Back in the 1990s something happened – we got turned on to twins…
I don’t mean The Cheeky Girls – they were much later, I mean the much more attractive look (and sound) of a twincylinder motorcycle.
Back then it was pretty much a Ducati thing. The Bologna manufacturer had been producing desirable V-twins for decades and by the mid-1990s they took off big time, thanks to their range of affordable air-cooled machines, such as the SS range and later the Monster range and their liquid-cooled eight-valve desmos, such as the 888 family and, from 1994-on, the beautiful 916/996 family.
Ducati wasn’t just showing how to be different on the street, but out on track, too. Ducati’s V-twins were dominant, winning eight World Superbike titles bar the 1993 and 1997 championships in that decade. Little wonder then, that manufacturers soon began to take note and build their own twin-cylinder sports bikes. Here are the best of that decade…
The RSV1000 was Aprilia’s first attempt at building a superbike and it was a glorious effort that really should have sold far better than it did back in the day. Thankfully, in hindsight the bike has built up quite a following, thanks in part to CMM friends AP Workshops (www.apworkshops.co.uk).
More powerful than Ducati’s then-current 996 (128bhp vs 112bhp), the Mille was also more reliable and a good deal cheaper than its Italian rival (£9449 vs £11,400). All it lacked was the kudos of being a Ducati – and a World Superbike title.
Built for the WSB championship, the bike did win races but failed
