Aprilia

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Aprilia

logo
legal form Subsidiary of Piaggio
founding 1945
Seat Noale , ItalyItalyItaly 
Branch vehicle construction
Website www.aprilia.com

Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle and scooter manufacturer based in Noale .

The company was owned and managed by Ivano Beggio until 2004 and was then taken over and incorporated by Piaggio . The motorcycle manufacturers Moto Guzzi and Laverda now also belong to the group of companies .

On January 1, 2014, 46,601 Aprilia motorcycles were registered in Germany, which corresponds to a share of 1.1%.

Company history

The company was founded as a bicycle factory shortly after the Second World War by Alberto Beggio , the father of today's Aprilia boss Ivano Beggio . The company itself was named after a limousine ; for Alberto Beggio the Lancia Aprilia was the best car in the world, and because Beggio also wanted to build the best bicycles, he created the Aprilia brand . It was Ivano Beggio who convinced his father to produce small off-road motorcycles in addition to bicycles. He took over the company in 1968 and began with 18 employees to design a 50 cc two-wheeler. The first Aprilia moped models were named Colibri , Daniela and Packi . In 1970 the motocross model Scarabeo was presented, which was produced in 50 and 125 cc versions until the end of the 1970s. In 1975 Ivano Beggio began producing 50s mopeds . Starting in 1980, he redesigned his company: From then on Aprilia concentrated on the development of two-wheelers and had all parts manufactured by suppliers.

In the 1980s Aprilia brought further enduro , trial and street motorcycles with 50 to 600 cc on the market. In 1981 the first trial model TL320 was presented, in 1983 the street model ST125 , which was further developed into the STX model in 1984 . At the same time, sales of the ET50 enduro model began . In 1985 the engine development was partially outsourced to the Austrian engine manufacturer Rotax . This cooperation resulted in the 125 STX and 350 STX models in 1985 and the AF1 (road racer) and the Tuareg with a large tank for fans of the desert in 1986 . The 1000 cm³ V2 engine developed by Rotax was first used in 1998 in the RSV Mille and later in a modified form in the Falco, Caponord, RST 1000 Futura and Tuono models.

In 1990 came the Pegaso 600 road enduro and the first Amico scooter , which became a bestseller, as well as the Scarabeo presented three years later . It was the first two-stroke motorcycle with a catalytic converter . In 1992 Aprilia introduced the Amico light motorcycle and the Pegaso 125 , both also with catalytic converters. In 1993 the Scarabeo scooter was introduced, a combination of retro design with modern lines, with a four-valve four-stroke engine and large wheels. The Gulliver and Aprilia SR 50 also sold well. In addition, scooters like the Leonardo are still being developed.

In 1995, designer Philippe Starck developed the Moto 6.5 model , a simple single-cylinder naked bike that was even shown in the New York Museum of Modern Art .

In the same year Aprilia presented the V2 two-stroke road model RS 250 , which was to be the last road-legal modern two-stroke over 125 cm³ by 2004 (entry into force of the Euro2 emissions standard for motorcycles) . This made the RS 250, whose engine came from the Suzuki RGV 250 , the last representative of its kind.

In 1996, 1,200 people work for the company from Noale. In Scorzè , only six kilometers from the company headquarters in Noale and 30 kilometers west of Venice, a new Aprilia plant opened its doors in the spring of 1998. The production of larger motorcycles continued - models like the Tuono , a superbike without full fairing, followed. In 1998 the flagship RSV Mille (from 2003: RSV 1000 ), a V-twin superbike with 1,000 cc displacement, was presented at the IFMA motorcycle exhibition in Cologne , followed by the Falco , a V-twin sports tourer . Both motorcycles used a liquid-cooled 1,000 cm³ V2 four-valve engine with a cylinder angle of 60 °, intake manifold injection and dry sump lubrication, developed by Rotax . Aprilia thus made the leap into the “Big Bike” category.

In 2000, the 50 cc "DiTech" two-stroke engine was presented. The engine will u. a. used in the SR 50 R Factory scooter and ensures high performance with low consumption and low emissions. This was followed in 2001 by the RST Futura , a sports tourer , and the ETV Caponord 1000 , an "Adventure Touring Bike", an off-road travel enduro.

In 2002 Aprilia was the first Italian manufacturer of motorcycles with a regulated catalytic converter in the large models. Aprilia was also one of the first companies to install an efficient anti-lock braking system that can be switched off for off-road driving . In 2003 the successor model of the RSV Mille was released with the RSV 1000. In the same year Aprilia employed around 1,800 people, a further 3,500 in the supplier companies and achieved a turnover of more than 550 million euros. Aprilia went back to its off-road roots in 2004, came onto the market with the RXV / SXV 4.5 / 5.5 (RXV = Enduro, SXV = Supermoto) and immediately won the Supermoto World Championship in the S2 class, which is dominated by conventional single-cylinder motorcycles  - With a concept that is still unique today: very compact and light 77 ° four-stroke V2 with intake manifold injection in a frame assembly made of CrMo steel grid tubes and aluminum parts . This model series went into series production in 2006.

Takeover by the Piaggio Group

Aprilia was taken over by the Piaggio Group on December 30, 2004 . The direct competitor Ducati had also expressed interest in Aprilia in advance, but a sale did not take place. Aprilia is now part of the largest European two-wheeler group. With the takeover, the consortium rose to number three in the world rankings (after Honda and Yamaha). With around 6,000 employees, the group produces 600,000 motorcycles / scooters annually, with a turnover of around 1.5 billion euros. In addition to Piaggio, Vespa and Aprilia, the group also includes brands such as Puch , Derbi , Moto Guzzi , Gilera and Laverda . The redevelopment plan worked out for Aprilia provides for the preservation of jobs and production facilities as well as the development and production of new models, especially below the one-liter class.

