1st Ride Part 2 | 1996 Aprilia RS250 | 4K | Jan 19 2024

Riding Aprilia’s quarter-liter GP mount, Max Biaggi secured back-to-back-to-back world titles in ’94, ’95, and ’96... Like Paul Smart’s Desmo racer had done for Ducati roughly two decades prior, Max’s success achieved on the RSV250 put Aprilia on the map and helped to establish the small Italian firm as a true contender on the world stage.
Taking advantage of the factory race effort’s triumphs, in 1994 Aprilia released a road-legal replica version of the RSV250 known as the RS250. Powering the RS was a modified version of the liquid-cooled, 249cc, two-stroke, 90-degree V-Twin from Suzuki’s RGV250. The RS’s engine utilized the Suzuki’s 34mm Mikuni flat slide carbs, though it featured its own Aprilia-designed expansion chambers, barrels, air-box, and exhaust system, a revised ignition and ECU, and a higher compression ratio. Building on the already well-designed single-crank V-Twin developed by Suzuki, the changes made in Noale afforded the RS more mid-range power. Married to a six-speed transmission, the RS250’s engine was similar to the motor found in Aprilia’s GP mount, albeit with a bore and stroke of 56mm X 50mm versus the race bike’s square 54mm X 54mm setup. The RS generated 29.5ft-lbs of torque at 10,750rpm and around 70hp at 11,900rpm - just shy of its 12,000rpm redline.
What really made the RS250 special, however, was its chassis design. Derived from the bikes built by Aprilia’s factory race program, the RS250 used a polished alloy twin-spar frame paired with an adjustable magnesium alloy banana swingarm. The trick alloy frame was fitted with 41mm inverted Marzocchi fork and a mono-shock in back - both adjustable for preload and rebound damping.
Rolling on 17-inch, five-arm, cast aluminum rims, the RS250 and its race-bred chassis afforded its rider incredibly sharp handling. Slowing the V-Twin was a set of dual 298mm discs pinched by four-piston Brembo Serie Oro calipers out front and a single 220mm unit bit by a dual-pot caliper in the rear. Its GP-inspired bodywork not only looked the business but gave the RS one very slippery drag coefficient. Tipping the scales at just 310 lbs dry, the RS boasted a top speed of over 130 mph, and a standing quarter-mile time of 12.5-seconds flat.
Here's the Iconic Motorbikes video for the auction that I purchased this bike from recently:
• Aprilia RS250 (JM)