BIKES YOU NEVER SEEN BEFORE: THE 2008-’09 APRILIA MXV450 TWIN

The Aprilia MXV450 (above) was the motocross version of the twin cylinder model. It also came in street legal and Supermoto version.

The twin-cylinder Aprilia RXV450 and motocross focused MXV450 didn’t arrive on showrooms until 2008 through 2010. It wasn’t helped by the fact that under AMA rules, twins were banned from racing. However, the Aprilia MXV450 was the last twin-cylinder motocross bike raced in the Grand Prix series. Back in 2010 New Zealand’s Josh Coppins took it to 12th place overall in the 450 World Championships. The 77-degree V-Twin, fuel-injected engine was fueled by two 38mm Dell’Orto throttle bodies. The engine featured dry sump lubrication with the oil tank integrated inside the crankcase. There was separate lubrication for the gearbox and engine. It had 50mm Marzocchi upside-down forks and a Sachs shock. The 2009 Aprilia MXV450 has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $8499 and a claimed weight of 250 pounds (more like 270 pounds). It was sold in the United States, but was not a sales success.

Today, we think that twin cylinder engines are for adventure bikes, not true, dedicated dirt bikes. Back in 2008, Aprilia had other ideas. The Aprilia RXV street-legal model and MXV motocross version had a computer-controlled management system that controls the spark and the fuel mixture. It also came with “Big bang” and “Screamer” ignition settings, plus hard and soft maps. The two throttle bodies point straight down from the airbox under the tank. The heads are very compact with a single overhead cam driving four valves per cylinder. The exhaust system is a serpentine affair that exits at the front of the forward cylinder and the back of the rear cylinder. It looks pretty wild.

The Aprilia RXV450 would be a sales success in today’s adventure bike market, but the street legal off-road model was too far ahead of its time.

The frame is just as unconventional. It features round steel tubes bonded to cast aluminum sections around the swingarm pivot. The aluminum swingarm is triangular in shape, sort of like what you might see on a MotoGP bike. It’s certainly light for a twin since it is much lighter than the typical twin-cylinder adventure bike. It was not a big seller, although various versions would pop out of the April factory every couple years, but its hey-day was 2008-2010.