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- My current ride is the ubiquitous Honda CBR600, a 1999 F4 edition. I’ve done everything from days on the track to nights in the city to weekends on the road with the bike, and it’s been nothing less than a brilliant and willing companion. It’s five years old now but still manages to get admiring glances from teenagers and middle-agers in minivans. Within the bike community though, it’s lost some of its street cred. It’s at an awkward age - not new enough to be fresh, not old enough to be classic. We can be such a fickle lot sometimes – like when a bike that’s 10 horsepower down and 10 pounds up on the newest is seen as inadequate. I had moto-adultery in mind when I visited Rollin’ Fast Cycle Sports in Lebanon NJ to test-ride Aprillia’s 2004 RSV 1000R and see if a pulsing liter v-twin would scratch the “I-don’t-need-but-I-want-a-new-bike” itch.
The previous generation of the RSV (known as the Mille) was Aprilia’s first attempt at a big sportbike after decades producing scooters and small bikes. It was a great first try that nearly matched the Ducati on paper and made a respectable freshman showing on the track, but it sagged in the flesh, an interesting but not classically beautiful collection of stylistic flourishes.
With the 2004 model, the RSV leaves the gawkyness of puberty behind and grows into a supermodel. From nose to tail, the new RSV is a beautiful, sensual bike. Banished to the trash are the effective but ugly 80’s style dashboard, the multi-bulb face that only an owner could love, and the retro-campy Jetson’s taillights. Instead, the new bike embodies the “looks fast standing still” cliché from 15 paces, and up close is filled with forms and details that surprise and delight - from the faceted nose with central air intake to the tapered tail with integrated turn signals, from the liquid two-tone paint job (fluo red and lead grey on the test bike) to the stylish spoked wheels. The RSV is rolling art.
The first five minutes with the RSV makes strong first impressions. One, my knees feel like they are touching each other - the bike is very slim-waisted in typical v-twin fashion. Two, the view from the cockpit is exquisite, with the machined minimalist top triple clamp, anodized fork caps, and stylish dashboard complementing nicely finished and solid feeling switchgear. Only the unorthodox placement of the turn signal switch (below the horn switch instead of above) and the visually beautiful but functionally crap mirrors spoil the view. Three, the riding position is purposeful but not too extreme – splitting the difference between my CBR600F4 and the newer CBR600RR in the position of the clip-ons and footpegs. The reach to the clip-ons is a tad long, placing additional weight on the wrists, but legroom seems generous for a sporting bike.
The first five minutes also scratches the surface of a fine handling road bike. The front end feels planted and does a good job of communicating subtle changes in road surface – not quite like Honda’s sublime CBR600RR, where the clip-ons feel connected directly to the front axle – but bar inputs are instantly rewarded with changes in direction. The back end feels glued to the road – a combination of a well damped rear and the traction-friendly quality of a v-twin. Big bumps may have you standing on the pegs motocross style to absorb the hit, but otherwise the handling is neutral and stable.
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- The early part of my day is spent on the narrow back roads of Morris County, where poor sightlines demand caution and conservative corner entry speeds. Once you can see through the turn, an aggressive twist of the wrist is needed to build speed towards the next bend. This is pure point-and-shoot riding, the domain of lightweight twitchy supermotos. The RSV acquits itself quite well here. After 4 years on an inline -4, the counterbalanced V60 Magnesium v-twin motor is a revelation. It’s rude and packs a wallop, delivering torque and drive at RPMs that would leave 600s gasping for air. It’s also sneaky fast - the RSV builds speed effortlessly, often faster than expected, often requiring firm braking to set up for the next bend.
Stopping is courtesy of 4-piston Brembos fondling a pair of 320mm floating discs up front and a 2-piston Brembo matched to a smaller 220mm disc out back. While they lack the latest marketing buzzwords - radial calipers and wave petal discs, braking is strong and progressive, more than a match for the street. There have been some reports in the press regarding faulty rear brakes, but the tested RSV did not suffer from any problems.
The 6-speed gearbox is Honda-like in its precision, paired to an excellent, light action hydraulic clutch. Shifts are solid and firm, and the slipper clutch is unobtrusive in its operation, which is exactly what you want a slipper clutch to be. The only way you know it is working is the rising engine revs as you let the clutch out on downshifts. Matching revs, an art required on other v-twins, is no longer necessary, but that’s not to say that you can’t try, and revel in the exhaust note as you blip the throttle on each shift.
Speaking of the exhaust, the stock 2 into 1 into 2 system is pretty quiet, emitting more of a babble than burble at idle, and more of a growl than a roar wide open. I’ve heard that Tigcraft makes a wicked titanium slip-on that releases the RSV’s inner lion. But even stock, the bike sounds tougher and gruffer than an inline 4.
A stop at Starbucks in Morristown is an opportunity to grab some caffeine and a crumbly cake and ogle the bike - and I’m not the only one ogling. Strangers walk by and rubberneck like they’ve just seen a Elvis drive by in an El Camino. There’s no doubt that the bike has curb appeal, but the beauty is more than fairing panel deep. The RSV is filled with beautiful, thoughtful details that literally take 10 minutes to absorb - there’s so much eye candy. The twin spar frame and the twin-banana swing arm are more than simple engineering exercises – they are pieces of sculpture. The organic mirrors with turn signals and sleek tailpiece exude a sophisticated, effortless style. Designed by Martin Longmore, a Scotsman who also designed the Audi TT among other cars and motorcycles, the bike is striking – as good if not better than competitors from Europe and Japan.
In town the bike is begrudgingly obedient - it is clearly not in its element. Mind you, it doesn’t do anything wrong like overheat or fry the clutch, but the things that make sense on the open road - the aggressive riding position, the firm suspension, etc... - just don’t make sense in the urban jungle. And like most sportbikes, a hot day and slow traffic will make you intimately familiar with where heat from the engine leaks out of the fairing. I once owned a bike that roasted my right ankle; on the RSV, the heat comes up through the seat. It’s not enough to sterilize you...at least I hope not...
It’s out on the highway where the RSV begins to stretch its paws and hit its stride. It’s more than capable of punching up big numbers on the digital speedo with just a slight twist of the wrist. While 5,000 RPM in top gear will get you to 82MPH, a meager 500 more RPM will quickly thrust you to 90+MPH and serious See-You-In-Court velocities. High speed sweepers are dispatched with effortless ease. In fact, one exit ramp was attacked at a much higher than posted speed, and the RSV clearly enjoyed it. As I rolled on the throttle through the apex, the bike settled firmly onto its suspension and powered through so effortlessly that I was sure that the bike was capable of taking this turn much much faster. This was the one moment all day where the bike felt truly in its element.
It’s not a great stretch to claim that the Aprilia RSV comes very close to combining Italian style with Japanese reliability. It is a beautiful bike on a fast open road, with enough manners to handle lesser duties, and enough curb appeal to satisfy even the most ardent fashionista. At the end of the day, it is a bike that deserves to be ridden hard and fast.
"While I rode the 2004 RSV-R, 2005 models should be
hitting the showrooms this Spring. Along with the
typical changes to colors, there are also some tweaks
to the engine software, and front radial brakes, which
others report as good - a huge leap forward in curb
cred, but not a huge leap forward in performance.
Rumors abound regarding left-over 2004s, so if you can
live without the bling, you may be able to strike a
deal."
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- Special thanks to Rollin’ Fast Cycle Sports in Lebanon, NJ for the opportunity to ride this piece of rolling artwork.
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