MotoGP 2015: Aprilia or Suzuki?

GixxerL2

GixxerL2

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Ok guys the title says it all :D

Suzuki
Riders : Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales
Engine : Inline 4
Title Won : 2 times by Kevin Schwantz and Kenny Roberts Jr.


Aprilia
Rider : Alvaro Bautista
Engine : V4
Title Won : None


Other information
Espargaro actually rode a CRT bike with Aprilia engine in 2012 and he did amazingly well on that bike. On the other hand Bautista was with Suzuki in 2010 - 2011 and his pace was impressive on that GSV-R (800 cc V4). Between the two riders I like Espargaro better since he has been more consistent with his performance but they both are undoubtly very good riders.

As for the ride itself although Aprilia has never won any title in the premier class, the story seems to be slightly different in WSBK. Aprilia won two titles with Biaggi piloting the bike in 2010, 2012 and one title in 2013 (with Guintoli and Laverty on board). While most people thought that BMW (with F1 experience and technology) would shine when they entered WSBK with the S1000 RR, it was the RSV4 that dropped the jaw.

We also know that Japanese bikes have shown total domination in GP500 as well as MotoGP and only Casey Stoner with the famous Desmosedici won a title in 2007. The total domination has been shared almost equally between the two biggest manufacturers, Yamaha and Honda. Yamaha M1 with inline 4 crossplane crankshaft engine and Honda RC-V with V4 engine.

So which one do you think will shine in 2015? ;)
 
Aprilia has NEVER won a motogp title???

Can someone remind me how do they have the balls to charge so much for their bikes ?!
 
Suzuki hands down. I love Aprilia, but they need time to develop the bike and even then, let's not forget about the cube.

As for the riders.. toss up in my mind. Something most people don't acknowledge when speaking of Bautista is the fact that he is on Showa while everyone else is running Ohlins.. would imagine that leaves him at some disadvantage.
 
sid_for_speed said:
Aprilia has NEVER won a motogp title???

Can someone remind me how do they have the balls to charge so much for their bikes ?!
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If I'm not mistaken, Aprilia has never been in MotoGP. They have quite the history in WSBK, though.
 
Suzuki may do well, but Yamaha and Honda are a long way off, they will likely beat out Ducati.
Aprilia does not have the budget for a serious effort. The only reason why they entering motogp is to look more appealing for a buyout, the company is for sale.
 
GixxerL2 said:
So which one do you think will shine in 2015? ;)
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If you are being serious, you know that neither one will shine. The shining bikes will come from Honda or Yamaha team. Ducati might have a moment or two ....
 
Aprilia won the WSBK the first year they entered with the RSV Mille twin. They're far more reliable and better built than ducati for much less money.
 
sid_for_speed said:
Aprilia has NEVER won a motogp title???

Can someone remind me how do they have the balls to charge so much for their bikes ?!
Click to expand...

Because they're just that good.

Aprilia only competed at the 500cc level for a couple of years, and then again later with the Cube, which was literally 3 cylinders out of an F1 engine. Lots of first-on-the-track tech like pneumatic valves, and their placements improved as they detuned the engine. Having heard that monster on the track and on the test bench in their factory in Noale, I can tell you it was best sounding engine I'd ever heard. A close second would be the Benelli Tornado WSBK machine.

Aprilia was traditionally a scooter shop, and then later they ventured into 125cc and 250cc, where they absolutely dominated up until the 4-stroke era in those categories. They were also the first to use radial brakes.

They now have the Piaggio group behind them, which means a metric tonne of money, which they didn't have before. It should be interesting to see what they can produce, as they don't have the head-up-the-*** syndrome that Ducati does.
 
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Crashtest said:
Because they're just that good.

Aprilia only competed at the 500cc level for a couple of years, and then again later with the Cube, which was literally 3 cylinders out of an F1 engine. Lots of first-on-the-track tech like pneumatic valves, and their placements improved as they detuned the engine. Having heard that monster on the track and on the test bench in their factory in Noale, I can tell you it was best sounding engine I'd ever heard. A close second would be the Benelli Tornado WSBK machine.

