Aprilia began as a post-war bicycle business founded by Alberto Beggio. Under Ivano Beggio it moved strongly into motorcycles and competition. Lightweight two-strokes built a generation of road-racing credibility, the RSV Mille brought a large V-twin superbike, and the RSV4 made a compact four-cylinder V engine central to Aprilia’s modern performance identity.
Motorcycles / Manufacturers / Aprilia
Motor Museum · Motorcycles · Since 1945
Aprilia
Aprilia moved from bicycles and small-capacity machines into racing two-strokes, big V-twins and the compact V4 superbike.
1945motorcycle era begins
Italyorigin
3featured bikes
6catalogue bikes
Origins
Alberto Beggio and Ivano Beggio
Read the manufacturer through the machines that changed its engineering, racing, design, market or cultural meaning.
Featured bikes
Three turning points.
The featured layer picks the motorcycles that most clearly changed this manufacturer’s technology, market or identity.
RS 250
1995 · sports
RS 250
One of the last great road-legal quarter-litre two-stroke sport bikes.
RSV Mille
1998 · superbike
RSV Mille
The motorcycle that established Aprilia as a manufacturer of full-scale litre performance bikes rather than only small racing two-strokes.
Tuono 1000 R
2002 · roadster
Tuono 1000 R
An early and influential example of the superbike-derived hyper-naked formula.
Museum catalogue
Bikes through time.
Each bike is treated like a museum object: what it was, why it mattered and where it sits in the manufacturer’s wider story.
1990s
1995–2002 · sports · FEATURED
RS 250
The RS 250 combined a highly developed two-stroke twin with aluminium chassis engineering in a road bike closely associated with Aprilia’s Grand Prix identity.
Why it matters: One of the last great road-legal quarter-litre two-stroke sport bikes.
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RS 250
1998–2003 · superbike · FEATURED
RSV Mille
The RSV Mille moved Aprilia into the large-capacity superbike class with a compact 60-degree V-twin and aluminium chassis.
Why it matters: The motorcycle that established Aprilia as a manufacturer of full-scale litre performance bikes rather than only small racing two-strokes.
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RSV Mille
2000s
2002–2010 · roadster · FEATURED
Tuono 1000 R
The Tuono stripped the fairing from Aprilia’s superbike platform while preserving much of its chassis and engine performance.
Why it matters: An early and influential example of the superbike-derived hyper-naked formula.
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Tuono 1000 R
2006–2011 · supermoto
SXV 550
The SXV 550 used an exceptionally compact V-twin in a lightweight supermoto chassis, making it far more exotic than most road-legal singles in the category.
Why it matters: A technically audacious specialist motorcycle whose performance came with equally specialist ownership demands.
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SXV 550
2009–present · superbike
RSV4
The RSV4 used a compact V4 engine and adjustable racing-oriented chassis, then became the basis of Aprilia’s successful World Superbike programme.
Why it matters: The machine that made the compact V4 the core of Aprilia’s modern high-performance identity.
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RSV4