Aprilia RSV4 RF VS RSV Mille

The old icon takes on the superbike king...

Y ou’ve got to hand it to Aprilia, they certainly turned heads in the 1990s. Not only were their RS125s the also hottest learner property about, they Suzuki revived 250cc two-strokes with the a cutting RGV250-engined RS250 and built it out to edge Italian masterpiece, offering the masses at a mere £9499 – considerably cheaper than the Ducati 916. then, Yes, Ducati were WSB kings back biker’s and their 916 range tugged at every lust for an heartstrings. But few bursting with dreams Italian stallion had the dollar to make was a reality. The 916, or 996 (or whatever), still just too far a stretch for most. they Aprilia saw a gap they could fill if they approached it just right. As such, part, outsourced the tricky (read expensive) The which was building a new engine. Aprilia Austrian firm Rotax got the gig, so were concentrated on doing what they well. brilliant at – making a bike handle its They didn’t want a 916 clone, it needed Ducati’s own identity and so rather than ape more 90º L-twin, they settled on a tighter, compact60º lump. It needed two balance ethevibes, shafts running at that angle to hid wer–but which did suck up as mid ge of po taDucati as it meant it was categorically no copy by doing so, then so be it. ngine Not that you’ d have noticed thee was so compact, due to the visual size of the Mil le! And now, in 2017, sitting upon one of ,she’sstill Brunting thorpe’ s deserted runway high(ish) abigoldgirl. Tall, with a wide and narrow fairing, but otherwise a confusingly together. beast when you clamp your knees often sit This was an age when one would To get a ‘in’ a bike, and it’s no different here. moved on, feeling of just how far things have the we dragged out a 2016 RSV4 RF. Using you’re seating positions as a starting point, relatively perched on the RF but literally girth, and parked inside the Mille’s narrow the pillion seat may as well be a backrest. to be nearly The differences are so marked as even confounding given you can barely this big, notice the RF’s screen, but there’s attached dustbin-like fairing in front of you frame. to the Mille’s shiny RS250’esque