Model(s) covered: 2004 Aprilia RSV Mille, 2004 Aprilia RSV Mille R
The RSV1000 is the bike that really put Aprilia on the world's map. Before the Mille (Italian for one-thousand, as in cubic centimeters) emerged in 1998, the largest bike the Noale, Italy-based manufacturer sold displaced just 250cc. In the five years since, 27,000 of the spunky and racy bikes have found loving homes around the globe.
Possessing Italian flare along with a rich history of wins in the 125cc and 250cc Grand Prix classes, Aprilia quickly became a legitimate competitor to its relatively ancient trellis-framed rival up the autostrada in Bologna.
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Model(s) covered: 2004 Ducati 999, 2004 Honda CBR 1000RR Fireblade, 2004 Triumph Daytona 955i, 2004 Suzuki GSX-R 1000, 2004 Aprilia RSV Mille, 2004 Honda VTR 1000 SP2, 2004 Yamaha YZF-R1, 2004 Kawasaki ZX-10R
It was a dream date really, an invite to participate in a shootout with Motorcycle.com. The use of eight open class motorcycles representing the finest that motorcycling has to offer, in terms of power to weight, ridden on some of the most spectacularly twisty roads in the universe and topped off at a technical track that demanded respect. Looking back, I don't think I've ever spent two days so worried for my life and some of the lives of the riders around me. The problem was, not only do you have to bring your best game (and riders) to an event like this, you also have to bring 100% concentration too or things can turn ugly in a second.
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