Aprilia was traditionally a scooter shop, and then later they ventured into 125cc and 250cc, where they absolutely dominated up until the 4-stroke era in those categories. They were also the first to use radial brakes.

They now have the Piaggio group behind them, which means a metric tonne of money, which they didn't have before. It should be interesting to see what they can produce, as they don't have the head-up-the-*** syndrome that Ducati does.
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The engine was a beast, the bike was just plain bad. Or to quote Colin Edwards "Born Bad" ...and Haga crashed nearly thirty times in one season! Anyway... 240-260HP Cosworth developed counter rotating triple, fly by wire, and the previously mentioned pneumatic valves. But just when they seemed to have sorted out all the electronics and chassis issues, they packed it in. We'll see what happens this time around.

I don't know about the not having the head up the *** syndrome as you put it. The Cube failed because they were so hell bent on being different and couldn't make it all work soon enough. Sounds rather Ducati like to me. And don't forget the architect of Aprilia's brilliant WSBK return, Gigi Dall’Ignia, is now pulling heads outta arses at Ducati, and the results are starting to come.

Time will tell. I'm still convinced Suzuki will show better for the first year at least.
 
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GixxerL2 said:
As for the ride itself although Aprilia has never won any title in the premier class, the story seems to be slightly different in WSBK. Aprilia won two titles with Biaggi piloting the bike in 2010, 2012 and one title in 2013 (with Guintoli and Laverty on board). While most people thought that BMW (with F1 experience and technology) would shine when they entered WSBK with the S1000 RR, it was the RSV4 that dropped the jaw.
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Aprilia did not win the WSBK title in 2013, Kawasaki did.


sid_for_speed said:
Aprilia has NEVER won a motogp title???


Can someone remind me how do they have the balls to charge so much for their bikes ?!
Click to expand...

The RSV is priced competitively with the rest of the litre bikes....
 
Crashtest said:
Aprilia won the WSBK the first year they entered with the RSV Mille twin.
Click to expand...

I think Aprilia only won WSBK with their RSV4 and it was on their second year with Biaggi on it.


dextasy said:
Aprilia did not win the WSBK title in 2013, Kawasaki did.
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Aprilia won the manufacturer title not Kawasaki, Tom Sykes won the rider championship on Kawasaki. I think Aprilia will win WSBK again this year, too bad Melandri's performance was so bad in the first half of the season. He is a much better rider compare to Guintoli and he really deserves to be up there banging elbow with Sykes.
 
I think the swing from WSBK to Motogp is a large swing and dominating in WSBK is no guarantee of any success in GP. Suzuki will have work to do to just finish races in a top 5 place, Aprillia may have some technical engine advantages but Honda and Yami are well in front and not looking like sliding off the podium anytime soon. I see both as a presence and certainly required as a spectator sport, watching two teams own the series is getting stale fast, but neither will be a powerhouse in yr one. I think Suzuki started getting ready to return to GP three yrs ago, it takes that long.
 
My guess:

next year: Aprillia will do better than Suzuki.
longer term: Suzuki will do better than Aprillia.
longest term: both will leave MotoGP again because of cost and lack of competitiveness.
 
BigEvilDoer said:
Um Nope.
Piaggio Group's operating income dropped from 104.8 million Euros to 62.6 million Euros from 2011 to 2013.
http://www.piaggiogroup.com/en/investors/financial-data/highlights
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Which is one reason why they want to sell Aprilia.

The one aspect I really like about Aprilia is the build quality and reliability, in Europe they consider them Italian Hondas. The RSVs are priced lower than the Ducatis, but are better bikes.

They are hard to insure in Ontario, I wish they made a smaller bike like their awesome 250 two strokes.

This year will be very close between Kawasaki and Aprilia in WSBK, especially if Aprilia can get their riders on the same page and not racing each other.
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