After Max Biaggi was recently confirmed for an additional WSBK season with Aprilia, the Italian bike manufacturer issued a release saying that 23-year-old British racing rider Leon Camier has joined Aprilia’s SBK team for the 2010 season. It seems that Aprilia was more than satisfied with Camier’s results on the RSV4 during the last race of the season at Portimao, where he obtained place sixth and seventh, as well as by the post-race tests on the Portuguese circuit. Their final decision completes the team for the 2010 WSBK Championship.
Leon Camier was born in Ashford on 4 August 1986, won the British 125 cc championship title in 2001 and made his world debut in the 125 class in 2003. He then got into four-stroke bike competitions and won the 2005 British Supersport title. Following this achievement was his 2007 debut in the British Superbike championship, which was an unfortunate one because of a serious crash that caused Camier to be placed eight overall. 2008 saw him finishing the championship in fifth place and in 2009 he won detached the British Superbike championship title with 18 first-place victories out of 26 races and three second places. This British rider’s racing trajectory propelled him to compete in the Magny Cours meeting and the last race of the season at Portimao in Portugal and, finally, to becoming Max Biaggi’s teammate.
Aprilia plays with the 2010 Dorsoduro Factory and we’ve just got our hands on the leaked pictures showing that. While the standard version is very aggressive already, just like the Italians like their bikes to look, the Factory adds carbon fiber parts and a black frame, achieving an overall much more aggressive result.
In what the engine is concerned, this remains the 749.9cc twin developing 92 hp at 8,750 rpm and 60lb/ft at 4,500 rpm. While these numbers are more than decent for a midsized super motard, the engine also works closely together with the “Ride by Wire” system, which is available in three modes: sport, touring and rain.
The suspension equipment now translates into a Sachs kit, which is adjustable to as much as 45mm, while the braking system maintains the same 320mm discs and now works with four-piston Brembo calipers. The sad part is that ABS doesn’t find its place in this equation, like in the case of the standard version.
Expect the Dorsoduro Factory to gather quite a crowd at Aprilia’s EICMA stand this year.
As promised, Aprilia officially unveiled the brand new RSV4 R this past weekend at Imola WSB in Italy. Of course, Max Biaggi was there and he got to ride the budget version of the RSV4 Factory, while the press got the chance to take a first look at the final specs and price of what is claimed to be “the world’s most exclusive motorcycle.” > More
Aprilia has just released the official video of the 2010 RSV4-R model, which they will launch tomorrow at the Imola World Superbike in the presence of rider Max Biaggi. While the sound of that V4 engine at full throttle would have been much more pleasurable than the background music, I suppose we’ll just have to go ahead and like this video just as it is.
Knowing about the existence of the Aprilia RSV4 Factory and actually hearing about an “R version” that the Italian company has prepared for next year, you tend to ask yourself how did they possibly transform the supersport motorcycle into an even faster two-wheeler destined for the track, one well worth of the extra “R” in its name. The fact is that the new Aprilia RSV4-R, which will be unveiled this weekend during the twelfth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship scheduled to take place on the Imola Circuit in Italy, is actually a budget version of the original RSV4 and the only thing confusing is simply the name.
Starting from the initial model, Aprilia has taken the all-new RSV4 through a process of removing all the expensive parts and replacing them with much cheaper ones. As a result, the fully-adjustable Ohlins front and rear suspension is gone and it is expected that so will be the carbon fibre fairing and lightweight wheels.
Overall, the 2010 Aprilia RSV4-R will weigh more and not be able to go as fast around bends as its much more expensive brother, but cost $19,600. Considering that this is a bike that buyers will most likely purchase for road use, we don’t think they’ll miss the ultra-expensive parts much and yet definitely appreciate the price.
MotoRevue’s Jérôme Vannesson has put his photoshop skills to work in order to show how the 2010 Aprilia Tuono V4 Factory might look in the opinion of the French motorcycle journalists. This model is expected to be released at the EICMA show in November and, like the Factory edition before it, to feature forged wheels, Öhlins suspension and a multitude of carbon fiber bodywork pieces.
Practically a stripped down RSV4, the Tuono V4 Factory has what it takes to go against the Ducati Streetfighter, especially if we consider the 160hp that the bike will supposedly benefit of according to MotoRevue.
250cc Grand Prix racer Alvaro Baustista won third place last weekend at Brno after announcing a 2-year contract with MotoGP factory team Rizla Suzuki. These are more than enough reasons for a young racer to perform a wheelie during the celebration lap, but Baustista was most likely too enthusiastic for a maneuver that requires so much attention. See the result after the jump. > More
Aprilia has announced the launch of the RS125, RS50 and SR50 special edition Max Biaggi replicas. The two entry-level bikes and the small displacement scooter get the same paint schemes as on the Max Biaggi racing motorcycle, while remaining mechanically the same.
The Italian manufacturer does mention that the bikes will hit dealerships later this year, but doesn’t announce the prices.
Last week we made a post regarding the new Aprilia Tuono V4, which was caught testing at the Mugello track and although we pretty much figured out the bike then, these latest spy pics of the same bike at Misano come to complete what we earlier wrote about this Italian piece of machinery.
As you can now better see, the bike is no more or less than a naked Aprilia RSV4 R, but we can now get a better glimpse of the small headlight unit and the exhaust, which looks like a modified rocket launcher. The bike is expected to feature a little bit of plastic on the sides, but nothing to set it way apart from these shots. They actually look like made by the Italian manufacturer itself.
The friends at MCN got their hands on the spy shots of the new Aprilia Tuono V4 and RSV4 R models and it looks like the bikes are very close to being launched. Both have been spotted during tests undergone on the Mugello track in Italy.
Although none of the two bikes is revolutionary, both being based on the Aprilia RSV 4 Factory, these photos reveal a few essential details.
The RSV 4 R model will follow his RSV 1000 R sibling, meaning that it will have cheaper parts than on the Factory. Affordability was a priority and, given the fact that the RSV 4 Factory now costs around $18,000, we can expect the R model to compete with the 2010 BMW S1000RR.
In order to reduce costs, Aprilia goes for Showa suspension instead of Ohlins, less exotic rims and gives up to different carbon fiber bits and pieces, but do manage to retain the Brembo monoblock calipers.
The Aprilia Tuono V4 carries on the tradition of the naked models built at the Noale factory, meaning that it features stripped bodywork, straight handlebar and a strange looking headlight.
Given the fact that this year’s Paris Moto Show was canceled and the next Intermot edition in Germany is scheduled to take place in 2010, the Italians are left with an only option to launch the new models: EICMA 2009.
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