You can check out some of the other crazy bikes that we have filmed here. How about a 1000cc 2 stroke dirt bike... ua-cam.com/video/RpDbli7GeBY/v-deo.html
Brilliant review of a great bike. I wanted one of these when they came out (yes another one of those) but they were miles out of my reach at the time. A twin always seemed like a better idea as power levels went up. Now you know that YZilla "needs" a friend with a 500cc twin developed from two 250 2T's in it... I would say twin 500's but lets be honest that sounds like a complete death trap.
Something different, nice video fella's. I enjoy V-twin 1000 aprilla and honda bikes more than inline 4 cylinders, but I suppose V-twin only have 2 cylinder 2 piston which are double size of inline 4cylinder. They should have never stopped 500cc 2bangas racing rather than stop and just allow 250&125 motocross until they add single cylinder 450&250 to compete against them eventually fading 2strokes out. Sux. Should all still be on real bikes that are exciting not just to win in straight lines spending triple the money. Avagud1
Also fella's, just wanted to let you know that I used my mates 2008 Ktm 505 xc-f with the 4 speed gearbox and it went through gears so quickly anywhere then once in 4th it was crazy deceiving speeds. My current bike is 2018 husqvarna te300 last carburetor model. Thing screams through all 6 gears topping out at approx 160km/h. Wheelie machine anytime anywhere. 3xKtm 300exc's, 91 yamaha wr500, 06 yz125, 98 suzuki rmx 250 and started learning on honda 93 cr250.
How about getting your hands on one of those Panthera 600cc two-stroke motors? It's reputed to be able to bolt right into anything that a Honda CR500 engine can bolt into because the bolt patterns are identical. This beast looks MEAN.
Man, I appreciate you reviewing all these non mainstream bikes. There are those of us who find these "odd" bikes interesting. Also nice to see you going a bit more in depth on each separate bikes history. Keep it up!
Yes, I love when he digs up these old dinosaurs and puts them through the test. I didn't even know that someone built a twin cylinder motocross bike. I wonder how much it weighs. 🤷🏻♂️
Honestly I would like to see you do like a 2024 shootout with as many brands as you possibly can obviously Japan Austrian Italian branded bikes. It would be refreshing to see a nonbiased opinion on all the current bikes.
Great video and fantastic bike. Two small corrections: 107 kg is not heavy at all, it's pretty much exactly the same as other 450 at the time. So really impressive for a two cilinder. Second, a Kickstarter was not outdated at all in 2009, almost al mx bikes had it.
Yeah I wad thinking the exact same thing. None of the other bikes had e-start. That looked like one of the worse tracks to test that bike on. Nowhere to really open that bike up
Way ahead of Its time the big 5 still relied on kickstarters and thats the era where they barely implemented fuel injection. Alien Shit, man it would of been nice a 2 Stroke Aprilia with those exact silencers 🔥
100%. It’s only 8lbs heavier than my grom… yet is 6 times the power. This bike, when it came out was 59hp compared to an 09 ktm 450s 53hp which weighed in at 247lbs with full oil and fuel
The thing is, the V-twin will be more "rotating mass". And e-start became a thing early 2000s, so it depends what you compare it with. KTMs all had e-starts by '08, even the 2strokes.
My son Jon's mxv 450 is the reason you have been able to watch this video review. So all credit to him for seeking this bike out in the first place looking after it regardless of cost.
Jon has many Motorcross bikes of rare vintage. Mostly Kawasaki,Aprilia, virtamatti vor and Honda all of different power and age's up to the present day
€8500 for a new 550 engine, a top-end about €1000-1500. The crank and rods are kinda pricey! But that's not the point, it's an amazing piece of history and design, not a clapped out field bike.
Is the 550 a 4 speed as well? That seems real odd to me, what about the supermotos are they 4 speeds as well? Seems like they would need some real long gears to be able to get some decent speed
It (the twin) was originally banned by the FIM because it started to make more horsepower so they revamped the twin cylinder rule. The AMA followed. The money behind the FIM and AMA were paid off to prevent any progress in the sport. The bikes are relatively the same since roughly 2009. Motocross and the dirt bike industry are incredibly small minded.
It's such a shame. I remember back in the early to mid eighties when technology was at warp speed. Every year, a different manufacturer would implement a brand new twist like a rear disc brake, power valves, and cartridge forks. You couldn't ride a two year old bike and expect to be competitive. It was an awesome time to be a motocrosser.
This was a case of governing bodies getting together with or at the very least being influenced by the Japanese manufacturers protecting their biggest marketplace i.e. the US. I got hurt and retired from riding before I could buy one of these but it was on the list to own one. Even today it looks way better than any other bike out there.
Back then 4 strokes were still bashed for being incredibly expensive to maintain and increasing the cost of racing substantially (compared to 2 strokes). Now imagine every bikes having twice the moving parts and consumables.
I was working as UK Sales manager for the UK importer of Cagiva and MV Agusta at the time this bike came out and the Castiglioni who owned those brands at the time was furious. The engine in that bike had been designed by Cagiva in house, but an employee defected to Aprilia and took the design with him. I would have loved to see that motor used in more bikes. Very cool.
MXV450 owner here from Southern California. It's lived life as an MX, Supermoto and Flat Track bike. It is upgraded to a 5-speed gearbox from the SXV. Great machine and so unique to ride. I have heard as little as 20-25 bikes were shipped into Canada and the USA.
I worked at a dealership for a few years and we sold a handful of these in the US. We had one at the shop that I spent a good bit of time on and I absolutely LOVED it. When you said about the low COG I think you nailed it. The bike feels very planted. I got along with the handling of this bike more than any other MX bike around the 2012-2015 era. Also, the correct starting procedure is to kick it over slow once to "charge" the EFI system, then around TDC just push the kicker through the stroke. Once you get good at it it'll feel like you're just letting your boot's weight move the kicker and it'll fire right off!
My buddy I race moto with here in the States(his family is pretty wealthy)has the 550 and turned it into a supermoto. I've ridden it a few times and it is a great bike, different, but a real work of art. I told him to hold on to it as it's a pretty special machine that may be worth some coin in the future.
I'd just like to point out 200lbs is super light for a xr200 with 15hp 😂 this looks like a work of art and im shocked to not have heard of it let alone ridden one.. kinda want one tbh this screamer mode with the cam timing on a super moto platform sounds like the bike we all need.
Yes Christini AWD review next plz🙏 and thank you for paying homage to this great Italian Stalion! Its always been one of my favorite dirt bike dream bikes & it was so awesome to see it being put through its paces & it definitely lived up to all the hype I ever read about it. I can’t believe the results👏👏 what a worthy competitor it would still make today👍. Thnx for another great episode Max👍👏👏👊
Definitely ahead of their time for sure. I got the witness the short lived US offroad effort firsthand. My friend Ryan Echols was a factory rider and won several local hare scramble races on the 450. He piloted them in multiple GNCC pro class races, but the teething problems continued to pile up and they would not make a 3 hour race. Still really cool to see them up close ( and ride them) before anyone knew what they were.
I feel like an absolute muppet for initially pretending to myself that i don't like your channel when i first stumbled upon it a few years ago, i think my problem was i couldn't get over how immensely jealous i was of what you're doing :D my bad! but since i realised how silly i was being and started to really just enjoy your videos, wow, what an absolutely amazing channel you've made mate, very very well done, the quality of the videos feel like it's been skyrocketing for a while now, along with your talent as a host! so not only a huge congrats on the deserved success of the channel, but thanks for giving us such fantastic videos! cheers!
@@Alborah 2. Both reseals of the cases but on the second I had some extensive work done to prevent the problem happening again and to lengthen the service intervals. It has never broken down.
@@lukekelly5115 yup, in the US, apparently everyone sends their motors to “Noland” and he rebuilds them and fixes all those ridiculous issues for like 4k
@@Mo0shiithe tuono destroyed the super naked sector for years and is still world class and about the best road bike out there. The rsv4 is also god tier. The rs660 is half of their engine and is about the best looking and fastest parallel twin in the category. So they make the best sport twin, and made the best superbike and super naked for a substantial part of the last 10 years. Now only being topped by bikes twice as expensive (panigale and m1000rr)
Hey that’s awesome man! I was just talking about this bike with a customer . We talked about it’s history, and how Aprilia vanished from the mx scene in a short period of time. Love the fact that you take the time to do these kind of video’s, refreshing really😅👌🏻
Good to see the fast guy really ripping on it. Definitely get the sense that its really a motocross capably machine instead of a mediocre trail/dual sport/desert type bike.
