[NoKneeDown]

Such beautiful and functional machinery from a relatively new manufacturer. Looks like the "Ducati mystique" has a real life opponent as this bike looks anything BUT Japanese.

Will the R have an inherent advantage in the test over the others because of its suspensory bits and the price at which they are attained?? You will no doubt not compare apples with slightly inferior apples, correct? I mean, which 998 will you use?

 

[minime]

The 998 we're getting is at the same price point, 17k and change. The Honda costs less, yes, but it's damn good and should provide similar performance (if not up to or beyond) the Italian machinery. Should be an interesting flog.

 

[El_Flaco]

Ah, sweet bike! OK, I wouldn't mind having one of those around to compliment the SV... Oh, and that would be the port side of the swingarm, not the starboard side- minor correction.

 

[minime]

Damn it! Military man missed that one. It'll be corrected ASAP. thanks for the heads-up and glad you like the bike. It's a good'un.

 

[Huss]

De-restriction needed?

Fantastic! We ask for a big twin test and you deliver. Does the 2002 require fiddling with restrictors and wire clippings to achieve full power like the 2001 and previous models? I do wish though that the engine made more hp than my waay old Tl1000, of course I know the Aprilia is better but still for $17K...

 

[minime]

Re: De-restriction needed?

No fiddlin' required. It is what it is what it is. And to make it MO betta, we just got the pipe in the mail, John's picking up the chip tomorrow morning, so we'll do a product review thingie on the bike with that set-up pretty soon.

 

[wfowade]

Re: De-restriction needed?

How about considering the other bikes in the upcoming test on a dollar for dollar basis-ie, if you mod the Aprillia consider what you could do with similar dough and the Honda. I think the $ 6,000 to $8,000 added to the Honda would be a dramatically different bike than what comes off the showroom floor.

Cams, Pistons and Wheels, Oh My!!

 

[Alan]

Spelling:

deficit

not defecit....

 

[SilverBullet]

Re: De-restriction needed?

Does this mean that the Aprilia will be modified for the shootout? How about the other bikes?

Although I would very much like to read about the RSV with can & chip, I hope the bikes in the comparo are as stock as they come. All of them (or none of them).

 

[SilverBullet]

Thanks for the graphs.

It's great that MO is posting power/torque curves regularly when they sample a bike. Thanks guys, way to go!

 

[minime]

Re: De-restriction needed?

They will all be stock. Price will be considered. Tires will be same, same. Etc.

 

[Van]

Hey M.O., why would you pit the Mille R instead of the standard Mille against the RC51 and the base model 998?



Ducati offers both an R and even an S version of the 998 too, and HRC or Ohlins would be more than happy to spruce up your RC51 for you.



Just seems like you're stacking the deck in Aprilia's favor by going with the bucks up R version against the other manufacturer's plainwrap versions....

 

[Grappelli]

Not only that, but it's a common comparo. Lots of mags have done MilleR comparos. None have done barebones Mille comparos that I know of. And most of us can't afford the R anyway...

 

[donzi]

I don't think testing a 998R helps any for us U.S. residents cause it's not street legal and costs over 28k. The Mille R and 998 should be a good price comparison but I'd love to see a reg Mille thrown in to see how it competes with the RC-51.

 

[acruhl]

Funny thing about this Aprilia. It was sitting next to an MV Agusta F4S at my dealer, and as good and sesible as the Aprilia seems, I got the MV anyway. I don't regret it. Granted, I've only ridden the standard Mille, but I'd have to guess that the MV probably handles as well or better in many ways than the Mille R. The "real world" engine performance of the twins is probably better too, but the MV above 10 grand ain't a slouch. Besides, is it a crime to enjoy 4 cylinder bikes more than twins? I like the Aprilia and will probably own one someday, but it had to wait this time...



Why not include the MV in your comparison? Who says it has to be all twins? I see the price point argument being used above... The Aprilia Mille R and MV are only about $1500 apart...



Andy

 

[BBD_Racing]

Did anyone else notice the problem here? A week or so back, we heard how the Big G spanked all other big bore fwoars due to its massive power advantage (about 15 hp). Now we are to believe that the Mille R gives up 15 hp or so and goes faster than the R1 on the same roads.



Before you go telling me that the same thing happens in racing, please remember that in WSB, the twins make MORE power than the fours. Also note that in club racing, Ducs and Milles get soundly whipped by R6's.



So, guys, what makes both the Mille and the G1K faster than the R1 on a twisty road?

 

[minime]

On a tight, twisty road, the Aprilia was _easier_to_ride_ at an rapid pace than the R1. That's all we're saying.

 

[12er]

Damn it, I just spent that much yesterday on a used 4Runner. Then again the Ole lady would of killed me getting rid of her Jeep and buying another bike. Uh oh, I just admitted I am an SUV owner, please dont kill me. In my defence I do make between 10-20 trips to the slopes a season (snowboarding is an addiction, one I hope no clinic is ever made to cure) and I also camp and Backpack most summer weekends where two wheel drives fear to tread.



Still though, the Mille's have been catching my eye more and more, its only a matter of time. Oh, and Money...

 

[luvmyvfr]

"I took back the reigns of our Honda while Pandya-san played with Yamaha's finest." Followed in the next paragraph by, "Then I realized that, yes, we're moving right along, and the Yamaha's rear Pirelli Supercorsa isn't all that warm yet. It's just spun off the second tight corner in a row, and John's still ahead of me."

Er, which bike were you riding, Minime? Is this story believable, or, were you making it all up?

luvmyvfr

 

[Abe_Froman]

Power in the right places?

I'm confused about your comment comparing the type of power the Aprilia makes to the four-stroke GP fours. The other four-cylinder streetbikes are, by definition, already four-cylinder bikes with big-bore four cylinder power. How could the Mille improve (or even match) that situation? I have read countless comments about the GSXR and R1 having exactly (especially the GSXR) the type of "doesn't matter what gear you're in" power you claim the Aprilia to have, only the Aprilia obiously has much less. The seat-of-my-pants impression of my own R1 agrees. I would like to see how the Aprilia stacks up in a top-gear roll-on contest.

I think the Aprilia is a nice bike, don't get me wrong. At the same time, they shouldn't have ruined it with 1994 GSXR bodywork and lamer-than lame graphics. Aprilia KNOWS how to make a nice chassis look bad.