Getting the wrong Aprilia factory is a fairly easy mistake to make. Aprilia actually have two factories near Noale, one where the bikes are made, hence the huge rack of frames sitting outside in the sun, and another housing the racing department, R&D and offices.I say it's an easy mistake because Niall and I spent 20 minutes at the wrong door. But get inside and you are instantly welcomed to the Aprilia family.
Aprilia's financial standings have been a bit shaky to say the least since the scooter bubble burst, but with its recent takeover by Piaggio things are looking a lot better. But, if the facilities are anything to go by, at least Aprilia invested wisely when the money was there. The R&D, testing and general facilities are very impressive and our tour of the factory really did show what goes into making, testing and getting any new bike through the various and ever more stringent EU laws.
Check out the technical story below to see what goes on - it really is amazing how much a bike has to go through.
Moving from the road bike testing area we entered the racing and R&D department. Despite Piaggio's decision to pull out of MotoGP, Aprilia still takes its racing very seriously. The Aprilia Racing division employs 80 people who design, test, order and store every component in-house for all classes of racing.
The storeroom alone holds over £3,500,000-worth of spares, all kept in labelled compartments - it's the ultimate pick and mix shop! Next year there will be around 20 privateer 125cc Aprilias in GPs plus the factory bikes, and 12 or so 250cc privateers, again plus the factory bikes. Fancy running a team? A factory 125cc costs £50,000 and a 250 is £70,000. And you'll be needing spares on top of that, plus a decent-sized transporter and a few grid girls.
Walking around the factory the thing that was really noticeable at Aprilia was the family atmosphere. The last year has been tough; the financial problems stopped production for two weeks in mid-summer last year and the employees really didn't know if they were going to get their marching orders or not - the factory was on the brink of closing for some time.
While Aprilia tried to put a brave face on things, a few of the employees we spoke to described the time as 'a nightmare', and it seems to have brought the whole of Aprilia closer. But all's well that ends well and, for now at least, Aprilia's future looks secure. Buoyed by the factory's restored spirit of optimism, Niall and I drew straws for who got the RSV-R's keys for the 100-mile journey to Bologna, the home of Ducati.
Continue for the Ducati Factory
How you can do it
Aprilia is based in Noale, just outside Venice. The easiest way to get to the factory is to fly to Venice Treviso airport, which is on the budget airline routes. Or you could ride your Aprilia there, of course.