I always wondered why there aren't 2 cylinder 4 strokes. The biggest problem i have with a 4 stroke is 1 power stroke for 2 crankshaft revolutions and down low, they flame out. An extra cylinder would help a lot. Interestingly enough, Harley Davidson's back in the day were one of the best in dirt track due to being a V twin because they caught traction better than anything else.
Wish they made those again...I remember when they came out....would have had one if the dealership wasn't so far away. People always forget this bike when talking about the new Tuareg and Aprilia playing in the dirt.
Have a 2009 RXV 5.5 - 5 speed gearbox and very rare here in the US… mine is S#13… no idea how many 09s made it here… never seen another except on UA-cam…. 70 rwhp…. and the bugs were worked out from the earlier versions…. Only problem I’ve had was blinkers that broke off almost immediately… no worries - replaced with bulletproof L.E.D.s…. Little over 1100 miles on mine..
Awesome vid :) stoked to see the MXV tested and ridden hard! Everyone rags on the reliability of the sxv/rxv but once setup properly they're pretty decent. So now I need an RXV and an MXV to go with my SXV lol.
Thank you for the videos , I've always wanted a Aprilia 550 but never had the cash . I never knew the 450 was so awesome . Everyone thinks the latest bikes are better and faster than the older ones . I've seen over and over that is not the case . It's still ; 90% fixed and 10% bike . Would Iike a new bike ? Who wouldn't ! I'm just as happy riding my older bikes . I love the open class bikes they are a blast . Again thank you for the opportunity to see these really rare and exotic bikes in action . Two Thumbs Up ! 😊👍👍
I was like enough to get the chance to ride it as my own bike between 2009 and 2010 Supermoto season. It was an absolute game changer, still the most beautiful bike i’ve ever ride in my life. 10 years ahead of the rest of the field, especially in Supermoto ❤
I bought a brand new MXV450 and converted it to Supermoto after racing an SXV550 for a bunch of years. The MXV was the evolution of the SXV/RXV range, but while they looked similar they didn’t share a lot of important parts. It’s hard to be 100% sure but it sounds like that bike is set-up in Big-bang configuration where both cylinders fire almost simultaneously, Screamer mode is when the ignition is equally spaced across the cycle like most V-twin engines. Big-bang is better for the dirt but Screamer mode is better on Tar. The switch on the handlebar just changes the mapping from hard to soft. The commonly accepted production volume is around 250 bikes. The MXV450 might have been seen a failed experiment by some (probably most) but the technology and out-of-the-box thinking was quite revolutionary for the time and it’s still one of the best looking MX bikes ever made.
Had the 550 sxv for a bit and it was so good! Such a shame they couldn’t race and didn’t get developed into an end user bike basically stayed a factory prototype so the engines needed a crazy amount maintenance. You need to get hold of the Maico 700 enduro bike or the ATK 620/700
This bike still fuels dreams of a truly lightweight and high-performance v-twin adventure enduro. A lot of 'little' things would need changed (smaller bore/stroke ratio, milder cam, more oil capacity, fuel injection...) but the idea is still tantalizing
You failed to mention Aprilia was also a force in the world of Trials ! Also culminating with a World Championship in 1992 with rider Tommi Avhala from Finland
Yup, great machine, I had one. I also had a rxv550 enduro that had SM wheels, I couldn't bring myself to put the dirt wheels on it and put it in the dirt because it was so clean and such great condition. Back to the mxv450, awesome machine, fast, handled so very well. I was not a performance rider, just a trail and occasional single track rider with my then young son. I did mount an OEM side stand(OEM parts were dirt cheap) which was helpful on the trails. Even with my efforts to make the bike more trail friendly it would never be tamed for the trails, so I sold it in favor of a ktm500 with a wide ratio transmission. It is a special machine.
Man, it seems theres a lot of misinfo in the comments. As someone who owns 2 MXV's, and 6 SXV/RXV's, they made approximately 350 of the MXV's worldwide, they sold 12 in the USA, and 9 in Canada, not much. The main reason being the stained reputation from the SXV/RXV line, which maybe they hoped to save with the MXV but ultimately abandoned the project in favour of their upcoming big race bikes. Being that this was the first engine Aprilia designed in house and didn't buy from Rotax, they did a pretty good job, but had poor execution, because of some oil routing issues heat would build up, cause the case sealant to fail, starve the cams for oil, and ruin the engine, this can be fixed with later updates, as I have 44,000 kilometers on my SXV550. However none of this applied to the MXV, which had different oil pathways and updated internals, its not common for issues to arise on these bikes, but thats a small sample compared to the 15 thousand or so other XV's that sold. The MXV engine is basically the same as the other ones, just different oil reservoir and kickstarter. Mine are bored out to 500cc and one has a 5th gear transmission installed, 550 cams, tune, etc, all custom work. These can be hopped up to about 90 horsepower, before it just pops, but from the factory it was in the 50 range. There is also a difference between 2009 and 2010 MXV's, with the 10's having slightly updated frame geometry to support the triple tree on hard landings, with the 09's relegated to an extremely rare frame stiffener kit. Although I have never seen a 2010, as they mainly used those for their supermoto team, because of course they went back to supermoto! Complete with carbon fiber gas tanks, aluminum connecting rods, dual titanium exhausts, shortened swingarms, etc. They were named SMXV's, and from what I can gather, 14 left the factory in 2014, as replica Adrien Chareyre bikes. Most likely they were just a body kit put on to unsold 2009 bikes, as they did with the pikes peak edition. So in reality, a 2010 MXV is more likely to be a leftover 2009, than an actual 2010.
There's a few MXVs that got turned into SMXVs here in Europe, a cross between the SXV and MXV. Some parts of the engine are better on the MXV, and were more reliable and allowed to make a bit more power for the racing teams. I own a RXV 450 myself, it's just mental when you open the throttle fully. The bike is excellent, even at 180 I don't have any stability issues. Biggest complaints about the SXV was the long wheelbase for supermoto tracks, teams had to buy custom triple clamps and cut the swingarm shorter. I know some guys got 75-80whp out of the 550 engine, so about 60-65 for the 450.
Great video, these exotic tests are really interesting. I'd love to see a review of a one of those CCM team bikes that Church and Sword raced. I remember reading the frames were bonded aluminium rather than welded (borrowing from the automotive industry) and they used Yamaha engines.
@@999lazerThe CCM didn't use a Yamaha engine. The base model GP450 used the BMW designed (Kymco made) 450 engine used in the BMW G450X, the race team bike GP450R used the similar Husqvarna TE449 engine. Unfortunately CCM messed up the tuning on this model, and most of them had crank failures as a result, including the race bike.
@@Danger_mouse David, prior to CCM releasing the GP450 they had a development/prototyped team of Yamaha 450 engined MXers, testing the bonded frame technology. The tests succeeded hence the CCM GP450. You will be lucky to see or find one of the Yamaha engined bikes, they were all stolen!!
The 450R is still the Gold Standard Motocross bike imo and i think it always will be. However, I have been riding since i was 5 and am now 28 and its so cool to see brands like Yamaha and Ktm still producing 2 stroke bikes, they are gems and an experience in itself. If anyone here hasnt tried a 2 stroke you should, they are a blast!
2 stroke is where it's at! Especially the big bore unit's, what a flipping thrill to ride? I had both the Yamaha YZ 465 the the YZ 490, good times. But one of the absolute meanest bikes I ever had or rode was the 1978 YZ 400!!! Man was that bike fast, scary fast! Would love to find another!
Imagine if Aprilia went back to the drawing board on this thing sorted all the issues out and turned it into a light weight adventure bike 1-1.2l oil capacity (0.3gal) , 6-speed gearbox, 14l tank (3.6gal starting point) 🤤
I had high hopes for this bike back in the day/ a twin cylinder enduro is a unicorn bike for desert, high county adventure riding out here in the west.
