Aprilia plans and news

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Aprilia plans and news
Aprilia

Aprilia plans and news

Aprilia Reloaded

The Italian manufacturer is reinventing itself: Innovative motorcycles and gripping design are intended to regain trust, image and market share.

The groundbreaking appearance took place at the Milan trade fair. The focus of the Aprilia show there was the concept bike FV2 1200 ?? with F like "futuro", in German: future. There are a lot of ingredients in this study that go with that A.prilia wants to cause a sensation in the future. ABS and traction control, plus electronic control of the throttle valves (ride by wire) and the chassis. A parallelogram fork in the style of the Hossack system boldly expresses the pursuit of innovative technology. The FV2 is powered by a 1200 V2 with around 134 hp, which is still being tested, a larger version of the 750 Shiver engine. It also acts as a load-bearing element on this concept bike, which is why the carbon frame is limited to a few struts. The whole thing weighs just under 160 kilograms dry and was packed in a gripping design? such motorcycles make you want more.

Aprilia seemed almost written off. After the near bankruptcy in 2004, the manufacturer from the north-east of Italy only got back on its feet with difficulty. Now he is shooting one novelty after the other into two-wheeled orbit. In 2007, the mid-range Shiver 750 and Mana 850 motorcycles with automatic transmission arrived, and in 2008 there are even more innovations: in spring the Supermoto Dorsoduro, an alternative to Ducati’s Hypermotard, followed by a Shiver with a half-shell. In the second half of the year, the Italians will present the super sports car RSV 4 with a four-cylinder engine, the racing version of which will be used in the Superbike World Championship from 2009. The first series models with the 1200 twin-cylinder, probably a large Dorsoduro and a sporty touring bike, will come to the Milan trade fair in autumn.

A brilliant program. The brand urgently needs this in order to build its image and trust, because real novelties from Noale have been in short supply since the Tuono was launched in 2002. Former Aprilia owner Ivano Beggio, who had built the brand from nothing to a successful group with 1250 employees, was in trouble at the time due to a crisis on the Italian scooter market. In addition, the restructuring of the ailing Moto Guzzi company, which was taken over in 2000, devoured huge sums of money. Aprilia finally delivered the coup de grace with the three-cylinder MotoGP machine RS Cube ?? an ambitious and expensive undertaking that ended in utter disaster. In 2004 the Beggio banks turned the tap off, as a result Aprilia was incorporated into Europe’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer Piaggio and since then has operated as a further brand of the group alongside Moto Guzzi, Vespa, Gilera and Derbi.

Aprilia retrofits exciting prototypes


Aprilia

The new 1200 V2 follows the example of the Shiver engine, the side change of the camshaft drive allows identical cylinders and heads.

"When we came there was absolutely nothing in the pipeline", explains Aprilia boss Leo Mercanti the dry years. "And developing new motorcycles from scratch takes time." Mercanti is very knowledgeable about the local area, having worked for Aprilia for almost 20 years, most recently as General Manager, before he left in 2001 in disagreement. He stayed at Derbi in Barcelona and returned to Aprilia in early 2005 after being taken over by Piaggio. "The market expects smart, high-tech machines from us", he says today. "This is exactly where we want to go: Our models should embody the state of the art in European motorcycle construction."

Aprilia has the technical requirements? thanks to a state-of-the-art research and development center that the previous owner, Beggio, had built. Behind the functional corridors are 30 rooms in which every component of a motorcycle, from the side stand to the camshaft, can be subjected to enduring tests. The logistical and financial requirements for far more profane problems? Warranty services and spare parts supply ?? were also created, said Mercanti. "We can deliver 97 percent of all spare parts immediately, and the dealers receive warranty services within four weeks." In the long term, relationships with dealers should be cultivated and deepened in order to reach more customers again through their increased commitment. An approach that is to be hoped for success and durability.

After the restart, Aprilia got reinforcements. Romano Albesiano is responsible for the technology, Miguel Galluzzi for the design. Both come from MV Agusta, so they have experience with sporty motorcycles. Good prerequisites, because the new showpiece of the Aprilia collection will soon be the 1000cc four-cylinder in the superbike version "Race machine", in the series "RSV 4" called. According to rumors, it should currently create around 150 hp at 10,000 rpm; since it rotates at least up to 12500 rpm, the maximum power should be between 180 and 190 hp. Like the Shiver, the RSV 4 also has a ride-by-wire system for electronic control of the throttle valves. "All of our motorcycles are equipped with it", says Leo Mercanti. "That carries a certain risk, because it is not said that the market will be happy to accept this innovation. But we are convinced that this will give us a technological lead over the long term."

Quo Vadis, Aprilia?


Aprilia

Aprilia draws attention to itself again with trade fair work and customer proximity.

Why Aprilia, previously subscribed to two-cylinder engines at Big Bikes, opted for a 65-degree V4 for the new development, Mercanti justifies with the fact that "The top level can best be achieved today with a four-cylinder, especially on the racetrack, but also on the road". He sees the fourcylinder as far ahead, especially when it comes to future homologation regulations with regard to noise and emissions. "And it had to be a V4 with a narrow cylinder angle because that is in the Aprilia tradition."

One of the few traditions that Aprilia is currently sticking to, where the production of motorcycles has a far less glorious past than in racing. But Mercanti knows how to positively reinterpret this weakness: "Aprilia is not set. Manufacturers like Ducati, KTM and Triumph are trying hard to get out of their niche. We are not even there, so we can and will do everything." Whereby everything doesn’t really mean everything. According to the Piaggio bosses, cruisers, customs and big tourers are better off with group sister Moto Guzzi, and even with scooters, which have been Aprilia’s mainstay until now, they are exercising restraint. "We are currently building 100,000 scooters", says Mercanti. "That’s enough, we don’t want to grow any further in this segment." In view of the company’s established scooter brands, this is probably not even allowed.

