Superbike Aprilia RSV mille SP in detail

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Superbike Aprilia RSV mille SP in detail

Black and tasty

Factory superbikes like the Aprilia RSV mille SP walk a fine line between the finest racing technology and regulation-compliant series production. But this is exactly what inspires fans of the big four-stroke racers.

Devices derived from sporty street motorcycles, reasonably suitable for racing ?? those were the original superbikes in their early days in the USA. At the beginning of the current era in racing with four-stroke machines, when the Superbike World Championship was launched in its current form in 1988, the development departments of the major Japanese corporations created thoroughbred racers for the first time, which also presented the very finest technology in their street version, which was necessary for homologation such as the legendary Honda RC 30.
This development has intensified until today. There are still series machines that have mutated into racers, such as the Kawasaki ZX-7RR or the Suzuki GSX-R 750, which are upgraded to superbikes with outrageously expensive racing kits. But most of the opponents go very extreme ways through the jungle of Superbike rules. Honda has explored the regulations in the most extreme way with its works racer, which really only has to do with the exterior of the 1000 twin. And Yamaha was the first large-scale manufacturer to produce exactly 500 of the very finest R7, just as a legal basis for Haga’s factory device.
Benefiting from the small manufacturer bonus of only having to build 150 basic units, the Italian moments in the Superbike World Championship look even more radical. The Ducati 996 RS and, above all, the Aprilia RSV mille SP, which is subject to permanent development processes, and was discovered in the 2000 season under former world champion Troy Corser, are moving further and further away from the series, something that their highly exclusive and extremely expensive, commercially available special versions hardly conceal.
Corser’s black beauty already has variable engine mounts and an adjustable swing arm axle as standard. The installation position of the engine can be changed by four millimeters horizontally and ten millimeters vertically, as can the pivot point by eight millimeters. In conjunction with the adjustable steering head, it can be matched to a wide variety of route conditions. The frame of the Aprilia superbike racer itself is around 20 percent more rigid than road machines. The coated upside-down fork with a 42 millimeter guide tube diameter and the central spring strut also ensure a taut appearance on the slopes.
Nevertheless, the Aprilia is one of the handier world championship superbikes. This is due to the basic philosophy of the machine. With a cylinder angle of only 60 degrees, the Aprilia V2 comes in comparison to the competition ?? Ducati and Honda use 90 degree V2 engines? therefore much more compact. “Due to the smaller dimensions of the 60-degree V-engine, we were able to build a chassis that is only slightly wider than, for example, our 250 Grand Prix racer,” explains Giuseppe Bernicchia, chief engineer of the Aprilia Superbike Project.
Proponents of the pure doctrine of racing engine construction like to refer to the 72 degree angle used by the majority of Formula 1 engine builders and prophesied that the narrow Aprilia-V would have significant thermal problems due to the limited space. “But we never really had any problems with that,” denies Bernicchia. “On the contrary. Our engine runs perfectly thermally. ”A small, German specialist company also makes a decisive contribution to the cool working atmosphere inside the Aprilia Superbike. Heinz Simantke from Kornwestheim near Stuttgart, mainly active for various companies in automobile racing, is responsible for the complex cooling system, as is the case with all Aprilia racing machines.
The engine itself, developed further from the original Rotax twin by the British specialist Cosworth, shows significant changes in the 2000 season compared to the previous year. The unit was designed with a significantly shorter stroke of 63.4 compared to 67.5 millimeters. The cylinder bore grew from 97 to a full 100 millimeters. Forged pistons with only two rings, titanium connecting rods and valves, two injection nozzles each and, depending on the track characteristics, crankshafts with different flywheels are the core pieces of the Austro-English-Italian V-Twin, which impresses the competition.
“From my point of view, the Aprilia engine has the best top performance in the current Superbike World Championship field,” explains Kawasaki team boss Harald Eckl, for example. In fact, two-cylinder engines themselves never caused a serious problem, from Aprilia’s debut in the Superbike World Championship in 1999 to Troy Corser’s five victories of the season this year, which were only surprising at first glance. The annoyances were much more on the periphery. Clutch, exhaust, engine management and, above all, the transmission gave the Aprilia racing department extra shifts, which were, however, crowned with success. With the help of the new built-in anti-hopping clutch at the beginning of the year, Troy Corser was able to teach his racing machine much better manners. And the new Akrapovic exhaust system with this peculiar front manifold routing between the two-part water cooler helps the fashionable, matt black superbike to develop optimally efficiently.
Only with the six-speed gearbox does the factory Aprilia not necessarily represent “state of the art”. By dispensing with a thoroughbred racing gearbox in cassette form, the proximity to the street motorcycle is most likely to flash, especially at the expense of the mechanics on the racetrack. To change the gear ratio, the motor must be removed and completely dismantled. But when it comes to the gearbox, other factory superbikes still have significant deficits in terms of current racing technology. Aprilia works driver Troy Corser can tell you a thing or two about it, the Ducati 996 RS he used to drive still not even have the option of changing the primary gear ratio.
In general, with the superbikes in general and with the twin teams in particular, significantly less attention is paid to the subject of the transmission than with the four-cylinder, probably in the confidence of the superior torque of the twins. On the winding track in Albacete, Spain, for example, the four-time world champion Carl Fogarty had his factory Ducati geared so that he only had to use three of the six gears.
I.With the increase in torque of the 1000-series twins, after the abolition of the weight advantage over the 750-series four-cylinder engines, the last remainder of possible conceptual superiority. And in the power transmission of the torque it is the closest relationship to the super sporty basic versions for the road.

