CarBrandLogos archive · Aprilia · 1998
The first big four-stroke from a factory that only built two-strokes.
Discover the storyPhoto: Mike Schinkel · CC BY 2.0
The story
Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Aprilia RSV Mille, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.
01
Until 1998, Aprilia was a maker of small two-strokes and scooters with an excellent grand prix record in the 125 and 250 classes. The RSV Mille was its jump to the top of the market: a litre-class superbike built to take on Ducati, Honda and Suzuki in a segment where the company had no history at all.
1998 Aprilia RSV Mille · Mike Schinkel · CC BY 2.0
02
The engine was a 998 cc 60-degree V-twin developed with Rotax, liquid-cooled, with double overhead camshafts and eight valves, driving through a six-speed gearbox. Choosing a V-twin put Aprilia directly alongside Ducati in showrooms and in the racing regulations, but the wider vee angle and Aprilia's own balancing arrangement gave the engine a smoother character than the Bologna alternative.
03
The chassis was an aluminium twin-spar with Ohlins suspension on the R versions, and the styling - twin round headlamps set into a narrow nose - became the model's signature. The Mille handled well enough to be forgiven a certain amount of weight, and the R was a serious track machine, later gaining a slipper clutch.
04
Production ran to 2003, when the RSV 1000 R took over, and the line led eventually to the RSV4 of 2009. The Mille is the bike that turned Aprilia into a full-line manufacturer.
At a glance
Produced
1998–2003Engine
998 Technical specification
Contemporaries from the 1990s
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