Love that owners of these rare bikes know they’re built to be ridden and don’t keep them in a garage collecting dust, but allow you to share them with us!
Wow Awesome video, I have one in my collection here in California. There's a really cool way to start it without actually kicking it in a traditional sense. Very fast bike that holds its own against all the new stuff out there on track or in the desert.
I have a 2008 RXV550, it’s extremely powerful, tall, heavy and likes to rev. Better if you could lug it, but it’s not happy there. What a ride. Oh, crappy mileage.
I wanted one of those when after seeing it at the Aprilia display at the International motorcycle show. First dirt bike I had ever seen with an ignition map switch, they stated low map was for muddy conditions, great looking machine.
I had a 2007 RXV450 Enduro, which i bought new. The bike was beautiful looking and sounded like a Ferrari, made great linear tractable power through the RPM range. The suspension was excellent for enduro, and the steering was fantastic - really shined in tight single track. Sadly i had to get rid of it because it did not have a kick starter, which is a problem when the electric starter was totally unreliable. I literally had to bring a spare starter with me on rides because you never knew when it would fail. I had the starter re-wound which helped somewhat but did not solve the issue. Perhaps lower gearing in the starter drive would have lessened the current load on the starter. It was a sad day when i let that bike go but poor reliability was the deal breaker for me. Sad because the bike was A+ in so many ways.
Hi there, Max. Great vid about this smashing Aprilia! I remember one of my friends competing against 125 Aprilias in 1978 in NL amateur MX those days. Those things were already good and fast then! Back to the 2 cylinder front: I love this 450, a shame it's flame went out... If you ever can get your hands on a Gilera 2cyl, which I once saw in the capable hands of dear departed Gaston Rahier, or even the Honda 125 twin, I'd be over the moon!! Talking AWD/2x2 bikes: there have been several projects on that front. I remember a Yamaha based Dakar project of 2 french twin brothers and a Maico based 2x2 bike that should be in the Sammy Miller museum in GB. Anyways: good hunting and I'll be quite happy to see you get your hands and camera on either 4 of the beforementioned. Thnx & greetz from T🐻 in NL.
@@guffy4269there’s a lot of problem with some spare parts (in sxv and rxv so I think also in the mxv) cause Aprilia stop to produce Crank bearing and some other parts and they are a lot difficult to find, so pay attention… it’s an engine with a lot of problems (sorry if I made mistakes, I don’t speak English well) but it’s the most beautiful bike ever product (you can also change firing order rotating cams from screamer to big bang) but it has only 4 gear (There was a 5-speed conversion kit a while ago)
I knew a guy that had one road legal, and it was rapid it drove like it had a turbo. You would rev and nothing happened like a 2 stroke but as soon as you got a few revs into it the bike flew and as long as you stayed in the power range it was more than capable of competing with 2 stroke bikes, out of the power it was like a Sunday driver. It did have different exhaust setup than the normal one if I remember correctly.
Nothing is/was stopping Aprilia from racing in MXGP. Looks like they only had 2 riders in the series; did the AMA ruin it or did Aprilia just not commit to fielding a competitive MX team?
@@CMLVI Good point. I think they didn't sell enough bikes to be able to be supporting factory teams. But who's going to buy one if you can't compete with it.
@@Sn0w1981 agreed, but Aprilia has always been more popular and better known in Europe. I wouldn't assume their dirtbike would live and die by the American market. Europe also has historically been way more open to other brands outside the big 5 than the US.
I remember seeing one new in the shop in Perth Australia thinking it was pretty awesome. I was unsure of its reliability or parts costs at the time. The shop selling them was only around a couple years which makes sense after watching this video
Awesome sounding bikes, but I'm truly amazed that you found on still in running condition. They were plagued with very early premature crank failures and electrical faults. I have a friend here in Australia who collects orphan bikes and does them up. He has a SXV450 & a RXV550 in running condition after repairing them both, but they aren't for riding as the clock is ticking every hour they run up.
I'm in Australia and have an '08 SXV550. I've put 5000km of hard riding on it in the few years I've owned it, @14k now. Zero issues.... until flywheel bolts unwound into the stator lol. Known issue from the factory. Had it freshened up by Moto Italia in Sydney. All parts off the shelf and i was back in action. I ride it every chance I get out in the Vic High Country. No commuting, just twisties.
@@dreamseller01 Lucky man. 👍 Saw one come up cheap near me with a view to doing it up, contacted Joe about it and was told definitely do not buy it due to the faults mentioned and a lack of parts. 👍
The tank and airbox positions are similar to the 1985+ Yamaha F750 5-valve Genesis. The inline 4 engine was laid down at 45° from vertical, the carbs drew down vertically from the airbox where the gas tank is normally located, and the fuel was carried just above the transmission. Man, you could really hear the airbox HOWL when you ran it flat out at 145mph... The MXV450 is a really cool machine!
I remember the SXV did get wins in the super moto races where they had mixed off road and tarmac circuits in the south of europe. I don't remember the names ( Van Den Bosch??) who rode this beatiful machine in the late 2009/2010
Awesome video guys.. I'm in love with the mxv since their exit. I've the luck to test it when is new.. And really want it... The torque is awesome, without explosion.... I think that they need to trust more
They were way ahead of there time with the looks of this bike, beautiful machine. Probably one of the most ascetically pleasing bikes of that era. Bags of power to go with it. Very clever mechanics and excellent engineering
I have a 250, a 350 and a 450 and had the chance to ride my friends 550 Aprilia on an SX track. Freaking blast. Just a touch of a throttle and it would clear jumps easily. Two or three steps up from a 450. That thing has like 70 hp! Not scary by any means, just smooth crazy power. Some 250´s are more nervous and twitchy down low. but living with one - no way. The e-start is a big pain, its from a freakin´scooter and can´t do the job. Kick start is a big +. I didn´t notice any problems with the controls or nothing, it fit nicely and couldn´t feel the weight really compared to an older 450. I do like the planted feel of even an older 450 single. It turns really nicely. I really liked it, just not the reality. If it would start ok and parts were available, it would be a really good all around bike!
We have a good few aprilias in eastern/central Europe especially the two strokes but these are still very rare they are great bikes and use the rotax engines which are fairly reliable and are also used by Honda in the new Italian two stroke models
What an exceptional video and wonderful Aprilia mx 450 !! I was fortunate enough to ride the 450 dual sport and spectacular bike !!! My dealer was a Aprilia Husqvarna dealer and I ended up with a 2009 TE 450 , loved that bike to , but always wondered what if ? 🤔 thanks for this outstanding video
I used to have a SXV 550 with a pipe and airbox mods only. To hear the sound on this bike being sooo different is quite weird. The SXV was the best Supermoto I´ve ever ridden but a nightmare to own with parts being as rare as meteor showers.... and unfortunately they need a lot them ^^..
I had one for three years, no excessive maintainence as it wasn’t raced and I had the 100 hour pistons put in. Just change the oil every 1200 miles and have a happy life. I wish I hadn’t sold it, but the seat began to cut me in half on longer rides so I bought a 690 SMCR.
@Ukmongoose3 i change my oil every 500km! Parts have not been an issue for me, I'm in Australia. Knowing who to deal with goes a long way to finding any parts needed.
@xXShadowProductions1 if anyone has some, or access to them it would be Dave Ward/Moto Italia in Sydney Australia. Aprilia will do parts runs but they need enough numbers. Thus why parts will dry up and then potentially become available again.
@@anthonytilling3442 Yes and they sound like so good twin pipes always remember them from the 80s with after market pipes just pure 2 stroke sex to the ears Ant
My friend had a RXV550 in Dubai, good bike in the Desert …. But it didn’t like the heat … cooked the motor regular till it was Foo-Ked! 🤪 who wouldn’t lik a v twin dirt bike 😜
What a totally cool track !! Reminds me of areas I used to ride here in the canyons in Southern California here in East San Diego County. Large hills & valleys linked together like a giant bowl of Spaghetti with berms & jumps & off camber shit & steep climbs & decents thrown in for good measure . Lots of fun back in my youth ……. All dozed over now with tract homes built everywhere. The Aprilia was a pretty radical departure at that time & I had only seen one in the flesh before your video here today . If memory serves me correct they were NOT a standard 45 degree “ V” , but either a 60 or 65 degree ( or something of the like ) that gave them that unique exhaust note . 👍
I suggest a 1985 Cagiva 500 MX. It has a very nice motor. Imagine this V twin in a 250 cc and 350 cc also. Great review and I learned something. Great track. Big hills like a MX track should have. Best channel on You Tube.
