APRILIA RSV4 FACTORY
A revolutionary project and a unique history of victories on the racetrack have come together to create the RSV4. A supersport “thousand” with absolutely exclusive racing technology, developed around the 4 narrow V cylinder engine developed from the technical know-how that has led Aprilia to victory on racetracks all over the world.
Aprilia RSV4 hits the racetrack and the roads with one goal only: to win.
Misano Adriatico, April 2nd 2008 - 33 world championships and 254 wins in MotoGP, 8 Superbike victories: over the last two decades Aprilia has become a modern motorcycling legend. The bikes from Noale have dominated tracks the world over thanks to the genial design, courage and extraordinary abilities of the technicians who pursued innovative solutions by experimenting, innovating and sometimes revolutionising technical schemes that seemed to be unchangeable. Aprilia RSV4 FACTORY, the bike that brings Aprilia back into the 2009 Superbike World Championship, is the product of this immense technical know-how.
Presented over the past few days to bike testers representing the world press on the Misano Adriatico circuit, and christened by two prestigious testimonials, Max Biaggi and Shinya Nakano, who are riding the "thousand" from Noale in the World Superbike Championship - with the third race in the calendar, the Valencia GP, this Sunday - the RSV4 FACTORY is a highly technologically advanced motorcycle, conceived for racing. This is why the bike was designed and developed by Aprilia together with the Noale based Race Division, the largest and most advanced of its kind in Europe and one of the most important in the world.
Aprilia RSV4 FACTORY is a racing machine that, in line with the Aprilia tradition, follows a completely innovative approach in its design and construction. Its narrow V engine, the use of state-of-the-art electronics, plus its lightness and extreme compactness are only a few of the features that make it unique in the world. Aprilia RSV4 FACTORY is the most “complete” Superbike racing replica, ready for those who want to venture onto the track with a class leading motorcycle.
The engine of the RSV4 FACTORY is the most innovative and powerful Aprilia has ever built. It is a super compact 999.6 cc 65° V-four cylinder engine designed for maximum power (180 CV), where powerplant engineering comes together with the finest materials and the most advanced electronic control solutions. Aprilia's engine, in fact, uses a Ride by Wire multimap technology, a solution that opens up new frontiers for engine management, with practically infinite possibilities for further development. In addition to the triple map Ride by Wire system is a state of the art electronic injection system with two injectors per cylinder and variable length intake ducts.
Leo Francesco Mercanti, director of Product Development and Motorsports for the Piaggio Group said: “RSV4 Factory is a sophisticated motorcycle expressing the engineering and sporting prowess of Aprilia, one of the world's most successful brands in motorsports, and representing the pinnacle in motorcycle engine development and technology. RSV4 is a difficult and ambitious project, on which we have been working intensely over the past three years. It has been created to bring Aprilia back to the top of the one litre supersport class and – as the race version – to win the World Superbike Championship, the most important arena for demonstrating the technological and sporting supremacy of our brand. The new RSV4 is a “street legal race bike” with which Aprilia has – once again – demonstrated its ability for making powerful yet easily usable motorcycles, matching record breaking power and weight with ridability, smooth power delivery and an electronic management system developed with a single-minded performance goal: to be the fastest on the track”.
Aprilia RSV4 FACTORY is a pure supersport bike designed to offer the same degree of adjustability seen on a race machine. The adjustable geometry chassis allows parameters such as the position and inclination of the headstock, the height of the swingarm pivot and even that of the engine to be changed. The construction technology is also motorsports-derived: the RSV4 FACTORY chassis and swingarm are made of aluminium with variable section castings and pressings. The components are the state-of-the-art in motorcycling technology: Öhlins Racing fork, rear monoshock and steering damper, Brembo monobloc callipers, forged aluminium rims.
Max Biaggi, a key figure in Aprilia's return to Superbike, who won three of his four world championships in the saddle of an Aprilia, is enthusiastic about the bike: “The RSV4 Factory is truly the street version, the “twin sister” with a license plate of the bike I ride in the SBK championship, which is now available for motorcycle enthusiasts. It is a concentrated package technology introducing a genuinely awe-inspiring number innovations for a production bike. Just like my race bike, it is fitted with variable length intake ducts; the chassis geometry is totally settable - unlike any other production model - with features taken directly from the racing world, with adjustable headstock, swingarm position and even the position of the engine in the frame. As a result, every enthusiast will be able to set up RSV4 to his or her exact preference, making it perfect for track use. The V4 engine produces plenty of power right from bottom of the rev range, making it ideal for use on the road, but when you feel like going to the track, the RSV4 delivers all of its explosive power at higher revs. In short, I found the RSV4 Factory to be an incredibly fun and devastatingly effective motorcycle and closer to a race bike than anything I have seen in my entire career”.
The sales success of the Aprilia RSV4 began even before its launch. In a special initiative allowing prospective owners to pre-order the bike online from the website www.RSV4aprilia.com, the very first examples of the RSV4 were quickly snapped up: 188 examples of the RSV4 have already been bought in Europe, 148 of which in Italy alone. 23 minutes was all it took for Germany to consume its quota of pre-orderable RSV4s, while France took just 45 minutes. All the examples of the RSV4 allocated to the UK and Spain also found homes during this exciting pre-launch offer.
Aprilia RSV4 FACTORY is the new benchmark in the street legal superbike sector. The unique characteristics of the bike are listed as follows:
• Compact, innovative design
• New - and unique - 65° V-four cylinder engine
• Multi-adjustable perimetral aluminium alloy frame
• Adjustable engine position within frame
• Asymmetric aluminium swingarm
• Öhlins Racing full adjustable fork and rear monoshock