The history of biking is littered with iconic, legendary bikes. Some owe their fame to the sporting laurels and the exploits of famous riders, while others have simply become everyday legends: highly desirable objects within everyone’s grasp, or posters put up on bedroom walls in the hope of being able to fill the piggy-bank enough to turn dreams into reality. Very few, if any, however, encapsulate the essence of both categories, and the Aprilia RS 250 is the undeniable queen of this very exclusive group.
We have previously talked about this ’90s icon right here on the community website in an earlier article. This time around, instead, we’re talking about an anecdote, a behind the scenes look, a glimpse into a different Aprilia era and the atmosphere that reigned at the time, as well as the alchemy of technological passion and research that led to the birth and the success of the RS 250.
It was back in the winter of 1994 and, after many months of work and development, Aprilia was finally ready to unveil the 250cc two-stroke weapon with which to wage war on the Japanese brand names, no longer only during the GP races but also on the world’s markets. The prospects of winning were equally good because the Noale “mosquito” was an absolute little rocket: the bike itself was solid and sleek with brakes that were worthy of a racing machine, and a lot of careful, in-depth work had gone into the Suzuki-derived engine, which now put out more torque and more horsepower at high revs.
It lacked absolutely nothing and even the samples of the Replica Reggiani livery were ready to go. After almost a year of testing, the reliability of the RS 250 had been well and truly confirmed; Indeed, the bike had performed so well that the testers wanted to submit the bike to a final challenge, an “extreme” test that was perhaps more appropriate for a “tourer” than a street racer: many kilometres in just a few days, that was the plan. However, it was December and around Noale the temperatures hovered just above zero degrees and the roads were dirty and icy… so where could they go? Easy: why not head down to the warmer climes of Sicily?