I used to drool over the Cagiva MX bikes in Motocross Action and other publications. We only had one in the organization that I used to race in back in the eighties (NESC), and the kids' name who rode it was Pat Waitt (WMX 125). He would smoke the amateur class every time out and made that Italian bike look awesome.
One thing I forgot to mention about the 1985 Cagiva is that it has a grey seat. That seat is harder than concrete. If you ride this bike you will stand up more.
I was scrolling through comments to see if anyone had suggested this, my friend who passed away a few years ago had one, and i never got the chance to ride it. Would love to see a review on this
@@ShalomBrother Aprilia eventually used the MXV swingarm on the Factory supermoto bikes. The MXV also had most of the teething problems of the SXV resolved. I’ve never had an issue with either of mine but my SXV was always leaking.
In the mid 80s a swedish guy build a twin cylinder husky. It was named Folan. It was mounted in sidecars motorcycles. I think it was 800cc and 1000cc. Great video!!
I have three friends who have ridden one Rx450 and two Rx550s: great bikes to ride. but Aprilia's durability and customer service were very poor. something kept breaking every day they Ride. there were problems with the freewheeling starter and the oil circuit, and things just weren't tight: petrol was running out of the tank and oil was leaking out of the engine somewhere. The supply of spare parts sucked! After less than 1 year, three friends of mine were left without a motorcycle because they all had a major Engine damage. Although Aprilia were aware of the problems with their engines, there was no concession: no guarantee of open-power approval. the experiences of my friends with the RXV models and Aprilia in general finally saved me from buying a Tuareg 660: numerous engines were exchanged shortly after the start of sales...
I was picking up my 2008 GT1000 ducati & they rolled one of these out for a customer, before they loaded it onto the trailer they fired it up & it was instant love❤, it had a lovely pipe & sound!
Had an RXV for a few months here in the US. Absolutely wild bike. If I could get three rides out of I before turning wrenches, though. I was doing good. If they'd bring these back with some real R&D and market support, they'd be top tier.
I hadn't realised the MX variant had retimed ignition intervals compared to the SXV and RXV - I thought it sounded odd, not at all like a V-Twin. In Harley / flat track parlance, this is often called "twingling" - not to be confused with actual Twingle, or split-single engines. It's just a case of rotating the cams in one cylinder head, no new parts needed - adjust fuel map and ignition timings, done! Supposedly, and originally, it was said to "improve grip". The more modern thinking is that it improves the "signal to noise ratio" regarding the rider's _sensation_ of available grip at the back tyre. The idea is the lumped torque pulses have a larger magnitude than the oscillating torque from the start-stop motion of the pistons, possibly better than a single cylinder of similar total capacity, given the shared inertia of the pistons in a twin-cylinder engine. Unfortunately, the narrow V angle undermines that effect somewhat, it would need to be much closer to 90° for the best result - like the MT07 in flat track racing. In MotoGP the understanding has caused a shift away from lumping power pulses and into minimising the oscillating piston torque - or "inertial torque" as Yamaha call it - the required piston phases naturally result in irregular firing. Aprilia also made a circuit racing variant, the RRV450, with short forks, the SXV swinging arm and a fairing. They were used for spec racing series; in the UK the series followed BSB around and was pretty entertaining. They're a bit like the old 250 two strokes.
I own a Cannondale 440c & Aprillia 550 rxv. I do not ride them very offten but when I break them out people notice them. I have enjoyed your vidieos on these rare bikes.
Also don't forget this bike was launched just as the great economic recession of the late 2000s was taking full swing. Manufacturers were pulling out of motorsport everywhere. Remember when Honda sold its F1 team for one pound to a certain Ross Brawn?
You can check out some of the other crazy bikes that we have filmed here. How about a 1000cc 2 stroke dirt bike... ua-cam.com/video/RpDbli7GeBY/v-deo.html
Do you go out for a piza? No? So why do you believe that one of the most famous Italian motorcycle manufacturers is called Moto Guzi ??
Brilliant review of a great bike. I wanted one of these when they came out (yes another one of those) but they were miles out of my reach at the time.
A twin always seemed like a better idea as power levels went up.
Now you know that YZilla "needs" a friend with a 500cc twin developed from two 250 2T's in it...
I would say twin 500's but lets be honest that sounds like a complete death trap.
Something different, nice video fella's. I enjoy V-twin 1000 aprilla and honda bikes more than inline 4 cylinders, but I suppose V-twin only have 2 cylinder 2 piston which are double size of inline 4cylinder. They should have never stopped 500cc 2bangas racing rather than stop and just allow 250&125 motocross until they add single cylinder 450&250 to compete against them eventually fading 2strokes out. Sux. Should all still be on real bikes that are exciting not just to win in straight lines spending triple the money. Avagud1
Also fella's, just wanted to let you know that I used my mates 2008 Ktm 505 xc-f with the 4 speed gearbox and it went through gears so quickly anywhere then once in 4th it was crazy deceiving speeds. My current bike is 2018 husqvarna te300 last carburetor model. Thing screams through all 6 gears topping out at approx 160km/h. Wheelie machine anytime anywhere. 3xKtm 300exc's, 91 yamaha wr500, 06 yz125, 98 suzuki rmx 250 and started learning on honda 93 cr250.
How about getting your hands on one of those Panthera 600cc two-stroke motors? It's reputed to be able to bolt right into anything that a Honda CR500 engine can bolt into because the bolt patterns are identical. This beast looks MEAN.
Man, I appreciate you reviewing all these non mainstream bikes. There are those of us who find these "odd" bikes interesting. Also nice to see you going a bit more in depth on each separate bikes history. Keep it up!
I appreciate that, thank you
Yes, I love when he digs up these old dinosaurs and puts them through the test. I didn't even know that someone built a twin cylinder motocross bike. I wonder how much it weighs. 🤷🏻♂️
@@StkyfngrsZmooth2I think he said 107. Something kg.
Honestly I would like to see you do like a 2024 shootout with as many brands as you possibly can obviously Japan Austrian Italian branded bikes. It would be refreshing to see a nonbiased opinion on all the current bikes.
@@999lazer I raced this weekend at Monster Mountain in wales
Great video and fantastic bike. Two small corrections: 107 kg is not heavy at all, it's pretty much exactly the same as other 450 at the time. So really impressive for a two cilinder. Second, a Kickstarter was not outdated at all in 2009, almost al mx bikes had it.
Yeah I wad thinking the exact same thing. None of the other bikes had e-start. That looked like one of the worse tracks to test that bike on. Nowhere to really open that bike up
Way ahead of Its time the big 5 still relied on kickstarters and thats the era where they barely implemented fuel injection.
Alien Shit, man it would of been nice a 2 Stroke Aprilia with those exact silencers
🔥
100%. It’s only 8lbs heavier than my grom… yet is 6 times the power. This bike, when it came out was 59hp compared to an 09 ktm 450s 53hp which weighed in at 247lbs with full oil and fuel
The thing is, the V-twin will be more "rotating mass". And e-start became a thing early 2000s, so it depends what you compare it with. KTMs all had e-starts by '08, even the 2strokes.
@Sn0w1981 great point about the rotating mass and you're right about KTMs and e-starts. None of the Japanese mx bikes had it until years later
Great that a manufacturer tried something different...love that Aprilia twin ❤
My son Jon's mxv 450 is the reason you have been able to watch this video review.
So all credit to him for seeking this bike out in the first place looking after it regardless of cost.
Thank you both
Jon has many Motorcross bikes of rare vintage.
Mostly Kawasaki,Aprilia, virtamatti vor and Honda all of different power and age's up to the present day
Well done Jon great production editing skills you put together a good video of your nice bike 😉🤙
Thnx
@@rdallas81 thanks for your reply to Jon's mxv 450
I have the 550 enduro version here in Germany, it's freak-out value at the practice track is priceless.