Aprilia RSV Mille SP-Superbike: Technology – Superbike World Championship regulations

Superbikes have four-cylinder four-stroke engines with a maximum of 750 cm3, three-cylinder up to 900 cm3 and two-cylinder up to 1000 cm3. In addition, large-scale manufacturers such as Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha have to build 500 machines that match the racing machines in terms of silhouette and core engine and chassis data. Smaller manufacturers such as Aprilia, Bimota, Ducati and theoretically BMW or Harley Davidson only have to build 150 units, with a minimum weight of 162 kg ready to drive without petrol. The chassis is largely free if the series geometry is retained, carbon brake discs are not allowed. The dates of the Superbike World Cup 200111 March Valencia / Spain1. April Kyalami / South Africa22. April Phillip Island / Australia29. April Sugo / Japan13. May Donington Park / England27. May Monza / Italy 3. or June 10th Eurospeedway Lausitz or Hockenheim24. June Misano / Italy8. July Laguna Seca / USA5. August Brands Hatch / England2. September Oschersleben9. September Assen / Netherlands 30. September Imola / Italy

Aprilia RSV Mille SP-Superbike: technology – bike data

Water-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke 60-degree V-engine, two balance shafts, two overhead camshafts each, driven by gear wheels and chain, 179 hp at 12600 rpm, bore X stroke 100 X 63.4 mm, intake manifold injection, 0 51 mm, Six-speed gearbox chassis, aluminum bridge frame, Ohlins upside-down fork, guide tube diameter 48 mm, two-arm swing arm made of aluminum profiles, Ohlins central spring strut with lever system, steel double disc brakes at the front 0 330 mm, radially screwed Brembo four-piston calipers, steel disc brake at the rear 0 220 mm, two-piston caliper, wheelbase 1405 mm, variable steering head angle, 64.8 to 66.8 degrees, vertically plus / minus four millimeters variable engine suspension and swing arm axle, cast aluminum wheels, front 3.50 x 16.5 inches, rear 5.75, 6.00 or 6.25 x 16.5 inches , Dunlop tires, front 120/70 x 420, rear 180 or 190 x 420, tank capacity 24 liters, weight without petrol 162 kg

Superbike World Championship regulations

Superbikes have four-cylinder four-stroke engines with a maximum of 750 cm3, three-cylinder up to 900 cm3 and two-cylinder up to 1000 cm3. In addition, large-scale manufacturers such as Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha have to build 500 machines that match the racing machines in terms of silhouette and core engine and chassis data. Smaller manufacturers such as Aprilia, Bimota, Ducati and theoretically BMW or Harley Davidson only have to build 150 units, with a minimum weight of 162 kg ready to drive without petrol. The chassis is largely free if the series geometry is retained, carbon brake discs are not allowed. The dates of the Superbike World Cup 200111 March, Valencia / Spain1. April Kyalami / South Africa22. April Phillip Island / Australia29. April Sugo / Japan13. May Donington Park / England27. May Monza / Italy 3. or June 10th Eurospeedway Lausitz or Hockenheim24. June Misano / Italy8. July Laguna Seca / USA5. August Brands Hatch / England2. September Oschersleben9. September Assen / Netherlands 30. September Imola / Italy

Technical specifications

Water-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke 60-degree V-engine, two balance shafts, two overhead camshafts each, driven by gear wheels and chain, 179 hp at 12600 rpm, bore X stroke 100 X 63.4 mm, intake manifold injection, 0 51 mm, Six-speed gearbox chassis, aluminum bridge frame, Ohlins upside-down fork, guide tube diameter 48 mm, two-arm swing arm made of aluminum profiles, Ohlins central spring strut with lever system, steel double disc brakes at the front 0 330 mm, radially screwed Brembo four-piston calipers, steel disc brake at the rear 0 220 mm, two-piston caliper, wheelbase 1405 mm, variable steering head angle, 64.8 to 66.8 degrees, vertically plus / minus four millimeters variable engine suspension and swing arm axle, cast aluminum wheels, front 3.50 x 16.5 inches, rear 5.75, 6.00 or 6.25 x 16.5 inches , Dunlop tires, front 120/70 x 420, rear 180 or 190 x 420, tank capacity 24 liters, weight without petrol 162 kg

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