Aprilia Millefactory
Aprilia MilleFactory
.04newrides
As the Big Four heat up the Repli-Racer Wars with big Fours, Aprilia sticks to its V-Twin guns. Good move...
IT WAS A THRESHOLD MOMENT, A LITTLE SLICE OF INTENSE time as I traveled at great speed though space when I realized the coming corner was coming faster than anticipated. Panic's bony fingers gripped hard on my chest, so I let my digits do the same on the Brembo radial brake lever.
Having great, great experience with panic on a racetrack, my highly honed egad! responses are pretty consistent, so I gave a too-healthy squeeze and...the rear wheel lofted into the air!
Other than being a surprise, what’s the big deal? Well, it took less effort to get this phenomenal braking response than on any other bike I’ve ever ridden. Also, the feel and sensitivity to changes in lever pressure were the best I’ve ever experienced. I think we normally call the latter “modulation.” 1 was able to modulate the back end gently back to earth, continue to trail-brake as I peeled it right for the corner, flicked it on the deck and made the turn like I meant to ride the thing on one wheel at 100 mph on the entrance.
That’s the new Aprilia Mille R “Factory” in a nutshell: control, speed, feedback, aplomb, uncanny composure, the perfect bike for learning the long and fast Mugello Circuit,
which Aprilia rented for our first ride.
In the spirit of “factory,” Aprilia had the pit garages set up as though this were a Grand Prix, with mechanics for everybody and banners every-
everywhere. I’m sure my personal wrench, Maurizio, would have told me the brakes were quite good, but he only spoke Italian and I only spoke English so we pretty much just said “bene” and “good” with lots of nodding and smiling. It was the perfect friendship, really, so simple and good. Or bene.
Maurizio was just a small cog in the big press-intro machine Aprilia constructed to allow us to experience this all-new Superbike for the street, which the Italian company actually says was made for the track. 1 guess that’s why we only rode at Mugello, and not through the beautiful rolling hills of the surrounding Tuscany.
No matter, for we’ve liked the Mille from the beginning, when we tested version number one in 2000. Since that time, the bike has been subject to several makeovers. This time, though, it’s more than just a makeover, as just about
everything has been redesigned. As a result, the bike is leaner
looking, more compact, makes more power and is lighter. There was a certain lovely balance to the previous Mille, and Aprilia sought to maintain this balance even though
the bike has changed in size fundamentally. So while the bike is lower by an inch (and shorter by 1.4 inches), the basic relationship of center of gravity and center of mass has been retained, and the overall feel has been retained.
“We had to keep moving the parts of the bike around, to try to put them in the right places to maintain the balance,” says Mariano Roman, chief of the Mille project. “To a degree, this inertial balance and weight distribution is even more important than overall lightness.”
Lapping Mugello, it seemed like they got the parts in the right spots. The steering was medium effort through the chicanes, but what was most remarkable was how easy the bike was to tip into comers while trail-braking. Almost too easy, really. But it encouraged you to make the most of those fabulous Brembo radial brakes. These are the four-pad, fourpiston variety, and as suggested above, there are no better binders on a streetbike.
No doubt in the spirit of building an integrated package, the rest of the Mille Factory is up to the same standards. For example, lighter-than-ever O.Z. forged-aluminum wheels are planted to the ground by excellent Öhlins suspension on both ends (fully adjustable, of course, including ride height), carried in a new stiffer frame (the cool “dents” in the side of which actually help keep engine noise from escaping). Rake and trail are 24.8 degrees and 4.0 inches working with a 55.8inch wheelbase. These are pretty conservative figures these days, but the handling was unflappable and steering response excellent, so embrace conservatism (and give the Öhlins steering damper a big kiss). Dry weight is a claimed 408 pounds.
From the very beginning, we have loved this 998cc, fourvalve-per-cylinder, 60-degree V-Twin. It has now been improved. While the cases are fundamentally similar, the cylinder heads have been completely redone. Porting is different, the camshafts have more lift and longer duration, and the combustion chambers were reworked to provide more squish (helps reduce detonation in what is a large, 97mm bore), which in turn has allowed the use of only a single sparkplug per cylinder (the old version was twin plug). The fuel-injection throttle bodies have been increased in size to 57mm, while dual exhausts feature catalysts and an oxygen sensor, which actually allows a
richer mixture into the cylinder for cooler, more controlled air/fuel bum. The rev limit has been bumped 500 revs to 11,000 rpm, and stronger connecting rods help make sure the pistons stay connected to the crankshaft. As a result of these changes, this so-called “V60 Magnesium” (side and valve covers are mag) revs more freely than ever, as well as making a claimed 138 horsepower. The power was so smooth and so nice, with good pull from 7000 rpm all the way up, sort of a strange combination of the outright power of a four-cylinder coupled with the friendly torque and usability of a Twin.
Ergonomically, the bike doesn’t feel quite as “stilted” as the old Mille. The 4.8-gallon fuel tank’s new shape is less bulbous and gives the bike a more narrow feel. Adjustable brake and clutch levers, as well as shift lever and rear brake pedal, mean you can set the bike up to your taste. Screen protection was good and getting behind the bubble for the 165-mph-indicated front straight was like putting your head down for a nap, easy and even relaxing. And we’re happy to report that the gauge package is new (finally!), with a large, legible tach front and center, the right is a multi-function LCD screen that displays mph and
other engine vitals, as well as incorporating a lap timer.
With the introduction of the Factory, the regular Mille is now denoted “R,” and there is no longer a plain version. The Factory will be available in two-tone gray or two-tone black, while the R comes in red/gray and the same two-tone black. Expect the Factory version to cost slightly more than the current top-shelf version’s $17,299.
The Mille has always seemed to combine the best of what Italy has to offer in terms of sound and spirit with the refinement and functionality of the best Japan can build. Because this new Mille is meant to take on the likes of Suzuki’s GSX-R1000, the all-new Kawasaki ZX-10R and Yamaha F-Rl on the street and no doubt in Superstock and Superbike racing series around the world, it has been designed to respond particularly well to the modifications the rules allow.
One thing they won’t have to modify is the brakes.
-Mark Hoyer
