This bike is banned in AMA professional motocross. That should be enough to send a shiver down your spine or have everyone rushing out to get one. But it hasn't. This bike drew more attention out at the motocross tracks we took it to than any DR test bike in recent memory, including the 2009 Honda CRF450R. And it just plain sounds cooler than any bike at the track. Dirt bike riders, meet Aprilia.Since the MXV's first appearance a few years past as a supermoto and enduro mount, the company has been on the leading edge of the design curve. Not afraid to toss out convention and add style, it will leave you looking elsewhere for a sizable sidepanel or a grab handle, forget whatever the braces on the front fender and numberplate do. The peashooter end-mufflers are eye-catchers as well.This is a kickstart-only machine, and it is also equipped with electronic fuel injection. The bike has a self-setting starting servo on the throttle bodies that reset themselves each time the bike is shut off with the kill button. Sometimes it takes a few kicks to "charge the system" but it starts as well as a CRF450R, which we'll call average. There is a way to "precharge" the system with a battery, but we never needed it.The engine can be set up to run in two configurations-the standard "Big Bang," firing the cylinders in a more closed firing gap (less degrees between ignition), or you can retime the cams and activate another ignition and FI mapping to set the motor in the "Screamer" setting-running like you'd expect a standard twin.Our first day out was with the Big Bang. It sounds very 250F-like but has a poppy tone to the exhaust note, all the while being pleasant to the ears of trackside spectators and sounding really healthy to the rider. Having an airbox in front of you has that effect. The bike has a very free-revving and lighter-than-expected pull, almost like there is very little or no torque-but there is, and a lot of it. On bigger bikes torque feel has a way of making the rpm build feel slower, and on this MXV there is no sluggish action to the pull. It is linear, smooth and explosive all in one. There is a two-position ignition switch, and you can feel the difference between the settings. The more traction there is and the bigger the pull you want to feel, especially in the mid and top-end, go for hard. If you like a really controlled pull that loves to grab traction, soft is proper.The Screamer configuration is like the hard setting of the Big Bang and then some; there is good reason Aprilia doesn't sell it like this. In fact, running the hotter of the ignition maps in Screamer is all but pointless because the hit is so violent.
But the way the twin pulls is something else. You can chug it down and let the roll-on or throttle do all the work. And the way that a single-cylinder four-stroke makes a longer spread of power than a two-stroke, well, the twin-cylinder four-stroke makes even longer power. It takes a while to get used to letting the bike chug down so low on a high-strung motocross bike, but it works. Since it makes a blurry redline all the way up to 12,500 rpm with power all the way, you have to learn the sound so as not to be tapping the rev-limiter, if you want that much power in the first place. The FI mapping is really close with only minor glitches and was happy in a variety of temperatures and track conditions.The four-speed gearbox is plenty for any MX condition, and the spacing is just right. Shifting kept getting better with time on the bike, but having the clutch pull adjusted correctly went a long way in eliminating tough or missed shifts. The power is so long you hardly feel the need for a fifth.The handling was the most surprising thing about the MXV. The steering is light, and the front end gets great traction in the turns. It is like the engineers stole some secrets from KTM and Suzuki here. It is easy to get forward on the long and flat seat despite the wide radiators, and we're sure the weight and placement of the engine in the combination steel trellis and aluminum cast lower have some effect on this. This on a bike that has a long-wheelbase feel to it, which is a pretty good feeling most of the time, and goes a ways in making the bike relatively stable. The only issue we had with the machine was when it kicks sideways and all of a sudden is not a light MX bike anymore. It gets heavy, and it happens quickly! Aprilia hid the weight well, but every so often it comes back to say hello.Suspension components are pretty good as well. The Marzocchi fork is the 50mm big boy and has all the trick coatings. It is rigid, and we're sure it helps the sticking of the front end. Bottoming resistance is good, and the clickers go a long way in tuning the bike for each track. In fact, we had it working as good as any MXer at a beat, rough Glen Helen just before the National-no easy feat. Out back the Sachs shock does a matching job but is not as good in the chop, especially considering this is a long-feeling bike. You can dial it to be plush, but you give up some of the push on the front end that makes the turning so good and you actually lose some of the ever important ground clearance that this bike needs. But it jumps just fine, can handle big hits and, for everything but the kickers, it is right on.The Aprilia has great brakes and an especially strong rear stopper. The front is strong and has great feel. The bike also has no lower frame rails and a nice skid plate on the bottom. And the bike uses it. Somehow, especially at the footpegs, the MXV is a little wide and a little low, thus it's very easy to drag in the ruts. When using the whole stroke of the suspension it will drag the cases on the landing. It isn't bad and you don't notice it much until you look at the skid plate and see the scars. Mud tries to pack into the footpegs, though the MXV comes with trick deflectors to keep it out. We've been riding our Screamer bike for a while now, but the original Big Bang bike blew a head gasket near the end of its first day out. So we aren't totally familiar with Aprilia durability just yet, but we're learning. The machine has a very typical higher level of detail on it, Italian to an "I." And working on the bike is pretty simple for the basics, but it can get complicated if serious motor work is involved.The 450 MXV will attract that specialist or aficionado of strange machinery. It isn't a Honda CRF or even a KTM SX, it's an Aprilia. And in being different, it is very good.
**Opinions
Phil Lawrence**
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 190 lb
ProWhen you look at this machine you think that it's a very special bike, but when you start it and twist the throttle to hear the rapping power of a unique 450, you know that it is special. It sounds like you're on something straight out of the Ferrari factory. At first I was a little timid on it because the bike is so different you don't know what to expect. The power of the Aprilia was incredible; you could use the low-end torque or rev the thing out. I did a couple of starts on it and I think the bike could definitely pull holeshots. As I grew more comfortable on the bike I could only wish I could go out with the Aprilia race team to set the bike up for my individual riding technique. The reason I say I wish I could go out with the race team is because in order to use the power to its full potential you'd need to take some weight off the bike and set the suspension for a pro-level rider.Chris Barrett
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 180 lb
ProI love the way the V-twin sounds. The sound alone gives you that feeling of raw power, but she's not all bark. The power on this bike is super smooth down low, which gives awesome traction coming out of the turns, and then wheelies into a really strong mid. She has decent top-end power that pulls hard, but doesn't like to be revved out really far. When ridden correctly, the MXV pulls through the gears with little effort (aside from hanging on).I was expecting an off-road type of handling and suspension. Much to my surprise, the suspension worked decent on the hammered Glen Helen track. A tad on the busy side, the suspension didn't do anything unpredictable and really soaked up some nasty downhill Flying W-pucker-up-and-kiss-your... well... handled some serious downhill braking bumps without any pucker-up characteristics. My only change would be a little more of a calmer, controlled setting through the initial to mid-stroke. Other than that it worked really well.Karel Kramer
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 215 lb
NoviceEven I am not old enough to have ridden the old twin-cylinder desert bikes back in the day, but a few years back John Hateley let me ride one of his Triumphs, and ever since then I have been a little smitten by the idea of a twin-cylinder moto bike. When I rode the off-road Aprilia 450, I realized that I loved the motor but not the rest of the bike. The Aprilia MXV is a whole different animal with ergonomics that work and a much slimmer, lighter feel. This is a real bike. As soon as you get riding, though, you forget about the rest of the bike. This thing is all about the engine. The twin-cylinder EFI was a little fluffy at idle, but after that the thing is a silken monster. It hooks up, and it seriously rips. And the sound is sheer music. I wish all my rich friends had this bike so I could borrow it once in a while. I don't see this as a rider's only motocrosser, but man, is it fun to play with on the track!
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