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Rossi's
fumer - Aprilia RS250 supertest Aprilia re-launch their RS250 and it's a dead ringer for Valentino Rossi's 250 racebike. So, with Sonic at the helm the Aprilia went sniffing out larger prey in the bigger capacities. 600? Chomp. 750? Chomp chomp. You've got to work at it, but if you've got the skill and the determination, this is one of the purest rides out there. Well of course it takes a bit of skill and determination to ride fast: it's a 250 two-stroke. And not just any 250 either, but the RGV250 90° vee-twin motor. A rinky-dink two-stroke motor with extreme powerband, swivelling powervalves, buzzsaw exhaust note and apocalyptic fuel consumption. Somehow it all seems a bit 80's, a bit past it, but get a test ride on the new RS250 and it will turn you into a believer. This bike is a tool to sharpen all your senses and will eat CBRs for breakfast in the right hands. Besides all that, it is unbelievably beautiful. Sculpted and curvy like a silicon model, it's a beauty that grows on you and I'll admit that when I first saw the new 250 I thought it was much uglier than the old one. It's just so radically different to any other superbike on the market that it takes time to appreciate it. The polished chassis and swingarm are totally evocative and items of considerable sexual merit. The slooping tail unit is similar to that of a GSX-R but much pointier and prettier. The fairing is a little bulky but is an exact replica of Rossi's 250GP machine and is all the more interesting for it. Then there's the amazing electronic dash, with its adjustable strobe change light (you set the rpm where the light flashes at you, saving you from looking at the tacho - straight off the racetrack), last highest top speed data, clock, temperature, average speed... it is possibly the most comprehensive dash yet made. Everywhere you look on the Aprilia there's quality and details that you just wouldn't expect on what is, after all, just a 250 two-stroke. Perhaps it's not really comparing like with like, but if Bimota ever finished their donor-engined bikes off to this degree and level of finish, they'd be worth every penny. Next shock: for such a small bike the Aprilia isn't actually that small. I'm over six foot and the RS was dead comfy for me, plenty of legroom, no cramped wrists, and all this with the sort of ground clearance that would make a Ducati 916 proud. Around town and in slow, useless, totally non-RS250 traffic situations the Aprilia is pretty liveable-with for a small two-stroke, with just enough power from 4,000rpm so you don't have to scream the clutch and throttle in unison to pull away from lights. It doesn't sound very good at these speeds - infact it sounds shite - but to drive the RS250 round town or in congestion is a shameful waste of your money and Aprilia's time in making the RS in the first place. Get her out on the open road, start feeding the buzzsaw and it all gets very intense. You see, this bike is F.A.S.T. It's fast because it makes 60bhp at the back wheel and you HAVE to ride it flat out, everywhere. People who witness this sort of behaviour fairly assume that you are riding like this because you are a twat with a small nob who has something to prove to the whole world, but they don't understand. The Aprilia MAKES you ride like a wanker everywhere because of three things:
It's a frenzied, frenetic assault on the senses that doesn't go away until long after you've returned home. Every stop light is an excuse to blip the throttle mercilessly, keep your eyes fixed on that red light and as soon as the bitch hits amber, gooooo! Give her as much throttle as you can slip in through the clutch, the revs hovering on 10,000rpm as you accelerate, zipping up to 11,200rpm, the change light flashes at you and catch the powerband into second. All this accompanied by the purest two-stroke howl from the twin pipes. It is intoxicating, attracts every cop within half a mile and is so unsubtle and exciting that it's getting me all thrilled just writing about it. Dammit, who's got the Aprilia tonight? Just one more fix, please, just one... Two-stroke engines come and go and most people know the score pretty well. This one made 60bhp at the back wheel, has better midrange than last year's RS, and doesn't pull too badly at all from around 7,000rpm. You'd hardly call it torquey but it's that final, glorious 1,200rpm powerband where all the fire and brimstone lie, propelling bike and rider up to 132mph in the right conditions and a guaranteed 120mph everywhere. 100mph cruising is a doodle thanks to the plump faring, but the gears are lazily spread and you've got to be quick to pop each one in before the RS drops out of the powerband. The change between first and second is particularly wide and it's very easy to get the perfect GP start, only to bog in on the rocks with a fluffy two-stroke midrange as you miss the perfect change-up point. Use your strobe light to good effect - Rossi would.
Work
of art Dunlop continue their relationship with Aprilia this year and the OE fitment D204J tyres work fine. The 'J' part of the tyre marking is significant because is means this is a new 204 Dunlop, not like last year's skidmasters at all. Dunlop skimmed a great deal of the new D207 tyre's construction and compound into the new 204, and the result is a tyre that warms quickly - even on a small bike like the RS - turns sharp and grips well. Didn't deck anything out on the Aprilia 'cos the ground clearance is phe-phe-phenomenal, mate, but I'm sure the summer months will see footrests lightly grazed. You can just push it and push it until the front starts to go, pull it back quickly on line and know you've found the limit. The Aprilia's chassis is as forgiving as it is exact.
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