According to the latest reports from India, Aprilia is evaluating on 300-400cc class of bikes to rival against Japanese, Austrian, Indian and German manufacturers. Diego Graffi, MD and Chairman of Piaggio India dropped the bombshell to Zigwheels at the Vespa Racing Sixties launch earlier this week. Graffi did not divulge any details on the project but he did confirm the brand is currently evaluating motorcycles in the 300-400cc segment.
Aprilia already had plans for smaller 150cc Aprilia RS150 and Aprilia Tuono 150. The Italian brand even showcased the prototypes two years ago at the 2018 Auto Expo. With these bikes hitting the streets soon, the company exploring higher 300-400cc segment to further develop its product lineup sounds smart.
For now, in the 250-500cc segment, Aprilia offers only the Aprilia GPR 250. With the demand for 300-400 cc segment bikes growing, Aprilia’s plan on focusing on the sub-400cc segment actually sounds promising. For example, looking at the Indian market, KTM, Yamaha, Royal Enfield, TVS, BMW, Bajaj, Benelli and Kawasaki are major players in the field. As for KTM, the 390cc Duke and RC sports bike have captured not just the Indian market but the global market as well. Talking of Malaysia, aside from KTM’s 390 line-up, BMW’s G 310 series alongside Yamaha YZF-R3 are showing strong growth.
Well, the specification and details are very limited for now because Aprilia is still ” evaluating” the segment. However, here are a few things we can tell you from our knowledge. Let’s start with the engine, we think the new bike would boast either a parallel twin or single-cylinder mill. So why is the single-cylinder mill in our list? Well, if Aprilia decides to roll out the 300-400cc lineup with an attractive price tag; they would probably stick with a single-cylinder mill to keep the cost in check.
Up next, the models; well, judging from Aprilia’s current lineup, we think the sub-400cc segment would consist of RS and Tuono models. As for the launch of the bike, we think it wouldn’t be anywhere in the next 2 years. Which means the launch of this lineup would be most probably in 2023 or later.
Source: Zigwheels