The Aprilia RS250 is a 2-stroke 249 cc sport bike

Sport bike

A sport bike, also written as sportbike, is a motorcycle optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on paved roads, typically at the expense of comfort and fuel economy in comparison to less specialized motorcycles...

 made by Italian motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

 manufacturer Aprilia

Aprilia

Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle company, one of the seven marques owned by Piaggio, the world's fourth largest motorcycle manufacturer.Aprilia started as a scooter manufacturer, but has more recently come to be known for its race-winning sportbikes...

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The Aprilia RS250 features race oriented motorcycle with technology derived from Aprilia's racing experience. It is inspired by the Aprilia RSW250 Grand Prix motorcycle used by names such as Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi, , is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with nine Grand Prix World Championships to his name – seven of which are in the premier class.Following his father, Graziano Rossi,...

, Max Biaggi

Max Biaggi

Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi is an Italian motorcycle racer and winner of the 2010 World Superbike Championship. Throughout this racing career, he has won the 250cc World Championship four times, and finished as runner-up in both the 500cc and MotoGP championships...

 and Loris Capirossi

Loris Capirossi

Loris Capirossi is a retired Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, who competed between and...

 in MotoGP races.

History

The RS250 was designed by Aprilia to resemble their GP250 bike to celebrate their success in the championship. The Aprilia RS250 is powered by a modified Suzuki RGV250

Suzuki RGV250

- Introduction :The RGV250 is a high performance sports bike which had a great number of its features and design clues based on the Grand Prix technologies and ideas. It is a race-replica based on Suzuki's 250 cc GP bikes from 1987 to 1998, the RGV Gamma V-2 racer...

 (VJ22) engine which is prepared by Rotax

Rotax

BRP-Powertrain GmbH & Co KG , commonly known simply as Rotax, is an Austrian engine manufacturer. It develops and produces four-stroke and advanced two-stroke engines for Bombardier Recreational Products products as well as for motorcycles, karts,...

, changes include a revised ECU, Aprilia-designed expansion chambers, barrels and airbox. The twin 34 mm flat slide Mikuni carburettors are retained from the RGV.

Chassis

The frame is a cast twin spar aluminium/magnesium alloy with thin-walled monocoque reinforcements, with the engine as a fully stressed member. The banana swingarm is made out of the same polished aluminium alloy as the rest of the frame. The reason for the swingarm's banana shape is to allow the expansion chambers to run unobstructed under the engine to improve ground clearance in turns.

The forks are 41 mm Showa (on the 98> models) inverted units and are adjustable compression and rebound, the rear suspension is a Sachs mono-shock which is adjustable for preload,compression and rebound. The front brakes of the RS 250 are Brembo

Brembo

Brembo S.p.A. is a manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. It was established in Bergamo, Italy in 1961. Soon after the company was formed, it specialised in disc brakes, which were exclusively imported from the United Kingdom at the time...

dual 298 mm discs with Brembo Oro four-piston calipers. The rear brake is a single 220 mm disc with a Brembo twin-piston caliper.

The front & rear rims are lightweight, 5 spokes, cast aluminum rims are 3.50x17 up front (3.0x17 on the older models) and 4.50x17 out back that require tires of 120/60x17 and 150/60x17, respectively.

Instrument panel

The RS gauges feature a digital instrument panel that gives the rider a variety of information. It will display maximum and average speed readings in kilometers or miles per hour, an adjustable rev limiter warning zone indicator,water temperature in choice of scale, battery charge indicator a clock,and a chronometer that can remember up to 40 lap times.

Revision

In 1998, Aprilia released an all new look for the RS250, also referred to as RS250GP1 to celebrate Aprilia's victory in the 250 cc GP racing class. Its appearance is similar to Marco Melandri's RSWGP250 bike, with the same engine and frame as the pre-1998 model. The bike has a dummy ram-air intake. Changes include:

• Revised overall bike styling with more modern senses.
• New "showa" front forks and adjustable rear ride height
• New style instrument panel with new functionality.
• New rims and tires: the front rim is now a 3.5x17, instead of 3.0x17 as used on pre-1998 model. The front tire is a 120/60x17 instead of the 110/60x17 mounted on the pre-1998