The Power of Two
The Power of Two
3x3
Aprilia RSV Mille Ducati 996 Honda RC51
DID ANYONE ELSE sense the irony in the opening round of this year's World Superbike Championship at Kyalami, South Africa? Having spent a dozen years fielding 750cc V-Fours in an increasingly unfair fight against the dominant Ducati 851-996cc V-Twins, Honda finally debuted a liter-Twin of its own and won the first time out. Except that in doing so, Honda's Colin Edwards traded punches not with the Ducati 996 of Carl Fogarty, but with the Yamaha YZF-R7 of Noriyuki Haga. Maybe the Ducati isn’t the bike to beat anymore?
To find out, we included the current crop of twincylinder Superbikes in the mother of all group flogs. Ten sportbikes (three each Twins, 900s and 600s, plus Suzuki’s GSX-R750), 10 riders, two long days on the street and two days at the new Spring Mountain Motorsports Park in Pahrump, Nevada. Not a racetrack per se, the 2.2-mile road course is operated by the Bragg-Smith Advanced Driving School, and boasts numerous elevation changes and all manner of comers. The official track map shows 10 turns, but if you count every single bend, there are more like 17. It's definitely a workout!
It’s Europe vs. Japan in a quest for the new Superbike king
BRIAN CATTERSON
Leading off our group was the defending World Superbike Champion and reigning King of the Twins, the Ducati 996. Steadily refined since its
¡994 debut, the venerable desmoquattro received a 4mm bore job last year that upped displacement from 916 to 996cc, with power increased accordingly. Changes to the year-2000 996 are largely cosmetic, including works-replica gunmetal-gray paint on the steel-trellis frame and the new
Marchesini five-spoke wheels.
Throw a leg over the Ducati and its intent is immediately apparent. This appealed to CW Assistant Art Director Brad Zerbel, who commented, ‘T dig the Ducati for being an undiluted race-replica. There are no compromises made to
turn it into an all-rotinder.”
The 996 is a tiny machine, with a low, low windscreen, even lower handlebars, sky-high footpegs and a fuel tank slimmer than that of some motocrossers. It’s as if someone stuffed a big VTwin into a 250cc GF chassis. The race-bred ergos gear, launching the Ducati from a standstill was an exercise in excessive clutch slippage.
Editorial Director Paul Dean summed up the Ducati best: “I acknowledge that the 996 is the bazillion-time World and U.S. Superbike Champion, but it needs better rear-view mirrors. If it had them, it would see that the competition is closing in on it—fast!” Going into this test, Honda’s RC51 was the favorite. It is, after all, the newest machine in the class, and was still puffy-chested from its Kyalami WSB victory.
Like the Ducati, the Honda is small, yet it’s more tolerant of larger riders. Its fuel tank seems slim unless you just climbed off one of the other Twins, and its seat, while thin, is much more comfortable than the Ducati’s.
The most commonly voiced remark regarding the RC51 was how easy it is to ride quickly, a condition that had a few testers suggesting that it might be slow. Nothing could be farther from the truth: The Honda in fact made the most peak power of our three Twins, and was within 1 mph of the Aprilia in top speed and .02 of a second in the quarter-mile. True, the Ducati edged out the Honda and the Aprilia in our dragstrip
Aprilia RSV Mule
Ups A Freshest styling A Broadest powerband A Comfiest riding position
Downs ▼ Odd pulsating clutch lever ▼ Weird “Jetsons” tailpiece ▼ Entertaining dash is hard to read
ensured that no one was comfortable on the street. Taller riders felt cramped, shorter riders felt the reach to the bars was too far, and everyone complained that the seat pad was too thin.
On the racetrack, however, the Ducati spoiled all who rode it with its pinpoint steering, unparalleled front-end feedback, virtually unlimited cornering clearance and tractable power delivery. Steering was typically heavy, but less neutral than we remembered-probably because our testbike was shod with Pirelli Dragon radiais rather than the usual Michelin Pilots. On our second track day, we fitted all three Twins with V-profile Dunlop D207 Stars, and the Ducati’s handling improved dramatically.
Honda RC51
With Road Test Editor Don Canet busy evaluating the Fours, we enlisted guest tester Mark Cemicky to do timed laps on the Twins. Hopping on the Ducati first, Cemicky reeled off a string of low-1:50s before posting a best lap at 1:49.54.
Cemicky praised the Ducati’s exacting fuel injection, taut suspension and strong-yet-predictable brakes, but was less enamored of the stubborn gearbox, an uncharacteristic trait that cost precious time on the racetrack.
Exacerbating the shifting problem was the stiff pull of the clutch lever. Also, between the dry clutch and the tall first testing, but that’s because it’s the least powerful; the others were hindered by their tendency to wheelie.
The RC51 seems slow because of the smooth, linear manner in which it puts power to the ground. At least once you’re up to speed; the EFI is a tad abrupt off the very bottom, but you only notice this while riding slowly through the pits or around town. On the racetrack, the quick-revving, four-cylinder-like character of the engine results in rapid-fire upshifts down the straightaways. Pity the exhaust note is so muted; it’d be pretty exciting with a set of slip-on mufflers.
Honda RC5 1
Ups Most refined Most powerful Most affordable
Downs Least cornering clearance Least fuel range Least available
Ducati 996
Ups A Timeless looks and sound A Most adjustable chassis A No more sui-sidestand!
Downs ▼ Can timeless looks be dated? ▼ Great sound can’t hide lack of power ▼ Least bang for the buck
The RC51 exhibits crisp, exacting steering that is lighter and more neutral than that of the other Twins. Chassis rigidity and suspension compliance are superb, imparting the bike with a solid, together feeling through transitions and over rough pavement.
