Ever since Aprilia released the ultra-compact, high-revving twin-cylinder 450/550 V-Twins that power its new line of Supermoto/Motocross/Enduro machines, the public (and many journalists) have been clamoring for the Italian company to produce a sportbike using the same powerplant. At first glance, it seems a simple concept – slot the 550cc four-stroke V-Twin into the chassis from the RS250 two-stroke race replica. The RS250 was reputed to have incredible handling, but because of emissions laws Aprilia was forced to cease RS250 production in 2002.
Aprilia has responded to these requests by citing the fact that the engine, in its current configuration, has an extremely short service life (a rebuild is recommended every 50 hours), and to produce a streetable sportbike would require them to re-engineer the full-race spec V-Twin to much higher durability standards – likely meaning a lower state of tune.
Meanwhile, the Aprilia enthusiasts over at the RSVR.net Forums have been getting impatient. So impatient that they decided to build their own sportbike using an RS250 chassis and the new 550cc V-Twin motor. Check out the project journal to follow their progress – as of the last update, the bike is nearly in running form! Perhaps this project will let us all get a good look at what could have, and should have, been.
