First Spy Pics of Aprilia V-4 Prototype on the Track: Apriliaforum.com

[Schneegz]

http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102022










It looks to me like they shoved that V-4 in an RSV chassis.  Or, maybe, it's a whole new chassis with RSV bodywork.  Either way, it's good to see it out and running.  I hope Aprilia hits this one out of the park.  They need a boost.

[TalkingHead]

I hope they get it right too.  

[Busy Little Whiner]

Go Aprilia... V4s are on the rise... I4s and V2s are on the wane... mercy it's about time too... so here's
hoping there's a V4 in your future... you'd be surprised just how good they are...

[pearsonm]

I love the Ignore function of the new board.

[TalkingHead]

Me too!!!!!

[JonS]

Go Aprilia... V4s are on the rise... I4s and V2s are on the wane... mercy it's about time too... so here's
hoping there's a V4 in your future... you'd be surprised just how good they are...

 
 Looks like another cool bike from Aprilia, though.

[Busy Little Whiner]

I hope they get it right too.  

Hey Talk... how's your Head??? here's hoping you own a bike again... would love to ride with you...
 

[Schneegz]

This week's MCN has an article on the new V-4.  They also claim to have spy pics of a 1500cc Triumph cruiser.

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/nav?page=motorcyclenews.articles.articleCategory.article&resourceId=6155225&articleCategory=MCN-EXTRA_MCN-PROMOTIONS

[forester]

Is MV Agusta the ONLY Italian motorcycle manufacturer that doesn't have their head buried in their ass?  V-4s sound pretty good, and you can get power from them - but NO WAY are they going to perform eqivalent to inlines of the same displacement.  I say "inlines" because I think Triumph has the clearest vision of what type of motorcycle engine works the best.

!!! and I don't even own a Triumph!

[pushrod]

'Glad to see them moving forward, but I agree that their Cosworth triple would have been a killer. I'd hoped they would move forward to commercialize the triple.

[marc11]

Is MV Agusta the ONLY Italian motorcycle manufacturer that doesn't have their head buried in their ass?  V-4s sound pretty good, and you can get power from them - but NO WAY are they going to perform eqivalent to inlines of the same displacement.  I say "inlines" because I think Triumph has the clearest vision of what type of motorcycle engine works the best.

!!! and I don't even own a Triumph!

Ever think that not everyone wants the same old inline four?  And that other engine configs can work just as well, if not better than an inline?  Hmm, ever wonder why Honda doesn't use an inline in MotoGP?  

Variety if good, very good.  A sad day has come when I can sit in my house and here some loud ass vehicle go by and I cannot tell if it is a Honda Civic with an exhaust or a Gixxer with a slip on....I say good for Aprilia, Guzzi, BMW Boxers and all the other companies that offer something different!

[Orson]

I've heard stories from a cousin's next door neighbor that people have fallen asleep on inline-4s

That's just plain dangerous in my book.

if you ride an inline 4, be sure to drink lots of coffee...stopping every 30 minutes and doing jumping jacks helps too.

remember...I'm just here to help  

[TalkingHead]

I would love to see a big-bore Triple super sport. Hopefully Triumph will birth one in the form of a big Daytona triple some time in the near future. Perhaps by the time it happens I will be, perhaps, able to afford one.

[Schneegz]

Is MV Agusta the ONLY Italian motorcycle manufacturer that doesn't have their head buried in their ass?  V-4s sound pretty good, and you can get power from them - but NO WAY are they going to perform eqivalent to inlines of the same displacement.  I say "inlines" because I think Triumph has the clearest vision of what type of motorcycle engine works the best.

!!! and I don't even own a Triumph!

I don't understand your logic.  Why would a V-4 be inferior to an I-4?  I'm not being argumentative; I just don't see an inherent advantage to either configuration.  As I see it, both configurations have their advantages and disadvantages, and the design that "wins" is the one whose engineers maximize its advantages and work around its disadvantages most skillfully.  I could be wrong, of course, so if I am please set me straight.

[Snowbird]

Maybe forester is thinking about racing applications?

Personally, I think there should be a racing class with NO equipment restrictions except that the thing has 2 wheels. Fastest bike wins.

[Dr Gil]

Is MV Agusta the ONLY Italian motorcycle manufacturer that doesn't have their head buried in their ass?  

No...  

These 4's all have two too many cylinders for my tastes.  Why complicate things?  

[Busy Little Whiner]

 V-4s sound pretty good, and you can get power from them - but NO WAY are they going to perform eqivalent to inlines of the same displacement.  

That's a big negative... A V4 will match I4 on a dyno anyday... the difference being that the V4 sports a
linear power band whereas the I4 sports a cammy hit... what that translates to us on the street is that V4s
are easier to go quick on whereas the I4 requires more effort...  

[R.Markus]

No...  

These 4's all have two too many cylinders for my tastes.  Why complicate things?  

They have three too many for me.

[Bodhi]

Nothing much to look at (maybe they're disguising the body). I guess the proof in the pudding will be on the track. Pretty doesn't win races.

[Schneegz]

Nothing much to look at (maybe they're disguising the body). I guess the proof in the pudding will be on the track. Pretty doesn't win races.

I think it's an all new chassis wrapped in old bodywork for the sake of testing.  I doubt the finished product will look like that.  As for the exhaust, who knows what that will look like when it's complete?  I sure hope it doesn't look like the one on this prototype!    The current RSV and Tuono have traditional dual exhausts, and the Mille and 1st Gen Tuono had traditional side mounted exhausts, so I would expect Aprilia to continue in that direction.  Either way, it's exciting to see something new and different from a major manufacturer, even if I'll never be able to afford one.