For the 2009 season Aprilia rose with the new V4 - super sports RSV4 Factory and the pilot Max Biaggi and Shinya Nakano after six years of absence returned to the Superbike World Championship one. As required by the regulations, the motorcycle has been produced and sold as a roadworthy version since 2009.

Models

At present (2017) Aprilia sells models in Europe with the following engines (not including competitor models):

design type Displacement Super sport Supermoto Naked bike Travel enduros comment
V4

999 cm³
1077 cm³

RSV4 1000


Tuono V4 1100

V2

750 cm³
896 cm³
1197 cm³

SMV 750 Dorsoduro
SMV 900 Dorsoduro

SL 750 Shiver
Shiver 900



ETV 1200 Caponord

R1 125 cc

RS4 125
RS4 125 Replica

Tuono 125

Light motorcycles

The highlighted models are currently offered in Germany (as of 03/2017).

motorcycles

Single cylinder

V2 engine

V4 engine

Small and light motorcycles

Aprilia RX 50 in Austria (2017)
Aprilia SX 50 in Austria (2017)
  • Daniela (~ 50 cm³, moped)
  • Packi (~ 50 cm³, moped)
  • Colibri (~ 50 cm³, moped without pedals, athletes)
  • Scarabeo (~ 50 and ~ 125 cm³, 1970, moped without pedals, enduro)
  • AF1 50 (predecessor of RS 50)
  • AF1 125 (predecessor of RS 125)
  • RS 50 → RS4 50 (two-stroke athlete)
  • RS 125 (two-stroke sports car, up to 2012) → RS4 125 (four-stroke engine)
  • Tuono 125
  • SX 50
  • SX 50 Carbon Limited Edition
  • SX 125 supermoto
  • MX 50
  • MX 125
  • RX (~ 50 and ~ 125 cm³)
  • ETX 125

Scooter

  • Leonardo (~ 125, ~ 250 and ~ 300 cm³)
  • Sportcity ONE 50/125
  • Sportcity 250
  • Sportcity CUBE 125/300 ie
  • Atlantic 125
  • Atlantic 250
  • Atlantic 300
  • Atlantic 500 Sprint
  • Mojito 50/125 Custom ( retro look)
  • SR 50 (single-cylinder 2-stroke engine with electronic direct injection )
    • SR 50 R
    • SR Motard 50
    • SR Street 50
  • SR Motard 125
  • SR Max 125 i. e.
  • SR Max 300 i. e.
  • Scarabeo (~ 50 (as a 2- and 4-stroke engine), ~ 100, ~ 125, ~ 250 and ~ 500 cm³)
  • Gilera GP 800 → Aprilia SRV 850 (large scooter with motorcycle frame)

gallery

  • Aprilia RS 125 GP1

  • Aprilia RSV Mille R (2000)

  • Aprilia RSV 1000 R (2005)

  • Aprilia RST 1000 Futura (2001)

  • Aprilia Tuono 1000 R (2006)

  • Aprilia SXV 550 Supermoto with V2 engine

  • Aprilia RXV 450 Enduro with V2 engine

  • Aprilia Mojito 50

  • Aprilia RS 50 (2001)

  • Aprilia RS 250

Motorsport

Aprilia has been involved in motorcycle racing since the mid-1980s and is now one of the most successful European brands there. Above all in the two-stroke classes up to 125 and 250 cm³ of the motorcycle world championship , numerous riders on Aprilia machines achieved a large number of Grand Prix victories and world championship titles. Since 1992, 18 drivers 'and 18 constructors' world championships have been won, as well as four supermoto and two trials world championships.

In 1989 a small team and the Aprilia Tuareg Wind 600 took part in the Paris-Dakar rally. The motorcycles were modified series machines and not prototypes.

Before that, there were private drivers who made the arduous journey to Dakar with the Aprilia Tuareg 125.

In the Superbike World Championship they were involved with the RSV Mille from 1999 to 2002 and since 2009 with the RSV4 Factory . In 2000 , the Australian Troy Corser achieved third place in the World Cup. In 2010 Max Biaggi and Leon Camier drove the factory machines in the Superbike World Championship; on September 26, 2010, Max Biaggi was prematurely WSBK world champion one race before the season finale.

The 2003 three-cylinder begun MotoGP project RS³ Cube was after the acquisition by Piaggio set in 2005 due to high costs associated with out failure to success.

With the then newly constructed 450 cm³ and 550 cm³ V2 models SXV 4.5 / 5.5 , Aprilia found its way back to the successes of previous years by winning the Supermoto World Championship in the S2 class (up to 450 cm³).

Roberto Colaninno announced his return to MotoGP at EICMA 2013 . After the last season was contested in 2004 , they have been participating in the motorcycle world championship again since 2015 .

World title

Road racing, class up to 125 cm³

Gábor Talmácsi , 125-cm³ (2007)

Road racing, class up to 250 cm³

Road racing, superbike class

Max Biaggi on Aprilia RSV4 (2010)

Road racing, Superstock 1000

Supermoto, class S2 up to 450 cm³

Thierry van den Bosch (2006)

Supermoto, class S1

Trial

Web links

Commons : Aprilia  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ kba.de FZ 17 (accessed on April 28, 2015)
  2. ↑ Called "dry pan" in the English operating instructions
  3. ↑ http://www.aprilia.com/de_DE/motorrad/