New Manablog

Aprilia made a special website for promoting the new Mana 850 that will be released this summer.
Great looking website with loads of pics and a couple of video's. It's only in Italian for now but I hope that will change. And I also noticed a link to Aprilia News in the links section. Looks like the factory likes my blog!

Go check out the manablog here

Aprilia of the Week: van den Bosch replica

This week its not a visitor's bike thats in the spotlight but a special edition SXV by Aprilia themselves. This 50 piece limited edition features a couple of nice upgrades like:

-Marzocchi shiver forks
-Alpina wheels
-Tuned engine
-Titanium exhaust
-Carbon tank
-Special seat
-Shorter swingarm
-and more

The Aprilia USA team will be riding these bikes in the AMA Supermoto championship this year.
Christian Iddon is also riding it in the British Supermoto championship.

Lots of Racing News

250cc

Aprilia missed the third victory in a row by a few hundredths of seconds and had to be contented with the second, third, fourth and fifth positions.

Jorge Lorenzo, the reigning World champion, gained the second position on the podium. Just like in Spain, he performed a breathtaking race, together with Bautista and Dovizioso who won this Turkish race.

125cc

Simone Corsi, on his RS of the Fontana Racing team, beat Joan Olive also on an Aprilia RS bike, and got his first triumph and second podium of his career. The rider from Rome dominated the race at the Instanbul Park taking the audience's breath away.
He performed a great start and led the group in the first bends. In the seventh lap he led the race and kept on leading it for the next six laps, also gaining a quite good distance. Olive got the second position and joined the group again, performing a series of overtakings. The Spanish rider decided to improve the pace and gain a second, but after many overtakings the rider from Rome started pressing him and eventually reached him only four laps before the race ended, leaving a remarkable gap between the riders behind.


MX1 Portugal

Chico Chiodi finished the first race in 23rd place. 2nd race was more succesful after some tough battles in the 2nd race he finished 21st. His teammate Melotte is still injured but will be back at the Italian GP on may 6th. Hopefully by then the MXV will finish in the top 20.

Italian Supermoto

After getting the Pole Position Thierry van den Bosch wins both races in front of Bernd Hiemer(KTM) and Adrien Chareyre(Husqvarna). Van den Bosch now ranks 2nd in the Italian Championship behind Massimo Beltrami (Honda).

Shiver SL750 previews & pics

The new Shiver SL750 is going to be released soon (rumours say June for Europe) and a couple of journalists are testing a preproduction model on a top secret test track somewhere in Italy.

The new Shiver is rumoured to cost less than 9000 euros. (6000 pounds)

There are also rumoured floating around of a Shiver with full fairings to compete with the Japanese 600's. But that remains to be seen. The naked Shiver will be officially released in May. The 850 will be released in June.

Check out some new pics of the Shiver in action at the track here

Racing News

Aprilia Dominates in British & German supermoto championships

In the first leg of the national German championship, a boisterous Jerome Giraudo scored a double in the S2 class atop the SXV 5.5. The official Aprilia rider (who earlier raced for Peter Ottel’s team in the German championship) took part in the S1 race that was held on the same day with the SXV 4.5, finishing in first and second place. In Great Britain, Christian Iddon, closed out the three officials heats in the British championships with a first, second, and third place atop an Aprilia SXV 5.5, putting him at the top of the provisionary classification.

First MX1 World Championship with the MXV

Aprilia’s re-entry into the Motocross World Championships saw Chicco Chiodi qualify despite a fall at the start of the timed qualifying sessions. The rider from Brescia competed with pain in his foot and gave it his all to register the 28th best-time overall. In Race 1, he finished just outside the point zone in 21st place. In Race 2, he absolutely would have done better than 23rd had he not been set back by a fall that forced him to return to the box and replace the exhaust system. The MXV 4.5 twin remains trustworthy even on sandy terrains.

Aprilia Demo Ride 2007

With the Aprilia demo ride Aprilia offers everybody in Italy to ride the latest models. During this summer you will also be able to ride the soon to be released Shiver 750 & Mana 850.

Rijeka, 21 April
Magione, 2 June
Vallelunga, 23 June
Varano, 14 July
Racalmuto, ? October

More info here

Aprilia of the Week: Nathan's Tuono

Please introduce yourself first. Who are you and where are you from?

Nathan Jenkins
Fayetteville, AR

Which aprilia model do you own?

2007 Tuono R, matte black

Did you add any mods to your bike?

-leo vince ti low-mounts
-updated map (2?)
-pc3
-15tooth front
-frame/axle sliders all around
-license plate elimination/relo kit
-ohlins rear suspension
-higher windscreen

Why did you buy an aprilia and what do you like so much about it?

I was looking for a naked street bike. Almost bought a speed triple, monster, 950SM, or a FZ1. but then I learned about Aprilia by accident from an online forum, checked it out, read reviews, and decided it was perfect for me. There is no aprilia dealer in arkansas, so i drove to New Braunfels, tx to AF1 racing to buy from the guys down there. They took care of me and did a great setup job, so i'm very pleased.

And what don't you like about your bike?

I don't get enough time to ride!!!! Could handle a little more wind protection.

If you could ask Aprilia to design a new model what would it be?

Street legal dual-purpose version of the 550 supermoto

And finally do you have any motorcycling tips for the readers of Aprilia News?

Wear proper gear no matter what, ride within your limits.

Do you want your Aprilia to be featured in Aprilia of the Week? Go find out how here