Haha I bet it is. They are such an interesting and cool looking bike. I'd love to have one in a glass in my house case just to look at :)
@@jimtitt3571 thats cheap as hell
@@jimtitt3571and the same amount for it's engine overhaul 😅
€8500 for a new 550 engine, a top-end about €1000-1500. The crank and rods are kinda pricey! But that's not the point, it's an amazing piece of history and design, not a clapped out field bike.
Is the 550 a 4 speed as well? That seems real odd to me, what about the supermotos are they 4 speeds as well? Seems like they would need some real long gears to be able to get some decent speed
It (the twin) was originally banned by the FIM because it started to make more horsepower so they revamped the twin cylinder rule. The AMA followed. The money behind the FIM and AMA were paid off to prevent any progress in the sport. The bikes are relatively the same since roughly 2009. Motocross and the dirt bike industry are incredibly small minded.
It's such a shame. I remember back in the early to mid eighties when technology was at warp speed. Every year, a different manufacturer would implement a brand new twist like a rear disc brake, power valves, and cartridge forks. You couldn't ride a two year old bike and expect to be competitive. It was an awesome time to be a motocrosser.
Almost as RetXarded as Nascar rules and governance
This was a case of governing bodies getting together with or at the very least being influenced by the Japanese manufacturers protecting their biggest marketplace i.e. the US.
I got hurt and retired from riding before I could buy one of these but it was on the list to own one. Even today it looks way better than any other bike out there.
i have to say until they make the tracks more technical and not so fast they dont need more power. a crf 450 has more power than you could ever use
Back then 4 strokes were still bashed for being incredibly expensive to maintain and increasing the cost of racing substantially (compared to 2 strokes). Now imagine every bikes having twice the moving parts and consumables.
How have I never even heard of this and I can't believe Sean was 2 secs faster without even really dialing jn the suspension, cockpit, etc! So sweet
I was working as UK Sales manager for the UK importer of Cagiva and MV Agusta at the time this bike came out and the Castiglioni who owned those brands at the time was furious. The engine in that bike had been designed by Cagiva in house, but an employee defected to Aprilia and took the design with him. I would have loved to see that motor used in more bikes. Very cool.
MXV450 owner here from Southern California. It's lived life as an MX, Supermoto and Flat Track bike. It is upgraded to a 5-speed gearbox from the SXV. Great machine and so unique to ride. I have heard as little as 20-25 bikes were shipped into Canada and the USA.
I worked at a dealership for a few years and we sold a handful of these in the US. We had one at the shop that I spent a good bit of time on and I absolutely LOVED it. When you said about the low COG I think you nailed it. The bike feels very planted. I got along with the handling of this bike more than any other MX bike around the 2012-2015 era. Also, the correct starting procedure is to kick it over slow once to "charge" the EFI system, then around TDC just push the kicker through the stroke. Once you get good at it it'll feel like you're just letting your boot's weight move the kicker and it'll fire right off!
My buddy I race moto with here in the States(his family is pretty wealthy)has the 550 and turned it into a supermoto. I've ridden it a few times and it is a great bike, different, but a real work of art. I told him to hold on to it as it's a pretty special machine that may be worth some coin in the future.
I'd just like to point out 200lbs is super light for a xr200 with 15hp 😂 this looks like a work of art and im shocked to not have heard of it let alone ridden one.. kinda want one tbh this screamer mode with the cam timing on a super moto platform sounds like the bike we all need.
Yes Christini AWD review next plz🙏 and thank you for paying homage to this great Italian Stalion! Its always been one of my favorite dirt bike dream bikes & it was so awesome to see it being put through its paces & it definitely lived up to all the hype I ever read about it. I can’t believe the results👏👏 what a worthy competitor it would still make today👍. Thnx for another great episode Max👍👏👏👊
Thanks :) lets hope @christiniawd watch the video and can help us out. We are struggling to find one over here.
Definitely ahead of their time for sure. I got the witness the short lived US offroad effort firsthand. My friend Ryan Echols was a factory rider and won several local hare scramble races on the 450. He piloted them in multiple GNCC pro class races, but the teething problems continued to pile up and they would not make a 3 hour race. Still really cool to see them up close ( and ride them) before anyone knew what they were.
I feel like an absolute muppet for initially pretending to myself that i don't like your channel when i first stumbled upon it a few years ago, i think my problem was i couldn't get over how immensely jealous i was of what you're doing :D my bad!
but since i realised how silly i was being and started to really just enjoy your videos, wow, what an absolutely amazing channel you've made mate, very very well done, the quality of the videos feel like it's been skyrocketing for a while now, along with your talent as a host!
so not only a huge congrats on the deserved success of the channel, but thanks for giving us such fantastic videos! cheers!
thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it and glad your enjoying the content. Cheers Max
I've had the SXV450 for ten years now and it's still going strong. Great video guys.
how many rebuilds have you had to do?
@@Alborah 2. Both reseals of the cases but on the second I had some extensive work done to prevent the problem happening again and to lengthen the service intervals. It has never broken down.
They were ahead of the game on a few things. Would be interesting to hear one modded and tuned.
Sxv550 are pretty popular relatively speaking you can definitely get a titanium arrow exhaust for them
These things were so unreliable i watched one kick a rod at the world enduro straight out the cases😅
@@lukekelly5115 yup, in the US, apparently everyone sends their motors to “Noland” and he rebuilds them and fixes all those ridiculous issues for like 4k
Removing the fender brace off the front fender would be the first mod 😅
@@Dan_Minton you can’t because it connects to the front number plate
Aprilla does not make a bad looking nor ugly bike. All their bikes are works of art and function.
@@Mo0shiigo ride either an rsv4 factory or a tuono v4 factory. I promise you you’re mind will be changed.
@@Mo0shiicouldn't be farther from the truth
@@Mo0shiithe tuono destroyed the super naked sector for years and is still world class and about the best road bike out there. The rsv4 is also god tier. The rs660 is half of their engine and is about the best looking and fastest parallel twin in the category. So they make the best sport twin, and made the best superbike and super naked for a substantial part of the last 10 years. Now only being topped by bikes twice as expensive (panigale and m1000rr)
@@henrylewin7677 Yes the big Tuono's are awesome we have 5 in the family, every generation featured from '04 twin to '21 V4.
Aprilia RS250
You asked what we should ride next! That's easy, ride the Stark VARG (80HP/938 Nm). Looking forward reviewing the lap times.
Another great video Max, thanks for the aprilla story, looks a great bike a lot of racing pedigree, the Europeans make some beautiful machines.
Thanks Kevin, I really appreciate you always watching :)
Hey that’s awesome man! I was just talking about this bike with a customer . We talked about it’s history, and how Aprilia vanished from the mx scene in a short period of time. Love the fact that you take the time to do these kind of video’s, refreshing really😅👌🏻
Good to see the fast guy really ripping on it. Definitely get the sense that its really a motocross capably machine instead of a mediocre trail/dual sport/desert type bike.
Well done Max and the team. One of my fav episodes so far.
Cheers Jonny
I always wondered why there aren't 2 cylinder 4 strokes. The biggest problem i have with a 4 stroke is 1 power stroke for 2 crankshaft revolutions and down low, they flame out. An extra cylinder would help a lot. Interestingly enough, Harley Davidson's back in the day were one of the best in dirt track due to being a V twin because they caught traction better than anything else.
Wish they made those again...I remember when they came out....would have had one if the dealership wasn't so far away. People always forget this bike when talking about the new Tuareg and Aprilia playing in the dirt.
Have a 2009 RXV 5.5 - 5 speed gearbox and very rare here in the US… mine is S#13… no idea how many 09s made it here… never seen another except on UA-cam…. 70 rwhp…. and the bugs were worked out from the earlier versions…. Only problem I’ve had was blinkers that broke off almost immediately… no worries - replaced with bulletproof L.E.D.s…. Little over 1100 miles on mine..
Awesome vid :) stoked to see the MXV tested and ridden hard! Everyone rags on the reliability of the sxv/rxv but once setup properly they're pretty decent. So now I need an RXV and an MXV to go with my SXV lol.
