Motorcycles

Dirt bikes to go twin cylinder

Dirt bikes to go twin cylinder
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Monday November 24, 2003

If you want more power from the same capacity of engine, you go to more cylinders - it's one of the fundamental laws of engine construction.

Of course there are a myriad of other considerations such as power delivery characteristics, size and weight. That's why serious off-road motorcycles have always been single cylinder... until now.

With the Supermoto class beginning to have so much focus worldwide, and with motocross being four-stroke, the never-ending quest for more power is driven by a simple equation: more horsepower equals more chance of a chequered flag being waved at you which in turn drives sales.

Aprilia's solution is a 450cc, twin cylinder machine being introduced in both Supermotard and motocross racing. Dubbed the SXV 4.5, the bike features the same motor shown at the Milan Show recently (without a frame) and it will contest both the Supermoto and Motocross world titles next year.

On debut in Supermoto World Championship in SPA, the performance of Aprilia's SXV 4.5 ridden by Alex de Angelis was described as "extremely positive". The bike performed reliably for more than one and a half hours without any technical problem (and without any previous testing).

In the Supemoto Grand Prix of Wallonie on November 16 the SXV 4.5 had a "very positive race", finishing 23rd as data was collected for ongoing research and development.

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