But while the RC51 is generally stable, it can be made to headshake while exiting bumpy comers hard on the r~\ gas-not surprising considering it’s the only Twin not fitted with a steering damper.
Shod with gummy Stars in place of the stock D207s, the RC51 was second-quickest around the racetrack, clocking a 1:48.06. Cemicky echoed the other testers’ comments regarding the RC’s user-friendliness, but complained that the ridiculously long footpeg feelers touched down too easily in turns. The left one, in fact, fell off, which subsequently allowed the kickstand to ground hard enough to lever the rear tire off the pavement! Because the RC51 has no provision for ride-height adjustment, we maxed out shock-spring preload, then dialed in rebound damping to suit.
Cemicky also noted that while the brakes were powerful and had good feel, they exhibited an odd “servo” characteristic whereby they grabbed harder even as lever pressure remained constant.
Everyone remarked that the high-tech, LCD bargraph tach was difficult to read, except when it was backlit at night. There’s a message there somewhere.
But the RC51 ’s most significant flaw is its pitiful fuel mileage and resultant limited range. It would be tempting to ride the bike to the World Superbike races at Laguna Seca, for example, until you stop to think of how many places you’d run out of gas en route.
Be that as it may, Honda deserves credit for finally building an affordable Superbike platform. 4i Unfortunately, as a result, the limited number of RC51 s slated to come to America this year sold out almost immediately. If you really want one, all you can do is place a deposit on a 2001 model. And wait.
Which brings us to the Aprilia. The RSV Mille had a so-so debut World Superbike season last year in the hands of veteran Peter Goddard, but this year, with former champ Troy Corser in the saddle, the team is off to a great start. Corser put it on pole in South Africa, then ran with the leaders before finishing fourth in both races.
Physically taller and more spacious than the 996 or the RC51, the Mille reminded some testers of the old Ducati 851/888. As such, it fits taller riders better than the other Twins, yet shorter riders are comfortable, too.
With the highest windscreen and handlebars, the most thickly padded seat, a narrow tank to rival the Ducati’s and reasonably low pegs, the Aprilia is outfitted best for the street. It also has the trickest dashboard, with no fewer than five pushbuttons that let you toggle the LCD displays to show the odometer, tripmeter, average speed, maximum speed, time of day you can even record your own lap times by fingering the passing-light button. The programmable shift light is a nice touch, too-and a necessary one because glare sometimes makes the dash difficult to read.
Between its fresh styling and distinctive exhaust note, the Mille was unanimously proclaimed the most “different” of the Twins. Unique in its class, the Aprilia employs a twinplug, dual-counterbalanced 60-degree V-Twin built by Rotax in Austria. Not as soulful or smooth as its 90-degree rivals, the Mille's motor is nonetheless invigorating, with the strongest low-end and broadest powerband of this group. Provided you make the necessary “adjustments,” that is...
The Mille is sold in the U S. in “restricted” form, with baffles in its airbox and muffler to let it pass DOT noise and emissions Standards. Removing the baffles and cutting one of the wires exiting the CPU to activate an alternate “map” boosts power by 10 horsepower and 5 foot-pounds of torque. We’d consider this cheating if it weren’t for the fact that it uses the stock parts! Virtually every Mille sold will end up so “modified.”
With transmission ratios geared more for the street than the racetrack, the Aprilia predictably worked the best around town. Complaints centered around the unusual pulsating clutch lever, a side-effect of the vacuum-assisted diaphragm that lightens lever pull while providing a degree of wheelchatter-reducing clutch slippage during downshifts.
What surprised us was how well the Mille performed on the racetrack. Main credit here goes to the engine, which combines traditional twin-cylinder bottom-end grunt with four-cylinder top-end zing. With power everywhere, shifting becomes almost optional. You find yourself running a gear taller through the turns, then saving an upshift (or two) by revving it out down the following straight. It’s remarkable!
The chassis, too, is remarkable, though it takes some getting used to. Like the Ducati, our test Aprilia arrived on Pirelli Dragon radiais that made the steering anything but neutral. The bike resisted turning, particularly under braking, then fell in to the point that it felt like the front end would wash out. Once we fitted the D207 Stars, however, the Mille’s handling was magically transformed.
To tap into the Aprilia’s full potential, you have to play by its rules. The bike likes you to sit back on the saddle, with one cheek hanging off the inside and the other butted (sorry) up against the corresponding cutout in the tailpiece. It also likes you to get your braking over with while you’re straight up and down, then to let off the brakes, slam it over on its side and be amazed at how many lateral g’s a motorcycle can pull through a comer.
As Cemicky said after his timed laps, “The Aprilia makes you work for your speed, but it feels great when you do it right.”
Cemicky turned a best lap of 1:47.69 on the Mille, praising its slick-shifting gearbox and smooth clutch actuation, which he appreciated while downshifting leaned over through the fast righthander approaching the final chicane. The brakes and suspension earned thumbs-up, too, as did the abundant cornering clearance.
In the end, the Aprilia occupies the happy middle ground between the high-priced Ducati, w'hose undeniable beauty is fleeting, and the affordable yet unobtainable Honda. By combining the Italian style of the 996 with the Japanese refinement of the RC51, the RSV Mille truly offers the best of both worlds.
Aprilia probably won’t capture the World Superbike title this year. But for our money, in our mortal hands, on the street and on the racetrack, the Mille is already the champ.□