Thanks for watching. Glad you like it :)
Thank you for the videos , I've always wanted a Aprilia 550 but never had the cash . I never knew the 450 was so awesome . Everyone thinks the latest bikes are better and faster than the older ones . I've seen over and over that is not the case . It's still ; 90% fixed and 10% bike . Would Iike a new bike ? Who wouldn't ! I'm just as happy riding my older bikes . I love the open class bikes they are a blast . Again thank you for the opportunity to see these really rare and exotic bikes in action . Two Thumbs Up ! 😊👍👍
Thanks Michael
I was like enough to get the chance to ride it as my own bike between 2009 and 2010 Supermoto season. It was an absolute game changer, still the most beautiful bike i’ve ever ride in my life. 10 years ahead of the rest of the field, especially in Supermoto ❤
I bought a brand new MXV450 and converted it to Supermoto after racing an SXV550 for a bunch of years. The MXV was the evolution of the SXV/RXV range, but while they looked similar they didn’t share a lot of important parts.
It’s hard to be 100% sure but it sounds like that bike is set-up in Big-bang configuration where both cylinders fire almost simultaneously, Screamer mode is when the ignition is equally spaced across the cycle like most V-twin engines. Big-bang is better for the dirt but Screamer mode is better on Tar. The switch on the handlebar just changes the mapping from hard to soft.
The commonly accepted production volume is around 250 bikes.
The MXV450 might have been seen a failed experiment by some (probably most) but the technology and out-of-the-box thinking was quite revolutionary for the time and it’s still one of the best looking MX bikes ever made.
Had the 550 sxv for a bit and it was so good! Such a shame they couldn’t race and didn’t get developed into an end user bike basically stayed a factory prototype so the engines needed a crazy amount maintenance.
You need to get hold of the Maico 700 enduro bike or the ATK 620/700
Not much maintenance once set up. The issues nearly all stemmed from poor assembly at the factory.
I loved my sxv550.
This bike still fuels dreams of a truly lightweight and high-performance v-twin adventure enduro.
A lot of 'little' things would need changed (smaller bore/stroke ratio, milder cam, more oil capacity, fuel injection...) but the idea is still tantalizing
It would sell big time
You failed to mention Aprilia was also a force in the world of Trials ! Also culminating with a World Championship in 1992 with rider Tommi Avhala from Finland
Indeed I had an aprilia climber 280 great bike rotax motor and bigger than average tank for the time kept me going on time trials
Yup, great machine, I had one. I also had a rxv550 enduro that had SM wheels, I couldn't bring myself to put the dirt wheels on it and put it in the dirt because it was so clean and such great condition. Back to the mxv450, awesome machine, fast, handled so very well. I was not a performance rider, just a trail and occasional single track rider with my then young son. I did mount an OEM side stand(OEM parts were dirt cheap) which was helpful on the trails. Even with my efforts to make the bike more trail friendly it would never be tamed for the trails, so I sold it in favor of a ktm500 with a wide ratio transmission. It is a special machine.
Man, it seems theres a lot of misinfo in the comments. As someone who owns 2 MXV's, and 6 SXV/RXV's, they made approximately 350 of the MXV's worldwide, they sold 12 in the USA, and 9 in Canada, not much. The main reason being the stained reputation from the SXV/RXV line, which maybe they hoped to save with the MXV but ultimately abandoned the project in favour of their upcoming big race bikes. Being that this was the first engine Aprilia designed in house and didn't buy from Rotax, they did a pretty good job, but had poor execution, because of some oil routing issues heat would build up, cause the case sealant to fail, starve the cams for oil, and ruin the engine, this can be fixed with later updates, as I have 44,000 kilometers on my SXV550. However none of this applied to the MXV, which had different oil pathways and updated internals, its not common for issues to arise on these bikes, but thats a small sample compared to the 15 thousand or so other XV's that sold. The MXV engine is basically the same as the other ones, just different oil reservoir and kickstarter. Mine are bored out to 500cc and one has a 5th gear transmission installed, 550 cams, tune, etc, all custom work. These can be hopped up to about 90 horsepower, before it just pops, but from the factory it was in the 50 range. There is also a difference between 2009 and 2010 MXV's, with the 10's having slightly updated frame geometry to support the triple tree on hard landings, with the 09's relegated to an extremely rare frame stiffener kit. Although I have never seen a 2010, as they mainly used those for their supermoto team, because of course they went back to supermoto! Complete with carbon fiber gas tanks, aluminum connecting rods, dual titanium exhausts, shortened swingarms, etc. They were named SMXV's, and from what I can gather, 14 left the factory in 2014, as replica Adrien Chareyre bikes. Most likely they were just a body kit put on to unsold 2009 bikes, as they did with the pikes peak edition. So in reality, a 2010 MXV is more likely to be a leftover 2009, than an actual 2010.
awesome info , thanks for sharing
Thank you for a lot of information. I like MXV 450, but I have only RXV 550. RXV was most crazy enduro I even had.
NICE BIKE, IT REMINDS ME, OF
MY YOUTH, RIDING, MY YZ 490J,
WHAT A BLAST... GREAT CONTENT,
KEEP UP ,THE GREAT WORK, MAN..
Very pretty bike! Hey Max, it really is a mega & unique thread you’re creating by showcasing these amazing, but not mainstream bikes. Keep going👏👏👏✅
Thanks Guy, we have to get all these rare bikes together for the ultimate showdown ;)
Great idea! The Cannondale will be there!@@999lazer
There's a few MXVs that got turned into SMXVs here in Europe, a cross between the SXV and MXV. Some parts of the engine are better on the MXV, and were more reliable and allowed to make a bit more power for the racing teams. I own a RXV 450 myself, it's just mental when you open the throttle fully. The bike is excellent, even at 180 I don't have any stability issues.
Biggest complaints about the SXV was the long wheelbase for supermoto tracks, teams had to buy custom triple clamps and cut the swingarm shorter. I know some guys got 75-80whp out of the 550 engine, so about 60-65 for the 450.
Great video, these exotic tests are really interesting. I'd love to see a review of a one of those CCM team bikes that Church and Sword raced. I remember reading the frames were bonded aluminium rather than welded (borrowing from the automotive industry) and they used Yamaha engines.
Thanks David, we are on the case of those bikes and have a really good lead so hopefully...
@@999lazerThe CCM didn't use a Yamaha engine. The base model GP450 used the BMW designed (Kymco made) 450 engine used in the BMW G450X, the race team bike GP450R used the similar Husqvarna TE449 engine.
Unfortunately CCM messed up the tuning on this model, and most of them had crank failures as a result, including the race bike.
@@Danger_mouse David, prior to CCM releasing the GP450 they had a development/prototyped team of Yamaha 450 engined MXers, testing the bonded frame technology. The tests succeeded hence the CCM GP450. You will be lucky to see or find one of the Yamaha engined bikes, they were all stolen!!
@@Danger_mouse Picture here moto.zombdrive.com/images/ccm-motocross-9.jpg
@@andyfrizzle1991 Maybe, but the production bikes weren't Yamaha engines.
The 450R is still the Gold Standard Motocross bike imo and i think it always will be. However, I have been riding since i was 5 and am now 28 and its so cool to see brands like Yamaha and Ktm still producing 2 stroke bikes, they are gems and an experience in itself. If anyone here hasnt tried a 2 stroke you should, they are a blast!
2 stroke is where it's at! Especially the big bore unit's, what a flipping thrill to ride? I had both the Yamaha YZ 465 the the YZ 490, good times. But one of the absolute meanest bikes I ever had or rode was the 1978 YZ 400!!! Man was that bike fast, scary fast! Would love to find another!
Imagine if Aprilia went back to the drawing board on this thing sorted all the issues out and turned it into a light weight adventure bike 1-1.2l oil capacity (0.3gal) , 6-speed gearbox, 14l tank (3.6gal starting point) 🤤
17L minimum or bust.
I had high hopes for this bike back in the day/ a twin cylinder enduro is a unicorn bike for desert, high county adventure riding out here in the west.
@@Drunken_Hamsterthat'd handle like trash
Love that owners of these rare bikes know they’re built to be ridden and don’t keep them in a garage collecting dust, but allow you to share them with us!
Wow Awesome video, I have one in my collection here in California. There's a really cool way to start it without actually kicking it in a traditional sense. Very fast bike that holds its own against all the new stuff out there on track or in the desert.
