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

848 Challenge returns to Brands

The Ducati 848 Challenge returns for another season of fast and furious action as the series opens this Easter weekend at Brands Hatch at the start of the British Superbike Championship.   The 848 Challenge was the talk of the BSB paddock last year due to the close and exciting racing that transfixed audiences throughout the eight rounds as every one of the sixteen races went down to the wire.   The successful format of the Ducati 848 Challenge continues with eight rounds and sixteen races, including six British Superbike rounds and two overseas rounds.

Aprilia USA’s New Marketing Campaign

A new marketing campaign from Aprilia USA is intended to “connect riders with the brand’s heart, soul and racing DNA” via a new multi-media strategy that includes videos, online trivia with user rewards, an infographic featuring company firsts and its race achievements, plus news about its test-ride tour for the incredible Tuono V4 APRC we fell in love with in our European Literbike Streetfighter shootout. The campaign debuts with a new microsite, www.apriliamasters.com and Facebook app at www.facebook.com/ApriliaAmericas. “To ride an Aprilia motorcycle is to fully understand what it is like to take race-proven technology, power and design and apply it to street bikes,” said Melissa R.

Simoncelli vs. Laverty at Imola

September 2009 and Marco Simoncelli competes in World Superbikes for the first time on the Aprilia RSV4. Fresh from his 250cc GP world championship, SuperSic's limitless talent and endless confidence saw him beat Max Biaggi to the last spot on the podium in Race 2. April 2012 and rising star Eugene Laverty is on the same bike, at the same circuit, with the same number.

Teaser: 2012 Japanese Literbike Shootout – Video

The last time we assembled the superbike offerings from the Big Four Japanese manufacturers to determine the alpha male model was 2009. The CBR won that confrontation, but a lot’s changed since then. For 2012 Honda revamped the CBR1000RR, Yamaha added traction control to the R1, the GSX-R1000 lost a muffler and last year Kawasaki introduced an all-new ZX-10R.

2013 Aprilia Caponord 1200 to Get APRC and Electronically Controlled Suspension

A prototype of the 2013 Aprilia Caponord 1200 was one of the headliners of Piaggio Americas’ dealer meeting earlier this month, alongside the Moto Guzzi California 1400. We’ve already heard about Piaggio designer Miguel Galluzzi discuss plans to produce a number of variations of the California, and today we’ve learned further details about the Caponord. We already surmised the Caponord is derived from the Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200, with a similar chassis and engine.

Aspar Racing Presents Aprilia RSV4-Based CRT MotoGP Race Bike

The Aspar Team officially presented its CRT MotoGP team including riders Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaro and the team’s new Aprilia RSV4-based race bikes. Aspar is using an ART race bike which consists of an Aprilia-designed aluminum frame with an engine based on the RSV4′s powerplant. Whereas Aprilia claims an output of 178 hp from the production engine, Aspar claims the ART’s 65-degree V4 engine produces over 220 hp.

Aprilia SRV850 Maxi-Scooter Coming to North America – First Ride Impressions

The new Aprilia SRV850 V-Twin maxi-scooter is coming to North America, likely slated to arrive later this year as a 2013 model. The Piaggio Group presented the SRV850 alongside the Vespa 946, Aprila Caponord 1200 and Moto Guzzi California 1400 at its North American dealer meeting in Miami, Fla. Piaggio announced it will bring all four of those models to North America, though as yet only the California has a launch date, set for fall 2012.

Vespa 946 Production Model Confirmed for North America

Piaggio confirmed it will be importing the production version of its Vespa 946 (a.k.a. the “Quarantasei“) to North America, representing the next generation of scooters from the iconic Italian brand. The 946 was presented alongside the Aprilia Caponord 1200 and Moto Guzzi California 1400 at Piaggio’s North American dealer meeting last week in Miami.

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.

2013 Moto Guzzi California 1400, Aprilia Caponord Confirmed for US

Piaggio confirmed it will introduce the new Aprilia Caponord 1200 and Moto Guzzi California 1400 to the U.S. market this fall. The announcement was made at Piaggio Group Americas’ dealer convention in Miami, Fla.