered superbike is still at the pointy end of the game.
To celebrate that heritage, along with the three World Superbike Championship wins, the team at Noale envisioned one special machine, of which only 10 units would be produced. As such, say hello to the very potent Aprilia RSV4 X.
Now finally making deliveries to the 10 worthy souls who purchased the €40,000 machine, we get to see what a hand-built 222hp (165 kW) 1,078cc V4 engine can do in a 364 lbs (165 kg) dry weight chassis.
This latest recall comes to us from the Piaggio Group Americas, as it affects a number of models from the Aprilia and Moto Guzzi lineups.
The issue stems from the front brake master cylinder, which may drag or inadvertently apply the drags, which can cause the motorcycle to suddenly stop and/or stall. This may happen without the rear brake light illuminating.
Specifically, this recall affects the Moto Guzzi Audace 1400 and Eldorado 1400 (2016-2018), Moto Guzzi California 1400 (2017-2018), Moto Guzzi MGX 21 Bagger (2017), Aprilia Mana 850 (2013-2014), Aprilia Dorsoduro 750 (2014-2016), Aprilia Dorsoduro 900 (2018-2019), and Aprilia Shiver 900 (2018) motorcycles.
While the rest of the industry walks on pins and needles, the Piaggio Group is celebrating a strong first-half to the 2019 sales year, with overall unit sales up 9.2%.
That number isn’t just all Vespa scooters though (however, the Italian brand does sell quite a few of those), as Piaggio reports that its motorcycle sales saw a 14% bump in gross revenue.
The Italian conglomerate pegs the new Moto Guzzi V85 TT for the sales boom over last year, which is quite a feat since 2018 was a strong year for the Piaggio Group as well.
This video of Rennie Scaysbrook (resident fast man at Cycle News) racing at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is insane and must be watched, as his Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory summits in a time of 9:44.963.
This video showcases what it takes to set a new Heavyweight motorcycle record and the fastest time ever for a motorcycle at the iconic Race to the Clouds.
Be sure to watch all the way to the end though, because Rennie’s elation at finishing the race in record time is easily worth the price of admission.
Six races into the season gives everyone a chance to size up where the riders, and more importantly, the manufacturers all stand.
Teams have had a few races to analyze and optimize the setup of the 2019 bikes, plus a test at Jerez to find upgrades and solutions to problems which only emerge during race.
Mugello is the third European race, meaning the paddock is back at tracks that they know like the back of their hand. There may still be a long way to go until the title is settled, but the shape of the championship is starting to shake out.
That leads to frustration for the riders who feel their manufacturers are not making progress. At Mugello, the frustration felt by factory Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro boiled over into outright criticism of the Italian factory over the lack of progress being made.