The Remarkable History of Aprilia

Aprilia is a renowned Italian motorcycle manufacturer owned by Piaggio. The company was founded by Alberto Beggio in 1945 after World War II. Aprilia made a simple start by producing bicycles and then moved on to produce scooters. However, it was destined to make a big name in motorcycle manufacturing. Currently, it is one of the best Italian motorcycle brands with a popular sports bike lineup. Despite making a start in motocross racing, Aprilia earned a big name in road racing by winning several international championships thanks to its high-powered racing motorcycles. Read this article to learn about the remarkable history of Aprilia.

Established in 1945 in Noale, Italy after the Second World War, Aprilia initially used to produce bicycles.

Aprilia’s journey as a motorcycle manufacturer started in 1968 after the founder, Alberto Beggio, handed over the company to his son, Ivano Beggio. Ivano decided to change the company’s direction to make it more innovative and profitable by manufacturing a motorcycle powered by a 50 cc engine. The first production motorcycles by Aprilia were mopeds, which were small motorcycles with both cycling pedals and a motorcycle engine, named Packi, Daniela, and Colibri.

Extending its lineup, Aprilia produced a motocross motorcycle in 1970, known as the Aprilia Scarabeo, available in two variants: 50 cc and 125 cc.

Aprilia continued to make progress as a motorcycle brand, starting its legacy by winning 1977 motocross championships in 125 cc and 250 cc categories thanks to Ivan Alborghetti from Milan, Italy, who rode the Aprilia motorcycle.

Ivan Alborghetti continued the association with Aprilia and performed well in the 1978 World Racing Championship. He finished in second spot in two individual races and sixth spot in the final race of the World Championship.

In the 1980s, Aprilia became a versatile motorcycle manufacturer by producing motorcycles in multiple categories, including road bikes, trial bikes, and enduros.

In 1985, Aprilia contracted with an Austrian engine manufacturer, Rotex, to design engines for some models.

The Aprilia AF1 was a small sports bike powered by a 50 cc or 125 cc engine. Meanwhile, the Aprilia Tuareg was a dual-sport bike fitted with a large fuel tank, specially designed for the Dakar Rally.

In 1987, the Aprilia AF1 won the first World Speed Championship at the San Marino Grand Prix.

In 1988, Aprilia participated in the French Grand Prix in the 125 cc category for the first time and won the race.

The Aprilia Amico was the first scooter manufactured by Aprilia in 1990, completely made from plastic, powered by a 50 cc engine.

• Valentino Rossi
• Massimiliano Biaggi
• Loris Capirossi
• Alessandro Gramigni
• Sakata
• Locatelli

In the scooters category, Aprilia further launched the Aprilia Gulliver, the SR, and the Leonardo to update its scooter lineup. These scooters were fitted with a four-stroke engine and large-diameter wheels.

Aprilia hired a renowned architecture and vehicle designer, Philippe Starck, to design a motorcycle that was later displayed at the Modern Art Museum in New York. 1995 was a successful year for the company as Max Biaggi sacked a total of nine victories at the Grand Prix World Championship, achieving the status of World Champions. In the same year, Aprilia also won the Manufacturer Title for the first time.

In 1996, Max Biaggi managed to win another Grand Prix World Championship, ensuring a winning streak of 3 times. The tremendous record helped Aprillia win the Manufacturer Title in 1996.

Aprilia decided to take its newly-introduced sports bike, the Aprilia RSV Mille, to the World Superbike Championship. This motorcycle was the first-ever large-displacement sports bike by Aprilia. The Aprilia RSV Mille was powered by a 998 cc engine capable of a horsepower of 128 hp and could attain a top speed of 178 mph.

In 2000, Aprilia became a giant motorcycle brand and decided to acquire two Italian motorcycle brands, Laverda and Moto Guzzi. The company also upgraded its scooter engines by including Direct Fuel Injection (DFI) technology to improve the fuel economy and comply with the emission guidelines.

The Aprilia RSV Mille Tuono was considered as the best motorcycle of the year as picked by several magazines. Despite being a naked bike, this motorcycle had a front fairing and high handlebars.

In 2004, Aprilia was acquired by one of the biggest Italian and worldwide vehicle manufacturers, Piaggio & Co. SpA. The acquisition made Piaggio the fourth-largest group, having its presence in 50 countries, a production capacity of 600,000 automobiles, and 1.5 billion Euros in sales.

In the 2007s world racing championship, Aprilia once again performed tremendously well in the 125 and 250 cc categories which made it earn the Manufacturer Title.

Aprilia won the Manufacturer Title once again in 2008 in 125 and 250 cc categories.

Aprilia’s success and dominance in the world racing championship made it a bigger brand than MV Agusta, having claimed victories more than 276 times.

2013 was another successful year for Aprilia as it finished the season while being undefeated and claiming 5 out of the first 6 positions on the podium.

Aprilia also won the Manufacturer Title for the third time consecutively.

In 2016, Aprilia Racing manufactured the first MotoGP motorcycle, known as the Aprilia RS-GP.

In 2019, Aprilia introduced the Aprilia RS 660 and the Aprilia Tuono 660 in the middleweight category.

Another successful motorcycle, the Aprilia RS 660 was launched. The Aprilia RS 660 was designed to capture the beginner and intermediate market. Despite being powered by a medium-sized engine (660 cc), it could attain a top speed of around 143 mph.

In 2021, Aprilia introduced a newly designed and more powerful V4 engine to ensure high speed and low weight in its motorcycles. The V4 engine design is better than an inline four-cylinder engine when it comes to high power output due to being fitted with stronger and shorter crankshafts. These crankshafts allow more number of revs, increasing the power output by the V4 engine.

Aprilia has a rich history of ruling race tracks with its powerful engine designs and fast motorcycles. The brand started its journey by producing bicycles and then moved on to manufacture scooters. Initially, Aprilia produced off-road motorcycles, including enduros, dual-sports bikes, and trial bikes. Later, it discovered the passion for road racing and produced several road bikes, including sports bikes and MotoGP bikes which dominated the Grand Prix and World Road-Racing Championships. Today, Aprilia is considered to be one of the best Italian motorcycle brands with its versatile motorcycle lineup, serving worldwide markets.

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