On the other hand, growth is very much in trend in the motorcycle sector, where the annual production of Aprilias is around 25,000 units. The financing seems secure, because parent company Piaggio has invested heavily in Aprilia since the takeover; by the end of 2008, the total should amount to 100 million euros. For the following years, Piaggio boss Roberto Colaninno announced investments in the whole group of an additional 100 million euros annually. In the meantime, however, its focus has shifted towards the Far East: After plants in India and China, Piaggio is currently building a scooter factory in Vietnam. Because this commitment in Asia is much more expensive than planned, budget cuts are reportedly expected for the European brands. Hopefully the savings at Aprilia will not be too dramatic? otherwise, the brilliant restart could stall shortly after taking off.

Interview with Miguel Galluzzi

Miguel Galluzzi, creator of the first Ducati Monster and today Aprilia’s head of design, talks about visual identity and typical Italian design.

Could the FV2 go into production?
Of course, it could be built in series, preferably tomorrow for me. The technology it contains is feasible, and implementation is primarily a question of cost. For example, you could replace the carbon in the frame with aluminum, which would be significantly cheaper. And you also need a little time, but a road FV2 would be conceivable in two or three years. It is not yet clear whether it will really come in this form.

How did you approach the design of the FV2?
The materials used are very light, the motorcycle weighs less than 160 kilograms. Therefore it has to look light too.

How do you do that?
With a really minimalist design that only emphasizes certain parts, in the case of the FV2 this is the front end. At the rear, however, there is air and therefore lightness, thanks to the large distance between the rear and the swing arm.

Does Aprilia need an optical identity?
Absolutely, that’s exactly what we’re working on. A manufacturer like Aprilia, which is rather small in global comparison, has to define itself through its appearance, because now that the Chinese are also coming, it is becoming more and more difficult to stand out from other brands. Nowadays it goes without saying that the technology is right and works. The design must make the difference.

How can that look like at Aprilia?
There are already some examples, such as the Shiver, the Mana or, soon, the Dorsoduro. But older Aprilia models such as the Tuono with their extreme optics also fit the line that we have in mind. Basically, the design has to be recognizable as Italian, which means for me and my colleagues: We have to take risks, not simply put together parts of well-known successful models to form a new conglomerate.

You can’t fall on your face there?
Depends on. It is always said that motorcyclists are conservative when it comes to design. But the Ducati 916 or the Monster are great successes after all, and they were completely new designs back then. For me, Italian design means in concrete terms: extremely clear lines, a purist and minimalist look. The Japanese rarely manage that, and it is precisely this weakness that we have to exploit.

What will the four-cylinder look like that comes in the fall?
(laughs) Of course I’m not allowed to reveal that. Just this much: our V4 will be beautiful, and it follows the aforementioned concept. So it will look very Italian.

Interview with Romano Albesiano

Romano Albesiano, Aprilia’s technical director, on the technologies of the FV2 concept bike and the company’s engine families.

The concept bike FV2 shows a whole range of new technologies. Does the front suspension work like BMW’s Duolever?
Basically yes, both of which are based on the Hossack patent from 1982. Aprilia used a similar fork with trailing arms in the 250 Grand Prix. The difference to BMW is that we have integrated the aerodynamics ?? our fork also acts as a cover, which prevents any possible instability caused by air turbulence.

Another parallel to BMW: The concept of the FV2 also includes electronic suspension and damping control. The chassis can be adjusted at the push of a button, as with the GS?
It works, yes. But our system can do a lot more, and we’re working hard on it. However, it’s too early to talk about it publicly.

The FV2 also presents traction control. How does it work at Aprilia?
There are different anti-slip controls, from the simple one, which only prevents the rear wheel from spinning, to complicated systems at Grand Prix, which calculate the ignition angle differently for each corner. We are working on different types of traction control and want to use them all as soon as possible. In the series, these will initially be the simpler regulations.

Where do all these ideas come from??
Aprilia has a small department called “Innovation”. This is a group of engineers with their own budget who work completely separately from current production and who are concerned with possible future technologies. Some of the ideas come from there. This group is also strategically important because thanks to it it is unlikely that innovations from other manufacturers will catch us cold. We are prepared for many topics.

Aprilia now has a whole range of engine families: the in-house V2, the V2 from Rotax, the 450/550 twin-cylinder, the two-stroke engine for the RS 125 and the automatic engine from Mana that Piaggio builds, plus the scooter Engines. Isn’t that going to be a bit much??
But no. Missing engine types are a limit for many manufacturers, Aprilia now has great potential thanks to the variety. The V4 is of course intended for our top models, initially for the super sports car, and later also for other motorcycle types. Our own V2 covers the middle price segment, let’s say between 7500 and 11500 euros. The small two-cylinder units supply the off-road division, and the third-party engines are a kind of wild card. This is especially true for the Mana: If the concept is successful, completely new possibilities open up for Aprilia.

What about the RS 125? Isn’t there a switch to four-stroke engines??
The dead live longer than you think. Already at the Euro 2 it was said that it was impossible to pack with a two-stroke, and now we have even got the Euro 3 with the more than 20 HP engine. As long as we keep coming up with new technical options, we’ll stick with the two-stroke engine. We also have a 125cc four-stroke for scooter production, but most customers prefer a two-stroke for this type of motorcycle.

When will we see the V4 super sports car??
Since we have to build at least 250 pieces by the end of January 2009 in order to compete in the Superbike World Championship, it will probably be on display at the Milan Salon in November at the latest.

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