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More Information on the Aprilia RS Models | |
RS Cube[1][2] (often wrongly and redundantly referred
as RS3 or RS3 Cube, due to the original lettering RS3)
is a prototype race motorcycle that was developed by Aprilia to compete in the 2002 until 2004 MotoGP seasons.
It was unveiled at the Bologna Motor Show in December 2001 by Aprilia's
president, Ivano Beggio,
and their race boss, Jan Witteveen. The Cube is
powered by a 990 cc inline-3
four-stroke engine (to conform
to MotoGP rules of that time). The engine was
developed with large F1-derived input from Cosworth,
bringing many features not previously seen in Motorcycle development - this
includes Pneumatic Valves, Traction Control and ride-by-wire. On the bike's first outing in
2002 it showed promise and claimed the top speed in the early races. The highly
innovative engine and control system was poorly matched with the chassis which
was too stiff and unforgiving. Through the 2002 season a handful of updates were
made and in 2003 a 3-2-1 exhaust system was added to effectively de-tune the
engine. This was coupled with a change to a 6 injector fuel system and a host
of calibration changes which transformed the feel of the bike. At this point
Aprilia took over the engine development programme
themselves and did not take any further development updates from Cosworth. Despite early promise the bike
was not a success; the innovation shown in the 2002 season with traction
control and drive by wire is only now being perfected. The engine design and
development was carried out by a small team at Cosworth
Racing in Northampton and went from CAD to track in 8 months. The engine was considered the
most powerful at that time, producing about 225 bhp
(168 kW).[citation
needed] A testbed that never was raced produced
235 bhp (175 kW) at one point, before
Aprilia bowed out of MotoGP in 2004. References
External
links
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The photo 2007-Aprilia-RS-Models-341182-GP.jpg (2007 Aprilia RS Models - Uploaded for: vladan
2007 Aprilia RS125) was uploaded by: [email protected]
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