Aprilia RS 1000 V4, NA 850 Mana and KTM Duke III caught in tests

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Aprilia RS 1000 V4, NA 850 Mana and KTM Duke III caught in tests
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Aprilia RS 1000 V4, NA 850 Mana and KTM Duke III caught in tests

Hot phase

The tests of the new Aprilia V4 are in the hot phase, according to an Aprilia technician. Does that have anything to do with the temperature sensors on the prototype? The automatic motorcycle Mana and the KTM Duke seem even hotter. They will be presented in the fall.

When the new Aprilia-V4 was caught for the first time shortly before Christmas last year, it was “prototipo zero”. In the meantime, »prototipo 01« got in front of the lens of an ambitious Erlkonig hunter, and the secretly taken photos still show great resemblance to the zero prototype. The engine housing covers appear the same, as do the exhaust, frame, swing arm and fork. And the cladding dome also comes from the RSV 1000. Nevertheless, the new pictures allow interesting conclusions.
The biggest difference between then and now concerns the side panels of the cladding. In winter it was still angular, fissured and with large openings, today closed areas with only one large outlet on each side. But overall cut more tightly. Its shape does not correspond to any of the variants seen so far, not even the computer retouching shown in MOTORRAD 14/2007, which is based on a photo of the so-called clay model.
The following hypothesis suggests itself: Aprilia examines the temperature balance of the engine when installed and optimizes the air flow of the entire system, i.e. in the interaction of all ancillary units involved. A comparison with the photos of the “prototipo zero” in front view allows the assumption that the cooler ?? with an enormous area, by the way? is now configured. Now it is important to efficiently remove the air heated as it flows through the slats. That means without the airbox, the frame, the shock absorber, sensitive electronic parts and, last but not least, the driver having to endure an unnecessarily high amount of heat. This goal collides with the pursuit of good aerodynamics, which requires smooth, closed surfaces. It seems that the Aprilia technicians are currently looking for the best compromise.
The hypothesis of this very unique climate research is also supported by the sight of a strangely laid sensor cable. It runs from the water pump along the cooling water hose that runs upwards towards the front and catches the eye because it threatens to be chafed through in a sharp left-hand lean. The photo taken diagonally from above also reveals a mighty broad tank top of the V4 engine. Because the engine and the attached airbox are very tall, the fuel supply obviously has to be spread across the board.
Recently there have been rumors that the project is lagging behind because the output is significantly below the target level. The alleged reason for this would be particularly precarious, namely that the intake ducts were impaired by the narrow cylinder angle of 65 degrees. As expected, Aprilia’s technical director Romano Albesiano disagrees, and his reasons sound plausible. “The narrow cylinder angle would only affect us if the bore were much larger. But as already emphasized in winter: We do not build a MotoGP engine, our V4 only has a little more bore than the current standard in-line four-cylinder from Japan. “
With the prototype of the NA 850 Mana, Aprilia is pursuing a different interest in knowledge, and wants to serve a completely different market than the athlete‘s market with the later series motorcycle. Naked bikes and scooters are the most popular brands in Italy at the moment, and the Mana is the perfect combination of these two approaches. Because it doesn’t have to get any record-breaking performance from its single-cam two-cylinder engine, which is inspired by a scooter engine, but is content with around 75 hp, it has no heat problems. With her, the automatic transmission should be the focus of the test department. It should either change the gear ratios without any action on the part of the driver or alternatively by pressing a button on the handlebars or with a normal foot switch. So it is not surprising to see a red sensor cable on the right swing arm of the photographed test motorcycle, in this case the drive side, which is transmitting some kind of data.
The Mana tester shows very impressively that an automatic transmission does not have to have something to do with comfortable driving. However, the side stand and gear lever set tight limits on the lean angle in left-hand bends, as is easy to see. When building the prototype, the time must have been so short that it wasn’t even enough to paint the tubular space frame; In the area around the steering head, the steel tubes have already attached rust. Perhaps the rush has to do with the fact that the presentation of the Mana was brought forward to September.
The third Erlkonig in this story, the KTM Duke III, will not officially be presented until November at the Milan fair. Before that, there is another member of the 690 family, the 690 Enduro. You can read more about them in the next issue of MOTORRAD. Although the Duke prototype hardly looks camouflaged anymore, which an attentive MOTORRAD reader could only escape after being photographed. Actually, only the standard paintwork is missing. The muffler and the mouths under the engine seem to be secured, and it may be given additional cladding in the area of ​​the rear suspension. They no longer look provisional, but neither do they look particularly aesthetic.

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