I have a 2008 RXV550, it’s extremely powerful, tall, heavy and likes to rev. Better if you could lug it, but it’s not happy there. What a ride. Oh, crappy mileage.
I wanted one of those when after seeing it at the Aprilia display at the International motorcycle show. First dirt bike I had ever seen with an ignition map switch, they stated low map was for muddy conditions, great looking machine.
I had a 2007 RXV450 Enduro, which i bought new. The bike was beautiful looking and sounded like a Ferrari, made great linear tractable power through the RPM range. The suspension was excellent for enduro, and the steering was fantastic - really shined in tight single track. Sadly i had to get rid of it because it did not have a kick starter, which is a problem when the electric starter was totally unreliable. I literally had to bring a spare starter with me on rides because you never knew when it would fail. I had the starter re-wound which helped somewhat but did not solve the issue. Perhaps lower gearing in the starter drive would have lessened the current load on the starter. It was a sad day when i let that bike go but poor reliability was the deal breaker for me. Sad because the bike was A+ in so many ways.
Awesome vid Max. Keep the vids coming and let the good times roll.
Thanks! Will do!
Had the aprilia sxv550 supermoto for some years. A beast of a bike. Moody, fast and absolutely deadly. But really fun!
Max 🫡 mate, every week pulling the bike out the hat 🎩 lol, great vlog again, thanks for pulling these gems out for us to watch 🤜🏻🤛🏻
Cheers Docs, no probs.
Hi there, Max. Great vid about this smashing Aprilia! I remember one of my friends competing against 125 Aprilias in 1978 in NL amateur MX those days. Those things were already good and fast then! Back to the 2 cylinder front: I love this 450, a shame it's flame went out... If you ever can get your hands on a Gilera 2cyl, which I once saw in the capable hands of dear departed Gaston Rahier, or even the Honda 125 twin, I'd be over the moon!! Talking AWD/2x2 bikes: there have been several projects on that front. I remember a Yamaha based Dakar project of 2 french twin brothers and a Maico based 2x2 bike that should be in the Sammy Miller museum in GB. Anyways: good hunting and I'll be quite happy to see you get your hands and camera on either 4 of the beforementioned. Thnx & greetz from T🐻 in NL.
I want one so badly but it's too exotic for my taste, like i don't feel like im going to be able to find spare parts
Its pretty bike for sure. I can understand people that love them so much.
Make the parts...
@@aToast3r seriously? I'm supposed to manufacture myself new top-ends, valves, cylinders etc. I mean how am I supposed to do that
@@guffy4269yes.
@@guffy4269there’s a lot of problem with some spare parts (in sxv and rxv so I think also in the mxv) cause Aprilia stop to produce Crank bearing and some other parts and they are a lot difficult to find, so pay attention… it’s an engine with a lot of problems (sorry if I made mistakes, I don’t speak English well) but it’s the most beautiful bike ever product (you can also change firing order rotating cams from screamer to big bang) but it has only 4 gear (There was a 5-speed conversion kit a while ago)
Best mx channel. Hands down
Thanks Mr Danny :)
I knew a guy that had one road legal, and it was rapid it drove like it had a turbo. You would rev and nothing happened like a 2 stroke but as soon as you got a few revs into it the bike flew and as long as you stayed in the power range it was more than capable of competing with 2 stroke bikes, out of the power it was like a Sunday driver. It did have different exhaust setup than the normal one if I remember correctly.
450 or 550? I'm assuming it was the RXV model
Max, I am literally drooling. Never even had heard of this what an exotic Machine
haha its a pretty bike for sure. Thanks for watching kyle.
Sick bike! Shame the AMA ruined it. They don't like anything with a 2 in it.
haha so true :)
Nothing is/was stopping Aprilia from racing in MXGP. Looks like they only had 2 riders in the series; did the AMA ruin it or did Aprilia just not commit to fielding a competitive MX team?
🇺🇸🤠
@@CMLVI Good point. I think they didn't sell enough bikes to be able to be supporting factory teams. But who's going to buy one if you can't compete with it.
@@Sn0w1981 agreed, but Aprilia has always been more popular and better known in Europe. I wouldn't assume their dirtbike would live and die by the American market. Europe also has historically been way more open to other brands outside the big 5 than the US.
Wow what a great video and story! And OMG what a machine! Love tbis type of content! Cheers!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I remember seeing one new in the shop in Perth Australia thinking it was pretty awesome. I was unsure of its reliability or parts costs at the time. The shop selling them was only around a couple years which makes sense after watching this video
What about trying out a Vertemati or a VOR.
I've just picked up a RXV450 and had the first ride on a MX track.
It is kinda heavy but actually handles pretty well.
Power is smooth and plentiful.
wow keep that rare gem
Yes I will, right next to my SXV450
Awesome video
Thanks Max.
Maybe do a tm 3000 mx vx beta 300 mx and yzilla?
Can Factory 300cc 2stroke mx bikes mix it with a 500?
I fell in luv with this bike the first time I saw it in a magazine, I'm 30seconds into the video now! Talk to you later! Lol!
haha awesome , enjoy :)
Awesome sounding bikes, but I'm truly amazed that you found on still in running condition.
They were plagued with very early premature crank failures and electrical faults.
I have a friend here in Australia who collects orphan bikes and does them up.
He has a SXV450 & a RXV550 in running condition after repairing them both, but they aren't for riding as the clock is ticking every hour they run up.
I'm in Australia and have an '08 SXV550. I've put 5000km of hard riding on it in the few years I've owned it, @14k now. Zero issues.... until flywheel bolts unwound into the stator lol. Known issue from the factory. Had it freshened up by Moto Italia in Sydney. All parts off the shelf and i was back in action. I ride it every chance I get out in the Vic High Country. No commuting, just twisties.
@@dreamseller01 Lucky man. 👍
Saw one come up cheap near me with a view to doing it up, contacted Joe about it and was told definitely do not buy it due to the faults mentioned and a lack of parts. 👍
Love your videos, you and Sean are very likable lads 👍☺️ big love from Sweden 🇸🇪
Thanks Chris, We really appreciate your message. Big love back to Sweden :)
The tank and airbox positions are similar to the 1985+ Yamaha F750 5-valve Genesis. The inline 4 engine was laid down at 45° from vertical, the carbs drew down vertically from the airbox where the gas tank is normally located, and the fuel was carried just above the transmission. Man, you could really hear the airbox HOWL when you ran it flat out at 145mph...
The MXV450 is a really cool machine!
Must admit the 450 sounds better then anything on mud
Sorry but a 2 stroke 700 maco is the best sounding bike in the world.
I remember the SXV did get wins in the super moto races where they had mixed off road and tarmac circuits in the south of europe.
I don't remember the names ( Van Den Bosch??) who rode this beatiful machine in the late 2009/2010
Let's not forget the Climber trials bike and the awesome RX125 ! 🙂
Awesome video guys.. I'm in love with the mxv since their exit. I've the luck to test it when is new.. And really want it... The torque is awesome, without explosion.... I think that they need to trust more
My favorite bike ever! Great video man!
Thanks, After making the video Sean is so desperate to get one in his garage..lol
@@999lazer I bet! Thanks again man!
They were way ahead of there time with the looks of this bike, beautiful machine. Probably one of the most ascetically pleasing bikes of that era. Bags of power to go with it. Very clever mechanics and excellent engineering
I owned a single cylinder vor for a very short time,now that was an exotic bike!
The guy that owns this owns a 503en and a 530 sm
I have a 250, a 350 and a 450 and had the chance to ride my friends 550 Aprilia on an SX track. Freaking blast. Just a touch of a throttle and it would clear jumps easily. Two or three steps up from a 450. That thing has like 70 hp! Not scary by any means, just smooth crazy power. Some 250´s are more nervous and twitchy down low. but living with one - no way. The e-start is a big pain, its from a freakin´scooter and can´t do the job. Kick start is a big +. I didn´t notice any problems with the controls or nothing, it fit nicely and couldn´t feel the weight really compared to an older 450. I do like the planted feel of even an older 450 single. It turns really nicely. I really liked it, just not the reality. If it would start ok and parts were available, it would be a really good all around bike!
best mx channel on yt 100percent
We have a good few aprilias in eastern/central Europe especially the two strokes but these are still very rare they are great bikes and use the rotax engines which are fairly reliable and are also used by Honda in the new Italian two stroke models
Please make a video of the cannondale vs this twin cylinder bike straight line / trails would make a nice video
You NEED to test a Stark Varg 80hp version PLEASE 🙏 👊
What an exceptional video and wonderful Aprilia mx 450 !! I was fortunate enough to ride the 450 dual sport and spectacular bike !!! My dealer was a Aprilia Husqvarna dealer and I ended up with a 2009 TE 450 , loved that bike to , but always wondered what if ? 🤔 thanks for this outstanding video
Glad you enjoyed it!
