No one, not even the béchamel-scoffing staff at Aprilia, expected the Aprilia RS-GP to be this good in 2026. Looking like a stealth bomber that’s been mated with a light aircraft using UFO technology, Aprilia’s black beast looks amazing. But just looking good doesn’t always equate to performance – ask Kurtis Roberts… who coincidentally falls short in both camps.
Fortunately the RS-GP is not Kurtis; instead it’s an absolute weapon on the track. And we love it.
So in honour of Aprilia we’ve matched their riders with one of their road bikes in this mildly confusing article.
Bike: RSV4 1100 Factory
The RSV4 1100 Factory (shortened to RSV4 from now on because I can’t be bothered typing the full name each time) is a truly extraordinary piece of kit. The Italian beauty is less of a bike and more of a 217-horsepower revenge plot against financial responsibility, common sense and a lasting marriage.
But who cares, as every owner can look magnificent for approximately four glorious minutes before the fuel light comes back on.
Rider: Ai Ogura
Just like the RSV4, Ai is an extraordinary piece of kit that’s incredibly fast, incredibly popular… and now incredibly expensive to buy. And just like the bike, the Japanese rider manages to harness all this raw speed with plenty of control and sensibility.
Bike: RS 250
The 1990s were the peak of humanity. The music was simple, the drugs were fun and the internet hadn’t yet become annoying. Better still, Aprilia felt it was totally acceptable to give us the RS 250 – a 70-horsepower two-stroke Grand Prix refugee that threw the middle finger to modern safety standards, fuel economy, and anyone who believed bikes could be started in under 30 minutes and without a ritual sacrifice of premix oil.
Rider: Raul Fernandez
Like Raul, the RS 250 was very fast but also very temperamental – one additional centimetre past the official 37 km ‘full engine rebuild’ schedule and the unlucky owner found themselves in a hedge with a valueless seized paperweight.
And also like Raul, the RS 250 was despised by quite a few. Why? Well, if you did manage to start the bike (and avoided the seized-crank timebomb) all the neighbours would hate you for having to carefully spend the next 35 minutes revving the temperamental heap as the 130 decibels of angry wasps echoed around the vicinity.
Bike: RS 125
Like the RS 250, its little 125 cc brother was also an absolute belter of a bike that looked like it had come straight from Max Biaggi’s paddock. It may have had half the capacity, but it was much cheaper to buy and therefore insure than its bigger brother. Better still, in the 1990s the RS 125 could be legally purchased in the UK by any spotty 16-year-old who had obtained a piece of paper that showed they could ride around cones for 45 minutes.
Rider: Jorge Martin
Just like Martin, the RS 125 was small in stature but big on performance. Also like the brittle Spanish rider, Aprilia’s little beast was prone to crashing and falling to bits within three minutes of ownership. This was mainly due to new, inexperienced riders buying them on finance to look cool and pay later. And boy did they pay…
However, it’s somewhat comforting to know that every single surviving owner of an RS 125 will have spent time in ICU feeling like Jorge Martin himself.
Bike: Aprilia Moto 6.5
Aprilia’s Moto 6.5 designer, Philippe Starck, thought he knew better than everyone else and decided what the motorcycle world really needed was a giant lemon squeezer with a seat. But Starck convinced Aprilia that the Moto 6.5 was the future. Which it was for about 20 minutes.
But not only did this steamer look bad, it also went bad too thanks to its stupid rotary engine… which didn’t go down well with any bystanders who, like a morning kebab, wanted it out of their sight as quickly as possible.
Rider: Marco Bezzecchi
Like the Moto 6.5, Aprilia were convinced that, despite being like a biblical punishment, Bezzecchi was their future. And like the bike he was… for a short amount of time.
But after looking like the clear championship favourite, Marco has spent most weekends falling off, fighting with marshals, being injured or being banned, relegating himself to the scrap heap. Just like the 6.5.
