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

Church of MO: 2011 Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC SE Review

While we were waiting for a V-Four superbike to emerge from across the Pacific, Aprilia launched a sneak attack from across the other pond, in 2009. In 2010 and again in 2012, Max Biaggi and the RSV4 brought World Superbike Championships home to Noale. Ten years ago, as we entered the electronic era, our man Tor Sagen rode the latest and greatest version around Jerez.

2021 Middleweight Naked Spec Sheet Shootout

A by-the-numbers look at our six contenders With the Aprilia Tuono 660 and Triumph Trident 660, we’ve got two brand new middleweight nakeds on the market this year, entering what was already a pretty good field with the Honda CB650R, Kawasaki Z650, Suzuki SV650, and the Yamaha MT-07. Obviously, this calls for us to put all six motorcycles together in a shootout. John, Troy and Ryan have been putting these middleweight naked bikes to the test, with Evans taking photos and Sean shooting video in preparing this six-model comparo.

2021 Aprilia RS660 Vs. Ducati Supersport 950S

Brothers from other mothers Credit: Photos by Caliphotography and Evans Brasfield | Videos by Sean Matic There’s a certain romance in having a sporty motorcycle comfortable enough to ride the long way to a racetrack, participate in a trackday, then bee-line back home on after (or continue taking the long way, if you’re hardy). In reality, true sportbikes are terrible streetbikes – and even worse touring bikes. Conversely, a sport-touring bike is great at taking the long way to the track – and some are even respectable on said track – but ultimately leave something to be desired when the pace wicks up.

2021 Aprilia RS 125 and Tuono 125 First Look

Beginner bikes for Europe's A1 license tier, not likely to come to US Aprilia has updated its RS 125 and Tuono 125 for 2021, making them Euro 5-complaint and tweaking the styling of the entry-level street bikes to resemble their respective 660 models. The two 125 models are designed to serve beginners with Europe’s A1 license, which unfortunately also means they are unlikely to be imported to the U.S. To meet Euro 5, the 124.2cc liquid-cooled four-valve DOHC Single has been revamped with a new cylinder head that uses new intake and exhaust ducts, a new iridium spark plug and a reshaped combustion chamber.

Church of MO: 2001 Aprilia RST Futura Vs. Ducati ST4

Twenty years ago we didn’t need no stinkin’ TFT displays or active suspension or adaptive cruise control, cause we had paper maps and Walkmans, our butts were tough from all the beatings, and our wrists were well-developed from all the, ah, riding. And we liked it that way. Twenty years ago, Minime and the “MO Staff” escaped to Yosemite for a nice ride aboard a pair of Italians stallions.

2021 Aprilia RSV4 and RSV4 Factory Review - First Ride

Just getting better with age. Credit: Photos by Larry Chen Laguna Seca’s most prominent feature is the world-famous Corkscrew – the undulating left-right flick that you enter blind, which then proceeds to drop you three stories as you plunge into Rainey Curve. It’s a thrilling piece of asphalt every motorsport enthusiast should experience someday.

2021 Aprilia Tuono 660 Review - First Ride

Thunder, Feel the Thunder Credit: Photos by Larry Chen The Aprilia Tuono 660 is a bike that I’ve been eager to ride since I first laid eyes on the pretty production-ready looking concept at EICMA 2019. Even through what was left of my tired red occhi, dried from so many hours of planes, trains, and automobiles (what I would give for that now!), I was digging the “naked” version of the RS660 more than the sportybike itself. 2021 Aprilia Tuono 660 Editor Score: 87.25% Engine 18.5/20 Suspension/Handling 12.5/15 Transmission/Clutch 8.5/10 Brakes 8.5/10 Instruments/Controls 4.25/5 Ergonomics/Comfort 9.0/10 Appearance/Quality 9.5/10 Desirability 9.0/10 Value 7.5/10 Overall Score 87.25/100 2021 Aprilia RS660 Review – First Ride And really, it does come down to which look you prefer, because they’re almost identical, aside from styling and the essential naked bike handlebar.

Church of MO: 2001 Aprilia RST1000 Futura First Ride

Twenty-five years ago in a place far away... Twenty-five years ago the Aprilia RSV1000 Mille won our Open Twins shootout, the SL1000 Falco was a staff favorite, and the Scarabeo 150 scooter was “practically Italian sex in a practical package.” Wait, what? Anyway, the Futura was and is a great sport-tourer, but maybe not great enough, since Aprilia pulled the plug after 2005.

2021 Aprilia Tuono 660 - First Look

Official details on Aprilia's baby Tuono The obvious choice to follow-up the RS660 in Aprilia’s lineup, the Noale-based factory has now officially released details on the 2021 Tuono 660. Taking a page from the RSV4/Tuono V4 playbook, the smaller siblings share the same relation, as the Tuono 660 is essentially a “stripped down” version of its RS brother, meant first and foremost to be ridden on the street.Everything You Want To Know About The Aprilia RS660 (Except What It’s Like To Ride) We use quotes around stripped down because, just like the V4 Tuono, there’s still quite a bit of plastic to be found with the Tuono 660, including the double fairing up front with the hidden winglets. What’s interesting is that, during the RS660 press briefing, Aprilia downplayed the winglet’s downforce effect and played up rider comfort, saying the winglets were primarily to channel hot air from the engine away from the rider.

Aprilia Announces Details For The 2021 Tuono 660

The classic Tuono recipe, now in 660 form The worst-kept secret in the moto world for 2021 is finally here, as we now have official information about the upcoming 2021 Aprilia Tuono 660. I say it’s the worst-kept secret because Aprilia itself teased the bike back in November of 2019, and the official photos you’ll find all over this story don’t look too far removed from the ones back then. Based on the RS660 platform, that second word provides all the foreshadowing needed as Aprilia basically told the world’s press during the presentation for the RS (without actually saying the words) that a Tuono 660 was coming.