The Aprilia RS250 is a

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being comple ...

sport bike A sport bike (sports motorcycle, or sports bike) is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfor ...

made by the Italian

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

manufacturer

Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...

. The Aprilia RS250 is a race oriented motorcycle with technology derived from Aprilia's racing experience. It is inspired by the Aprilia RSW250 Grand Prix motorcycle used by riders such as

Valentino Rossi Valentino Rossi (; ; born 16 February 1979) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed ''The Doctor'', he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcyc ...

Max Biaggi Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi (; born 26 June 1971) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who achieved six World Championships. With four 250 cc road race titles and two in World Superbikes, he is one of only two ri ...

and

Loris Capirossi Loris Capirossi (born 4 April 1973) is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, currently serving as Safety Advisor to Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. He is a 9-time Premier Class race wi ...

in MotoGP races.

History

The RS250 was designed by Aprilia to resemble their GP250 bike to celebrate their success in the championship. The Aprilia RS250 is powered by a modified

Suzuki RGV250 The Suzuki RGV250 was a Suzuki high performance sport bike which had a great number of its features and design cues based on Grand Prix technologies and ideas. It is a race-replica based on Suzuki's GP bikes from 1987 to 1998, the RGV V-2 race ...

(VJ22) engine which is prepared by Aprilia, changes include a revised ECU, Aprilia-designed

expansion chamber On a two-stroke engine, an expansion chamber or tuned pipe is a tuned exhaust system used to enhance its power output by improving its volumetric efficiency. History Expansion chambers were invented and successfully manufactured by Limbach, a ...

s, barrels and airbox. The twin 34 mm flat slide Mikuni carburettors are retained from the RGV.

Chassis

The frame is a cast twin spar aluminium/magnesium alloy with thin-walled monocoque reinforcements, with the engine as a fully stressed member manufactured by Benelli for Aprilia. The banana swingarm is made out of the same polished aluminium alloy as the rest of the frame. The reason for the swingarm's banana shape is to allow the expansion chambers to run unobstructed under the engine to improve ground clearance in turns. The forks are 41 mm Showa (on the MY98+ models) inverted units and are adjustable compression and rebound, the rear suspension is a Sachs mono-shock which is adjustable for preload, compression and rebound. The front brakes of the RS 250 are

Brembo Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. Its head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy. History Brembo was established in Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 ...

dual 298 mm discs with Brembo Oro four-piston calipers. The rear brake is a single 220 mm disc with a Brembo twin-piston caliper. The front & rear rims are lightweight, 5 spokes, cast aluminum rims are 3.50x17 up front (3.0x17 on the older models) and 4.50x17 out back that require tires of 120/70x17 and 160/60x17, respectively.

Instrument panel

The RS gauges feature a digital instrument panel that gives the rider a variety of information. It will display maximum and average speed readings in kilometers or miles per hour, an adjustable rev limiter warning zone indicator, water temperature in choice of scale, battery charge indicator, a clock, and a chronometer that can remember up to 40 lap times.

Revision

In 1998, Aprilia released an all new look for the RS250, also referred to as RS250GP1 to celebrate Aprilia's victory in the 250 cc GP racing class. Its appearance is similar to Marco Melandri's RSWGP250 bike, with the same engine and frame as the pre-1998 model. The bike has a dummy ram-air intake. Changes include: *Revised overall bike styling with more modern senses. *New Showa front forks and adjustable rear ride height *New style instrument panel with new functionality. * New rims and tyres: the front rim is now a 3.5x17, instead of 3.0x17 as used on pre-1998 model. The front tire is a 120/60x17 instead of the 110/70x17 mounted on the pre-1998

References

{{Aprilia motorcycles RS250 Sport bikes Motorcycles introduced in 1995 Two-stroke motorcycles