Road testing any superbike on the salty, slippery and usually damp mid-winter British roads is always a somewhat challenging experience, and to say I had reasonable weather whilst with the Aprilia is probably and understatement! I think I had 1 day where the roads were actually clear of salt, that's only because it rained heavily on the previous day and as usual I got caught in it! First things first, and in the case of the new Aprilia RSV Mille R it's a totally different animal than Aprilia's last model. The '04' R model (let's call it that to save confusion) is now the base model of the Mille, while last years R was in fact the top of the range. Confused? Well read on...
Last years R had the exotica already fitted to make it an R, Ohlins suspension, OZ race wheels etc, etc, but this years '04' R has the standard Showa front and a Sachs unit at the rear; you have to go to the next step, the Mille 'Factory' to get the same treatment as the previous R. That model comes with all the Ohlins goodies including a top spec steering damper which the new R doesn't get at all, and of course Brembo radial brakes. We'll be testing a Factory in a couple of weeks, so keep coming back. Well that just about explains it, if you got lost somewhere just keep reading!
The instant giveaway that the new Mille R is not just a re-vamped '03' model is the bodywork. We now have a very angular and much slimmer profile than the bulging rounded lines of the '03' model, this gives the new bike a very sleek look indeed, and give Aprilia credit here, it's a stunning bike to look at now. As per quite a few bikes today including Ducati's 999/749 range, the front indicators are built into the mirrors. It creates a very slim profile now, but again a-la-Ducati you really can't see much in them without having to lift your arm to stare back under your armpit. What's behind doesn't matter, it's the prey in front of you that counts!!
Sitting on the new bike you are immediately faced with a full set of brand new instruments. Gone are the ex - Fiat Strada surplus units! Now they have been replaced with a very neat single piece unit with a digital speedo and analogue tacho. All the lights are in the right place and when you turn on the ignition the bike does the usual modern pre-flight check. There is also a full timer facility, clock, mph/kmh conversion mode and even a side stand warning light! The layout on the rest of the bars etc is still pretty much the same with the exception of radial master cylinders. The switch gear is still the usual 'funky' Aprilia layout with upside down horn and indicator switches providing endless fun to other road users as you sound your horn to turn right at a roundabout, or flash the lights to warn someone, it will take you a few days to get used to this, it did for me anyway!
Hidden away under the sweeping alloy frame rails lies a brand new engine called the V-60 Magnesium. It is essentially the same layout of a 60deg V-Twin and has 4 valve heads with double cams, but that's about where the similarity ends. Aprilia have designed new heads for better combustion, only a single plug is now needed per cylinder, it has new cams and valve springs and a whole host of extra little things to make up this engines claimed 139 bhp. In the electronics and fuel department we now have 57mm throttle bodies instead of the previous 51mm, new intake ducts, a single injector per cylinder, and a new pressurised air-box giving some 3% increase in power on the move. All this is managed by a new ECU with 15 sensors on the bike to fine-tune it through an diagnosis terminal in the instrument cluster.
Riding it on the road in winter is probably not the best place for it in reality, all that alloy and those designer Italian fittings do take a bit of a 'hammering' on the UK roads, but a quick jet wash soon gets rid of all that salt bringing the gorgeous looking Aprilia back to it's former glory. In general on road riding all you need to do is to ride it around at about 5-6,000rpm, run a gear higher than you think, and it will pull smoothly and feels totally relaxed to ride. A Sunday cruise is about the best description for it, but take note here, in 6th gear you will find yourself doing about 90-100mph, and feeling as easy as you would at 50mph!
Once you Start to get used to the power delivery it's time to play! On the one dry and salt-free day I had it gave me a good chance to try out the bike on something other than slippery or wet roads. The Aprilia is a fast bike, a seriously fast bike, but there are faster ones out there. Any 1 lt Japanese 4 cyl superbike will give the Mille a real run on speed and acceleration, but when it come to feel and stability the V-Twin has it. Four cylinder bikes are brutal in their power delivery, there's no room for the slightest error or it will spit you off, but the Millle is a lot more forgiving. The balance of power delivery, good handling and good brakes makes this bike so much easier to ride fast on ordinary roads than your average four cyl superbike. Sure it wheelies on power in 1st to 3rd, and it will spin up the rear wheel if your'e heavy handed, but with it's balanced Showa front USD forks and Sachs rear unit it always feels solid and firmly fixed to the road. The one thing I would advise is the steering damper upgrade as it tends to shake it's head under heavy acceleraton, and when you discover that the front wheel has been airborne for the last 100mtrs!
On the road one of the most noticeable changes is the way the bike turns in on fast corners. The old Mille always used to feel as though it wanted to run in wide asking for a little muscle, on the new '04' this is just not the case. Unfortunately as the roads were mostly slippery it did show a tendency to want to run wide on the exit of corners, but I mainly put that down to the slippery surface and to the standard Michelin Pilot Sports, not a favourite feed-back tyre of mine at all! The 43mm Showa forks allow adjustment for spring pre-load, compression and rebound damping, I did find the standard settings a bit too hard for general road use, but on smooth roads they worked well, so track use should be great! I found the rear Sachs unit to be behaving very well in any conditions, no need to alter anything there. The Mille also has Aprilia's pneumatically controlled clutch on it and this contributes to super smooth corner entries allowing slip on deceleration stopping the rear wheel hopping after a quick downchange.
Dry weight quoted for the Aprilia Mille R is 185kg, so it's not a lightweight in comparison to most Japanese superbikes with about a 20kg handicap. This doesn't really come into it in the real world, only on the race track would it be at all noticable, but then the twin does have it's advantages in so many places over the mad 4cyl 1000's!
At the end of every ride, even in some of the worst weather, I walked away impressed. The new Mille is faster, more composed, and probably the most important point here, is easier to use than ever. Comfort is not n issue here, you don't get sore on it in general riding. The only time I ever felt any pain was after a serious amount of traffic and filtering, then the wrists suffered a bit, but that's it. The new bike has been improved in almost every department regarding performance and handling, its looks are up to each individual, but I can honestly say it looks fantastic. If I were the owner of an older Mille and tested one of these then I'd be handing over a cheque for one tomorrow. Still that's just my point of view, everyone has their own tastes, to each their own I say!
