With the occasion of Max Biaggi’s double win at the Monza WSBK round in Italy, Aprilia took the wraps off their all-new racing replica RSV4 superbike. The bike is destined for the racing track and can be used as an entry-level WSBK race machine as it offers a heck more performance over the production street version and also meets FIM regulations.
Claiming 200bhp and 92lb/ft of torque (that’s an impressive 20bhp and 7.4lb/ft over the production RSV4) from the 65-degree V4 motor, Aprilia sure seems to have done their homework when creating this proper Ducati Desmosedici RR competitor. But it is the ingenious stuff that makes the difference and in the case of the RSV4 Max Biaggi Replica this consists into: a six gear transmission with a multi-disk oil bath clutch with a mechanical anti-skipping system, ride-by-wire throttle control system, QuickShift assisted shifting, an Akrapovich 4-2-1 titanium exhaust and carbon fiber fairing.
All in all, the bike weighs in at 385.8 lbs (dry), which is definitely an achievement over the standard version’s 405.6 lbs. Still, we also have to mention the Ohlins suspension, Brembo brakes and Marchesini forged magnesium alloy wheels before hitting you with the price - 50,000 euros (US$64,142). The clearly exclusive bike is available in Biaggi’s Alitalia Aprilia livery or bare carbon.
Gigi Dall’lgna, technical and sport manager of Aprilia Racing says:
“With the RSV4 Biaggi Replica we offer the sports enthusiast a motorcycle which is as close as you can get to the RSV4 that Max rides on the track in World Superbike. In this project, which was developed in parallel to our re-entry into SBK, we poured out all of our knowledge and years of experience on tracks all over the world. This is the bike which came out of it, conceived and developed within Aprilia Racing to offer unique sensations to the shrewd user.”
Ever since the germans from BMW launched their S1000RR superbike and especially after the liter bike turned out to be 2010’s best, the question just popped: will BMW build an S600RR? The answer is no, they won’t! At least not so soon. The news comes from the car and motorcycle manufacturer itself and it’s as bad as it can be.
BMW was actually needed to release a statement saying they haven’t developed a 600cc machine to enlarge their superbike lineup after the word was out that they own the internet domain name www.s600rr.de. Apparently, that’s just to make sure someone else won’t use it in Germany. In other words: no BMW S600RR for you…at least not for now.
BMW explains why:
“Developing a 600 supersport bike is more or less as expensive as a 1000cc superbike; the production costs aren’t very much lower but the retail price would be.
"Therefore, trying to recoup development cost for such a project would be much more difficult.
“Now BMW already has developed a successful superbike there are other market sectors for us to concentrate on that offer a better return on investment.”
It looks like the guys at Moto Tech in Miami sure know how to promote their services as we just came across one of their videos showing a hot blonde performing a dyno test on one of their Ducati superbikes. Obviously, she wasn’t wearing much and we won’t go as far as calling it a motorcycle expert (the video tries to induce she actually is) although we have to admit this is one of the few motorcycle babe videos in which the girl shows off some skills. Congrats for that!
Those of you who at seeing BMW’s tablecloth trick said frenetically that neither the S1000RR nor any other superbike could ever do that no matter the acceleration times, will surely find reward in this video. Bike Magazine have taken the exact same bike and used a much smaller table only to demonstrate how the trick just isn’t possible at large scale.
We rarely happen to see a concept motorcycle that features no frame whatsoever, but when we do it reminds us of John Britten’s revolutionary motorcycle from the early 1990s, the Britten V1000. This concept right here actually pays tribute to the original frameless motorcycle and it is called the Britten V1000E. It was designed by Selwyn Shadbolt and it even gets hubless wheels in order to stick to the theme.
The actual engine would be a single large capacity electric one transmitting power to the rear wheel through a shaft drive, but it is the unique shape of the bodywork which attracts our attention. In order for that to be achieved, the fairings must be molded from polyethylene, while the green color should make it stand out as being environmentally-friendly if it ever gets done at least as prototype.
