Aprilia

Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio.Two seasons later, on August 30, 1987, at San Marino Grand Prix in Misano Loris Reggiani's AF1 won the first World Speed Championship.[citation needed] In 1995, Aprilia commissioned Philippe Starck to design the Motò which was shown in New York's Modern Art Museum.In 2000, Aprilia launched the 50 cc DiTech (Direct Injection Technology) two stroke engine for scooters which provides high mileage and low emissions, and also the RST Futura, a sport tourer, and the ETV 1000 Caponord; an adventure touring motorcycle.In 2004, Aprilia was acquired by Piaggio & C. SpA, to form the world's fourth largest motorcycle group with 1.5 billion Euro in sales, an annual production capacity of over 600,000 vehicles, and a presence in 50 countries.[9] On 15 August 2010, Aprilia became the most successful motorcycle racing brand in history, surpassing fellow Italian MV Agusta with a record 276th victory.They began campaigning in the 500cc class in 1994 with a 250 V twin motor enlarged to 380cc in hopes of using its lighter weight and nimble handling as an advantage against the heavier, V4 engine bikes used by the competition.[11] The bike eventually displaced 430cc and had its best result with a third place by rider Doriano Romboni at the 1997 Dutch TT but, could never overcome power disadvantage during the starting line sprint and was withdrawn at the end of the 1997 season for further development.[11] Their first MotoGP effort, dubbed the RS Cube, was technically advanced but difficult to ride and performed poorly in the championship.[12] For example, they progressed with development of a V-2 500 cc Grand Prix bike when other teams were moving to V-4 configurations for what some believed was better and more usable power outputs.[16] Aprilia entered the Superbike World Championship in 1999 using a homologation special version of their V-twin road bike RSV Mille.[citation needed] Aprilia made their international racing debut in the Motocross World Championship competing in the 125cc class from 1976 until 1981 with a best result being a fifth place in the 1979 season with rider Corrado Maddi.