Aprilia RSV Mille R

The truth is I didn’t really know what to expect of a two-decade(ish) old Aprilia that was nearly 100bhp down on its modern day equivalent (RSV4RR/FW) and had the novelty of a choke on its left clip-on (remember them?). At least it ticked the boxes aesthetically: just look at that frame; beefy, sculpted and unpainted. Who does that nowadays? No one. Whether it handled or not was anyone’s guess, but I really liked the look of it, including the chicken mesh venting on the seat’s side panels that somehow managed to complement its appearance.

As you’d expect from a machine produced in Italy, it epitomised exotica, looking every bit the considered build with its flowing architecture