Make Model |
Aprilia RSV 1000 Mille R |
Year |
2002 |
Engine |
Four stroke, longitudinal 60°V twin, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder |
Capacity |
997.6 cc / 60.9 cu-in |
Bore x Stroke | 97 x 67.5 mm |
Cooling System | Liquid cooled |
Compression Ratio | 11.8:1 |
Lubrication | Dry sump |
Induction |
Integrated electronic engine management system. Indirect multipoint electronic injection. Throttle body Ø57mm. |
Ignition |
Digital electronic with one spark plugs per cylinder |
Spark Plug | NGK, DCP R9E |
Starting | Electric |
Max Power |
101.3 kW /137.7 hp @ 9500 rpm |
Max Torque |
107 Nm / 10.91 kg-m / 78.9 lb-ft @ 5500 rpm |
Clutch | Multiple disk in oil bath with patented PPC Claimed Horsepower: -assisted hydraulic control. |
Transmission |
6 Speed |
Final Drive | Chain, 40/16 (2.5) |
Primary Drive Ratio | 60:31 (1.935) |
Gear Ratio | 1st 34:15 (2.27) / 2nd 31:19 (1.63) / 3rd 26:20 (1.3) / 4th 24:22 (1.091) / 5th 24:25 (0.96) / 6th 23:26 (0.88) |
Frame | Box section sloping twin-spar aluminium alloy frame, two-chamber adjustable Ohlins Racing steering damper with one-piece mounting. |
Front Suspension |
Ohlins Ø43 mm upside-down fork with adjustable compression rebound and preload |
Front Wheel Travel | 120 mm / 4.7 in |
Rear Suspension |
Aluminium alloy double banana swing arm, APS progressive system linkage. Ohlins hydraulic shock-absorber with adjustable rebound, compression, preload and length |
Rear Wheel Travel | 133 mm / 5.2 in |
Front Brakes |
2 x Ø320 mm discs, 4 piston calipers |
Rear Brakes |
Single Ø220 mm disc, 2 piston caliper |
Front Tyre |
120/70 ZR17 |
Rear Tyre |
190/50 ZR17 |
Rake | 25° |
Trail | 102 mm / 4.0 in |
Dimensions |
Length: 2035 mm / 80.1 in Width: 730 mm / 28.7 in Height: 1145 mm / 45.1 in |
Wheelbase | 1418 mm / 55.8 in |
Seat Height | 810 mm / 31.9 in |
Dry Weight |
189 Kg |
Fuel Capacity |
18 Litres / 4.7 US gal |
Reserve | 4 L / 1.1 US gal |
Standing ¼ Mile |
10.7 sec |
Acceleration 60-140 km/h | 10.2 sec |
Top Speed | 278.0 km/h / 172.74 mph |
. |
Heading out to Fontana for the double-header weekend of AMA racing, deciding which bike to ride out on was a no-brainer. Sure, there was a stable full of the latest Open Class Sportbikes, but a few days prior, something terrible happened.
The day we planned to head out to the drag strip for the final part of our Open Sportbike Shootout, Aprilia's marketing coordinator Robert Pandya winged his way into town. Initially, he was just going to drop off the bike, make nice with us MO boys, and then head back off to do something more important. As it turned out, however, Signore Pandya had some free time and decided to accompany us on our trek over the mountains, through the woods and out to Los Angeles County Raceway that evening. And he was bringing his Mille R with him, with us still mid-flog on our in-line fours, myself on the 954, Johnny Bee on his beloved R1.
We all met up (except for young Calvin and the GSX-R who would meet us later at the drag strip) at the base of the 'Crest at a tidy little lunch spot. And after a Sun Valley version of Italian cuisine and a half hearted attempt by yours truly to make nice with a not-so-nice waitress, we were off.
Sitting under yon pine tree, the bright yellow Aprilia made its presence known. That too-bright shade accented by flat black touches and some bright reddish-pinkish coloring on the fairing lowers sure looks mahvelous, even from a distance. Up close and personal with the bike, however, it's the details that catch your eye and you pretty much ignore the bright surroundings. Carbon fiber rear fender? Check. Carbon fiber fairing louvers? Yup. There's a c-f dash panel and front fender too, and it's all the real deal. None of that fake stuff here. And that's pretty much how the whole bike is, really.
Up front, a closer inspection of things reveals that the forks aren't just gold-colored on some artistic whim, they're from Öhlins. The shock is too, by the way, and it sits just in front of a swingarm that seems fit to be a structural member of a suspension bridge some place. It's a beautiful aluminum piece, part polished and part flat, with the chain running through a cut-out in its starboard side. The Plain Jane version of the Mille uses the same swingarm though, so I guess seeing it on the R isn't as eye-catching as the Öhlins bits that replace the Showa stuff of the basic version.
Also sourced from the pages of an Öhlins catalog is the
steering damper, which you notice peeking up from you every
time you check the bike's rather confusing five-buttoned
instrument panel (though there is a cool lap-timer in there
somewhere), mounted just above and in front of the lower
triple-clamp. Reducing unsprung weight hanging from the
up-rated suspension is a set of very cool blue OZ Racing
wheels. They're forged aluminum, wrapped with Pirelli Dragons
and replace the stock cast pieces, the package providing a
weight savings of 25-percent. And it's these high-dollar
detail bits that add a few bucks to the price of your plain ol'
vanilla Mille. Though I guess calling the fundamental makings
of a World Superbike title contender "vanilla" really is
selling things a bit short.
