Aprilia RS 250Aprilia entered competitive motorsports around the mid-1970s and started coming up through the ranks in the fiercely competitive 250cc class. By the mid-1980s, it was a serious contender to the likes of dominant Japanese marques such as Honda and Yamaha. By 1994, they had a bike worthy of winning championships in the Aprilia RS 250.The original racing bike, as ridden by Max Biaggi and a youthful Valentino Rossi, was a modified two-stroke Suzuki design that was a triumph on the race track. Despite its run of just ten years, it is revered to this day, having won its first world title with Biaggi at the throttle in its debut year.What was so appealing about this small-capacity racer? To start, the Suzuki engine was incredibly reliable and powerful for its size. This was then optimized with tweaks to its cooling, ignition, and gearing, as well as its fiery two-stroke V-twin engine that left the bike bursting with vitality once you got it near the red. While it wouldn't be described as comfortable, its setup inspired confidence, buoyed by its Brembo four-piston disc brakes up front and upside-down forks, making this a favorite among professionals and amateurs alike.This performance, coupled with an exciting rider experience and killer looks, made the Aprilia RS 250 a much-loved example within its class. As two-stroke motorcycles were consigned to history, parts became scarcer, and durability issues set in, this once-popular machine is much harder to come by and, as a result, will continue to appreciate in value as a classic of its time.Aprilia Dorsoduro 750What happens when you take a high-powered dirt bike, upgrade the brakes and suspension, and add slick tires? You get a street-savvy road rocket known as the supermoto, and while this is a relatively niche segment, it produces some great machines like the KTM 990 Supermoto R and Ducati Hypermotard 950 S. The Aprilia Dorsoduro 750 was one such machine that was just as good as any of its contemporaries and as much fun to ride.At first glance, the Dorsoduro looked a little intimidating, with its over 34-inch seat height, long travel suspension, sporty 17-inch wheels, and compact trellis frame that housed a considerable 749cc engine. It suggested significant potential, like a coiled spring, and by most accounts, that's precisely what it delivered. Equally at home in the city or on the track, the bike came into its own when thrown through tight twisties due to its excellent handling, light frame, and high riding position. It was characterized by its twin exhausts which were tucked, racing style, up under the seat, and aggressively styled-jagged faring.Beyond its looks and performance, the Dorsoduro 750 had plenty of fittings and features to keep you entertained. These included its preload-adjustable front and rear suspension, multiple switchable riding modes, and a toggled LCD that displayed plenty of useful data, including lap times and maximum speed, as well as an odometer, speed, temperature, and trip journal. It has since been updated as the Dorsoduro 900, which is a formidable motorcycle in its own right, but it was the much-loved original that deserves a place among the ranks of Aprilia's best motorcycles.Aprilia SXV550While TFT displays, large windshields, and heated hand grips are all well and good, sometimes you require a bike that strips everything down to the bare essentials and provides a fully-immersive riding experience, from the footpegs to the handlebars. As a 549cc supermoto, the Aprilia SXV550 was a race-bred road bike that was far from practical, yet it was so much fun to ride that it earned itself legions of fans thanks to its feisty engine and blistering performance.There is no doubt that the SXV550 came from good stock, as its smaller cousin, the SXV450, had previously won the S2 Supermoto World Championship while still in its prototype stage. The engine was a masterpiece of design, with its 77-degree V-twin that eliminated vibration, delivering a silky-smooth performance even in the higher rev ranges. This orientation also meant it was light and compact for its engine capacity, facilitating a nimble ride while delivering incredible power.While the Aprilia SXV550 did include two-stage mapping to tune your ride to the road conditions, this was ultimately a minimalist rocket that, in all fairness, was just a little bit silly, in the best sense of the word. Maybe the good folks at Aprilla realized this, as it was pulled from production after an all-too-brief six-year tenure – but what a glorious few years it was.[Featured image by StealthFX via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | Public domain]Aprilia RSV MilleAprilia came to the forefront of competitive motorsports with two highly successful models, namely its RS 125 and the previously-mentioned RS 250. However, having cut its racing teeth with smaller capacity sport bikes, Aprilia seemed unhappy to rest on its laurels and was soon to join the ranks of liter-class racers with this impressive 1998 offering that is still often talked about over twenty years since its discontinuation.Much of the RSV Mille's success can be attributed to its namesake 998cc engine. The Rotax-designed power unit was a fuel-injected, 60-degree V-twin that was lightweight, compact, and produced 115 horsepower. This was then encased in a smart aluminum frame and aerodynamic, sculpted faring, balanced on Showa forks and a Sachs mono-shock, given a little spit and polish, and released upon the late-1990s masses.Despite being a first outing for Aprilia among the ranks of its more experienced Japanese and homegrown competition, the Mille proved to be an astounding debut. It might be a little clunky in the lower rev ranges, but as soon as you opened the throttle, the bike performed like a true purebred racer. It was also built very well, with strong reliability ratings, and was even produced in a racing homologation version for the World Superbike Championship.Perhaps most importantly, this was the bike that brought Aprilia into the fold among the big leagues of sport bike manufacturers. While the company had been highly impressive in the competitive 125cc and 250cc racing classes, the Aprilia RSV Mille heralded a new era of high-capacity, high-performance motorcycles for Aprilia as the first in the much-lauded RSV family of bikes.