Aprilia RS 250 Service Manual (1994-1998)

Aprilia brought the RS 250 to market in the mid-1990s as a road-going race replica just as its 250 cc Grand Prix programme was reaching championship level. Period Cycle World launch coverage described the new 250 as a street motorcycle deliberately shaped around Aprilia's GP image, while Aprilia's official racing palmarès records Max Biaggi's 250 cc World Championship in 1994. The production machine was not the factory GP bike, but it arrived with unusually close visual and chassis links to the racing programme that defined Aprilia's sporting identity at the time.

The road bike used a modified Suzuki RGV250-derived 90-degree two-stroke V-twin rather than the works Grand Prix engine. Factory specifications give 249 cc, a 56 × 50.6 mm bore and stroke, reed-valve induction, exhaust-control valves, separate automatic oil injection and liquid cooling. Two Mikuni TM34 SS carburettors feed the engine, while a wet multi-disc clutch and six-speed gearbox drive the rear wheel through a chain. That layout made the motorcycle a quarter-liter two-stroke race replica with a narrow, high-revving powerband and a drivetrain closely aligned with contemporary Japanese 250-class sport machinery.

Aprilia developed its own chassis around that engine. The first-generation specification uses a twin-beam frame made from cast and stamped elements, an adjustable upside-down fork with 120 mm travel, an adjustable rear monoshock, twin 298 mm front discs and a 220 mm rear disc. Factory data lists a 1,370 mm wheelbase, 810 mm seat height and 141 kg dry weight. Cycle World's 1995 riding impression described the frame as closely influenced by Aprilia's 250 GP chassis and praised the combination of low mass, strong Brembo brakes and high cornering speed, which helped establish the model as one of the most focused road-going 250s of its era.

A major evolution arrived for 1998. The factory update material documents revised bodywork, multifunction instrumentation, electrical equipment, chassis procedures, dimensions, fuel capacity and wheel/tyre specifications. Updated figures include a 1,360 mm wheelbase, 19.5-litre fuel capacity, 120/60 ZR17 front tyre and 167 kg ready-to-start weight. Contemporary retrospective coverage also identifies 1998 as the main second-generation restyle, with bodywork revised to resemble Aprilia's later GP machines. The basic V-twin and six-speed architecture remained, but the motorcycle's appearance and road equipment moved decisively toward the late-1990s Aprilia racing aesthetic.

The RS 250 remained closely associated with Aprilia's 250-class success through the end of the decade. Aprilia's official racing history records 13 wins from 14 Grands Prix in the 250 class in 1998 and Valentino Rossi's 250 cc world title in 1999, reinforcing the race-replica context in which the road model was sold. This listing is based on factory publication 945W, first issued in 1994 and revised in October 1998; its references identify Model 1994, Model 1995, Models 1995-1996-1997 and Model 1998, with a dedicated 1998 update section. Related documentation is grouped in the Aprilia RS 250 manual category.