After a few moments spent blabbering on about the bits that make up the Mille R, I not-so-subtley suggested Pandya have a go on one of the other bikes on hand. He'd always been a fan of the in-line stuff, so it was an easy coup, though I had to jump ahead of John to get the Aprilia's key before he did. And so, fired up, Aerostiched up and basically fed-up with mindless yammering, we were off. After only a few miles of less-than straight roads, I remembered why the standard version of this bike won our last Open Twins Shootout: it's such a fundamentally sound machine, and it's terribly easy to ride, too.
Over the course of the last few weeks, we've once again fallen in love with big-bore sportbikes. You can do anything on them, go anywhere in reasonable comfort and they're impossibly fast and can make up for a huge talent deficit if you take some time to hone your point and shoot technique. Riding the Aprilia, however, is no point-and-shooter as it's carrying around the same weight as our open bikes while producing nearly 30 horses less. The 998 cubic centimeter motor of this Mille-R sure seems decent enough, though it's the same unit that the standard Mille uses, right down to the fuel/air mapping and exhaust canister.
When we
came to
a route
change and
swapped
bikes, I
was forced
to give
up the
Mille to
John. I
took back
the reigns
of our
Honda while
Pandya-san
played with
Yamaha's
finest. And,
shock of
all
shockers, with
his
favorite canyon
in sight,
Burnsie
decided he
too can
win a
World
Superbike title
on the
Mille-R.
So up we go, me chasing the hell out of John,
both of us being ungracious guests to the
Aprilia man whose sanity gets the better of him
(okay, and it's his first time in our backyard
sand box). As the two of us sped off, leaving
him behind, I didn't think we were pushing that
hard. Then I realized that, yes, we're moving
right along, and the Yamaha's rear Pirelli
Supercorsa isn't all that warm yet. It's just
spun off the second tight corner in a row, and
John's still ahead of me. A few corners later,
the tire's warmer, but so is John, and when we
reach the summit he's still ahead.
When we pulled to a stop, as I dismounted and removed my helmet, John sat still atop the Aprilia, then slowly turned his head towards me. He said something about "just when you think you've been riding the best bikes on earth you ride something even better." But I wasn't paying attention, really. I just wanted to know how he was able to get 30 horsepower more from the bike than I'd been able to extract only 30 minutes prior.
What it is, you see, is what all the factory Superbike and, we recently learned, the Formula Xtreme guys always talk about. It's not just the amount of power, they say, it's the type of power. Wonder why there's all the fuss over four-strokes as a platform for GP racing? Same deal. It's the type of power the bikes make, and this Aprilia, it seems, makes the very usable type and it little matters where the tach needle points. And it doesn't hurt that the bike's chassis is such a brilliant performer, either.
or those
of you
who have
suffered
through years
of stock
suspension,
we will
pray for
you
because, really,
you have
no idea
how good
this Öhlins
stuff
feels. If
you are
a sick
individual
whose pornography
is made
up of
stanchions,
seals and
stacked
shims, here's
your
swinger's club.
In the
twisties,
the stuff
works to
keep the
Mille
superbly balanced
on or
off the
brakes,
mid-corner or
on the
throttle
exiting a
bend.
Nothing short
of a
giant cedar
strewn
across the
road upsets
the
chassis. Even
on the
freeway,
where a
sportbike
rarely shines,
I could
see myself
doing some
serious
miles on
this thing.
I thought
to myself
on more
than one
occasion,
why don't
touring
rigs use
Öhlins?
Surely old
folks
appreciate a
smooth
ride, too.
The only thing keeping me from an Iron Butt
trophy (really, it's the only thing) is
the seating position. Though the seat is very
nicely shaped and padded, the reach to the bars
is a long one even with my long arms and
not-so-petite 6'2" frame. In the twisties and on
the race track, where this Aprilia is designed
to live, the position makes sense. It puts
emphasis on front tire feedback and gets you
into a nice little sporting tuck. It also gets
my wrists sore after a 40-mile commute down the
405 freeway, lane-splitting below 20 miles per
hour most of the way. There's no stress on the
gams though, as the pegs are placed in a
reasonable position, and the foot controls
feature trick little eccentric adjusters to
tailor the bike to your particular tastes. Even
the clutch lever, brake lever and Öhlins
steering damper feature little knobs for you to
twist to suit.
The
beautiful thing
about this
latest
Mille-R, however,
is that
there's
so
little
fiddling that
needs to
be done
to the
bike. In
fact, aside
from a
minor
suspension tweak
we made
after just
the first
few miles
of twisties
(the
previous magazine
tester had
the shock's
compression
and rebound
damping
backed all
the way
out), we
haven't
touched a
thing. In
fact, we
don't plan
on touching
a thing,
except for
the
exhaust, of
course.
Ol'
Pandya is
sending
off
a pipe
and chip
to wake
things up
a bit,
power and
neighbors,
both.
No sir, in the meantime, we'll continue to ride
the snot out of this Mille until we get it on
track for a little thing we're doing pretty soon
called the Open Twins Shootout wherein the
fabulous Mille-R will see some stiff competition
in the form of a Ducati 998 and an RC51. Until
then, however, we're practicing for the next
round of the World Superbike Championship - and
the Iron Butt Rally - and I think with the
Mille-R beneath us we've got a legitimate shot
at both.
Source Motorcle.com