I used to have a SXV 550 with a pipe and airbox mods only. To hear the sound on this bike being sooo different is quite weird. The SXV was the best Supermoto I´ve ever ridden but a nightmare to own with parts being as rare as meteor showers.... and unfortunately they need a lot them ^^..
haha i agree big time, had sxv for a one summer sound and power was something else
I had one for three years, no excessive maintainence as it wasn’t raced and I had the 100 hour pistons put in. Just change the oil every 1200 miles and have a happy life. I wish I hadn’t sold it, but the seat began to cut me in half on longer rides so I bought a 690 SMCR.
@Ukmongoose3 i change my oil every 500km! Parts have not been an issue for me, I'm in Australia. Knowing who to deal with goes a long way to finding any parts needed.
@@dreamseller01 well can you get your hands on blue size bearing shell for the crank?😅
@xXShadowProductions1 if anyone has some, or access to them it would be Dave Ward/Moto Italia in Sydney Australia. Aprilia will do parts runs but they need enough numbers. Thus why parts will dry up and then potentially become available again.
There is a bloke who made a RD 350 lc motor x sure we can find him hes in the UK ? Little john from chichester
I always thought an RD engined YZ would be fun!!!!:)
@@anthonytilling3442 Yes and they sound like so good twin pipes always remember them from the 80s with after market pipes just pure 2 stroke sex to the ears Ant
My friend had a RXV550 in Dubai, good bike in the Desert …. But it didn’t like the heat … cooked the motor regular till it was Foo-Ked! 🤪 who wouldn’t lik a v twin dirt bike 😜
What a totally cool track !! Reminds me of areas I used to ride here in the canyons in Southern California here in East San Diego County. Large hills & valleys linked together like a giant bowl of Spaghetti with berms & jumps & off camber shit & steep climbs & decents thrown in for good measure . Lots of fun back in my youth ……. All dozed over now with tract homes built everywhere. The Aprilia was a pretty radical departure at that time & I had only seen one in the flesh before your video here today . If memory serves me correct they were NOT a standard 45 degree “ V” , but either a 60 or 65 degree ( or something of the like ) that gave them that unique exhaust note . 👍
I suggest a 1985 Cagiva 500 MX. It has a very nice motor. Imagine this V twin in a 250 cc and 350 cc also. Great review and I learned something. Great track. Big hills like a MX track should have. Best channel on You Tube.
Thank you so much :) Cheers Max
I used to drool over the Cagiva MX bikes in Motocross Action and other publications. We only had one in the organization that I used to race in back in the eighties (NESC), and the kids' name who rode it was Pat Waitt (WMX 125). He would smoke the amateur class every time out and made that Italian bike look awesome.
One thing I forgot to mention about the 1985 Cagiva is that it has a grey seat. That seat is harder than concrete. If you ride this bike you will stand up more.
Had 4 different cagivas awesome bikes should of kept 200 street legal
I was scrolling through comments to see if anyone had suggested this, my friend who passed away a few years ago had one, and i never got the chance to ride it. Would love to see a review on this
A work of art this thing!!! Love it!
Never seen an mxv but there are quite a few rxv/sxv's in Australia still a pretty rare bike here but they are around if ya look.
Can you test one or both of this kind of rally bikes ?
AJP PR 7 or Kove 450 rally
Thanks for posting
I have serial number 19 so they made at least 20 units. I also have a 2009 RXV550.
Rxv has far more in common with the sxv than it does the mxv. The mxv rear end is completely different than the R/Sxv
@@ShalomBrother Aprilia eventually used the MXV swingarm on the Factory supermoto bikes. The MXV also had most of the teething problems of the SXV resolved. I’ve never had an issue with either of mine but my SXV was always leaking.
In the mid 80s a swedish guy build a twin cylinder husky. It was named Folan. It was mounted in sidecars motorcycles. I think it was 800cc and 1000cc. Great video!!
folan the company built the proto type cannondale engines along w a number of others.
Makes me miss my SXV 550 !!
Unreal production quality. I'm new here, but here to stay. I'll look forward to the next episodes.
Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it and we look forward to having you back :)
I have three friends who have ridden one Rx450 and two Rx550s: great bikes to ride. but Aprilia's durability and customer service were very poor. something kept breaking every day they Ride. there were problems with the freewheeling starter and the oil circuit, and things just weren't tight: petrol was running out of the tank and oil was leaking out of the engine somewhere. The supply of spare parts sucked! After less than 1 year, three friends of mine were left without a motorcycle because they all had a major Engine damage. Although Aprilia were aware of the problems with their engines, there was no concession: no guarantee of open-power approval. the experiences of my friends with the RXV models and Aprilia in general finally saved me from buying a Tuareg 660: numerous engines were exchanged shortly after the start of sales...
Stop with all the hearsay. Buy one yourself and you'll soon discover that Aprilias are bulletproof. I've had 8 and no problems yet.
Good old ashdown, looking forward to being back there this weekend after my accident there two months ago.
Great video as usual, bike sounds wicked 👍👍
Thanks for watching. Have a good time at the weekend:)
Have you already put in your order for a Panthera 600 engine?? This has to hit the channel for sure.
I was picking up my 2008 GT1000 ducati & they rolled one of these out for a customer, before they loaded it onto the trailer they fired it up & it was instant love❤, it had a lovely pipe & sound!
I would love to see you riding the bmw 450
great call
Had an RXV for a few months here in the US. Absolutely wild bike. If I could get three rides out of I before turning wrenches, though. I was doing good.
If they'd bring these back with some real R&D and market support, they'd be top tier.
Best looking bike ever.
Max let’s see some TM’s screaming 🙏
Ok I hear ya... let me see what I can do
I hadn't realised the MX variant had retimed ignition intervals compared to the SXV and RXV - I thought it sounded odd, not at all like a V-Twin. In Harley / flat track parlance, this is often called "twingling" - not to be confused with actual Twingle, or split-single engines. It's just a case of rotating the cams in one cylinder head, no new parts needed - adjust fuel map and ignition timings, done!
Supposedly, and originally, it was said to "improve grip". The more modern thinking is that it improves the "signal to noise ratio" regarding the rider's _sensation_ of available grip at the back tyre. The idea is the lumped torque pulses have a larger magnitude than the oscillating torque from the start-stop motion of the pistons, possibly better than a single cylinder of similar total capacity, given the shared inertia of the pistons in a twin-cylinder engine.
Unfortunately, the narrow V angle undermines that effect somewhat, it would need to be much closer to 90° for the best result - like the MT07 in flat track racing. In MotoGP the understanding has caused a shift away from lumping power pulses and into minimising the oscillating piston torque - or "inertial torque" as Yamaha call it - the required piston phases naturally result in irregular firing.
Aprilia also made a circuit racing variant, the RRV450, with short forks, the SXV swinging arm and a fairing. They were used for spec racing series; in the UK the series followed BSB around and was pretty entertaining. They're a bit like the old 250 two strokes.
You NEED to build a KTM XC or XC-W with the NEW Panthera 600cc motor!!!!!
we have KTM rolling chassis ready to go ;)
I own a Cannondale 440c & Aprillia 550 rxv. I do not ride them very offten but when I break them out people notice them. I have enjoyed your vidieos on these rare bikes.
Also don't forget this bike was launched just as the great economic recession of the late 2000s was taking full swing. Manufacturers were pulling out of motorsport everywhere. Remember when Honda sold its F1 team for one pound to a certain Ross Brawn?
I'd been eyeing one of these for about a year now, thanks for giving a review of it!