By Michael Gougis Aprilia has no plans for a factory campaign with its stunning RSV4 sportbike in the United States this season or next, but don’t be too surprised if the company introduces a naked version of the V-4 for the street. That’s according to Paolo Timoni, President and CEO of Piaggio Group Americas, Inc., speaking in an interview with Roadracing World this week at the company’s Costa Mesa tech center. The Piaggio group includes the Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Vespa, Piaggio and Derbi brands of motorcycles and scooters. Timoni says that the RSV4 is more than an amazing sportbike, also representing a fundamental change in the health of the company. “The RSV4 is the leading product in the Aprilia product range. It is basically the culmination of the turnaround effort and a very significant investment. You can imagine the money that goes into developing a new engine, a new vehicle, etc.,” Timoni says. “So of course the product has been received very well. It’s the right product at the right time in the maturity of the brand. Clearly, in the last four or five years we had to focus on fixing the service, building the infrastructure, creating the ability for us to introduce and handle a product as sophisticated as the RSV4. The product has been very well received, it’s leading edge in terms of its characteristics and performance, and I think that the results that (Max) Biaggi is achieving in the Superbike (World) Championship speaks to how good a product that it is. “Five years ago, Aprilia was basically bankrupt, a company in financial distress. Dealers were very disappointed that the company didn’t have the capability to provide support and service here in the United States. Since that time, many things have changed, investments have been made, people have been trained, and so today we are in a position to do things that we couldn’t do five years ago.” Timoni says that the Moto Guzzi line remains to capture the niche market of riders who don’t want digital speedometers and traction control. “Moto Guzzi is a little bit like Vespa is to scooters, Moto Guzzi is to motorcycles,” Timoni says. “So clearly, from a technical point of view, it targets the touring segment of the market, and is a product that distinguishes itself for the design, the true Italian characteristics, and somehow for the simplicity of its technical features. There are plenty of brands in today’s market including Aprilia that distinguish themselves by bringing to the market products that are very sophisticated from a technological point of view. But there is a segment of the consumer who still enjoys simple and basic, right? And they can find in Moto Guzzi the answer to what they are looking for. Riding it can be a very pleasant experience.” When asked point-blank if Aprilia had any plans to replicate its highly successful World Superbike program in AMA American Superbike competition, Timoni said no at least not in the short term. The payoff for doing well in World Superbike well, are you going to reach any customers in the United States with an AMA program who haven’t seen the Aprilia in World Superbike action? “Not this year or next year (in AMA), right? Maybe sometimes down the line. As you can imagine, racing is a very expensive hobby. To find the right balance between costs and benefits is the challenge. If it was beyond economic reason, we would enjoy racing in every possible championship in every part of the world,” Timoni says. “For the time being we think that a global championship is where we can find the right balance between cost and benefit. And therefore we are going to keep our racing at the (World) Superbike level. Interest (in Moto2 or MotoGP) is very high, but you have to understand when the company is at the right level of maturity so we can find the right balance. In Superbike, we get a lot of visibility and good image. I think you can always do better, but for the time being, we are doing pretty well.” Aprilia has no plans to leave 125cc Grand Prix racing, a critical marketing tool to reach younger riders in Europe, Timoni says. “In Europe, there is a very large segment of younger riders, because of local laws, when they turn 16 they can ride 125cc motorcycles. So that is an important market in Europe, a market in which Aprilia has a large market share,” Timoni says. “That kind of racing is a focus for those potential customers. I think that, in the current plans, (125cc racing) is here to stay. And who knows, maybe one day there might be a 250, too.” Aprilia also has no plans to introduce a smaller brother to the RSV4. But a naked version? Don’t be surprised, Timoni says. “I think that the next natural step would be to see the same engine platform in a more naked form,” he says.