DREAM RIDES: Aprilia RSV Mille R Edwards Replica
By Luke Brackenbury
Aprilia pulled out of World Superbike racing with the RSV Mille at the end of 2002 when Noriyuki Haga took fourth place in the standings but with a win evading him.
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Haga, Aprilia and the then reigning World Superbike champion, Colin Edewards, went to MotoGP with the firm’s evil RS Cube three-cylinder missile in 2003 in what can only be described as a ‘testing’ season. But also that year, Aprilia pulled the covers off another special edition version of the Mille R, following 2002’s Haga edition.
The Edwards replica sported a paint scheme of the MotoGP bike, including his #45 and the same Akrapovic twin exhaust with titanium silencers from the Haga replica, but other changes over the standard Mille R included bigger throttle bodies, increased by 6mm to 57mm and a race-style ECU chip to make sure the bike got the most from the new carbon fibre airbox and those fancy exhausts.
Limited to 461 units, the bike cost £1500 more than a ‘stock’ RSV Mille R (£9900) at the time and saw a huge power increase, going from 130hp to a claimed 147hp.
The Bike Specialists have one in stock for £12,980 and the BeMoto-sponsored Dream Rides series from Bike World swung a leg over it. Check out the video below.