Aprilia RS Cube

Aprilia RS Cube
Manufacturer Aprilia
Also called Aprilia RS3
Production 2002-2004
Predecessor Aprilia RSW-2 500
Successor Aprilia RS-GP
Engine 990cc four-stroke Inline-triple
Weight 135kg (dry)

The 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.

The bike was not a success; Colin Edwards proclaimed the bike was "born bad," and it had "just so many things that need fixing." It had a tendency to wheelie easily, a lack of front-end feel, vibration from both the front and rear wheels, and unpredictable response from its fly-by-wire throttle system. Edwards' teammate in the 2003 Aprilia team, Noriyuki Haga, crashed the Cube 28 times in a single season.

The engine was considered the most powerful at that time, producing about 240 bhp (180 kW). A testbed that never was raced produced 260 bhp (190 kW) at one point, before Aprilia bowed out of MotoGP in 2004.

References

  1. ↑ "2004 - the triumph in the supermotard category". aprilia.it. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  2. ↑ "New Aprilia RS Cube unveiled at Genoa presentation". motogp.com. 22 March 2004. Retrieved 3 October 2012.

External links