Description
Please Note: In response to customer requests, we are implementing an automatic bid bump: if your proxy bid meets or exceeds the reserve price, bidding will jump up to meet that price and you will see “Reserve price has been met” under the price. Please contact abhi@iconicmotorbikes.com if you have any questions!
Additional photos of this Aprilia RS250 are available here for your perusal.
Riding Aprilia’s quarter-liter GP mount, Max Biaggi secured back-to-back-to-back world titles in ’94, ’95, and ’96.. Like Paul Smart’s Desmo racer had done for Ducati roughly two decades prior, Max’s success achieved on the RSV250 put Aprilia on the map and helped to establish the small Italian firm as a true contender on the world stage.
Taking advantage of the factory race effort’s triumphs, in 1994 Aprilia released a road-legal replica version of the RSV250 known as the RS250. Powering the RS was a modified version of the liquid-cooled, 249cc, two-stroke, 90-degree V-Twin from Suzuki’s RGV250. The RS’s engine utilized the Suzuki’s 34mm Mikuni flat slide carbs, though it featured its own Aprilia-designed expansion chambers, barrels, air-box, and exhaust system, a revised ignition and ECU, and a higher compression ratio. Building on the already well-designed single-crank V-Twin developed by Suzuki, the changes made in Noale afforded the RS more mid-range power. Married to a six-speed transmission, the RS250’s engine was similar to the motor found in Aprilia’s GP mount, albeit with a bore and stroke of 56mm X 50mm versus the race bike’s square 54mm X 54mm setup. The RS generated 29.5ft-lbs of torque at 10,750rpm and around 70hp at 11,900rpm — just shy of its 12,000rpm redline.
What really made the RS250 special, however, was its chassis design. Derived from the bikes built by Aprilia’s factory race program, the RS250 used a polished alloy twin-spar frame paired with an adjustable magnesium alloy banana swing-arm. The trick alloy frame was fitted with 41mm inverted Marzocchi fork and a mono-shock in back — both adjustable for preload and rebound damping.
Rolling on 17-inch, five-arm, cast aluminum rims, the RS250 and its race-bred chassis afforded its rider incredibly sharp handling. Slowing the V-Twin was a set of dual 298mm discs pinched by four-piston Brembo Serie Oro calipers out front and a single 220mm unit bit by a dual-pot caliper in the rear. Its GP-inspired bodywork not only looked the business but gave the RS one very slippery drag coefficient. Tipping the scales at just 310 lbs dry, the RS boasted a top speed of over 130 mph, and a standing quarter-mile time of 12.5-seconds flat.
Though over two decades have passed since this machine left the factory, the track-oriented V-Twins are regarded incredibly highly today. MCN went as far as to call the RS250, “Simply one of the very best, least-compromised sports motorcycles money can buy”, and Visor Down more recently stated, “The real problem with the RS250 is that if you want one, a good one, you’re too late.”
This example is VIN: ZD4LD0000S0051604, Series Number: 1324.
The odometer shows 15,237 kilometers (9,467 miles).
This came to us from the collection in South Africa that we’ve recently been selling. We do not have maintenance history on it, but in preparation for the listing, we had Olly install a new battery, flush the transmission oil, install a new front brake reservoir, and clean/sync the carbs.
He noted that the tires are from 2015 and 2019 and that the brakes are at roughly 70%/85%.
He also noted that the frame has cracked and been welded and that a small crack has since formed on the front facing edge of the weld.
Modifications:
Loris Reggiani Replica livery – Aprilia created 500 Reggiani Replicas in 1995, this appears to be a replica of those replicas as the Mobil 1 “decals” are painted on and are incorrect. It has Reggiani’s signature in the “L” of Aprilia on both lower fairings, but those are painted as well.
Tyga rearsets with carbon fiber heel guards.
The top triple has been powdercoated.
Currently located at our facility in Santa Monica, California (please make an appointment for an inspection), this Aprilia is offered on a clean Oregon title. Have any RS250 stories or questions about this listing? Let us know in the “Comments” tab!
Please Note: In response to customer requests, we are implementing an automatic bid bump: if your proxy bid meets or exceeds the reserve price, bidding will jump up to meet that price and you will see “Reserve price has been met” under the price. Please contact abhi@iconicmotorbikes.com if you have any questions!