Riding the OUTLAWED Twin Cylinder Dirt Bike! 

You can check out some of the other crazy bikes that we have filmed here. How about a 1000cc 2 stroke dirt bike... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RpDbli7GeBY.html

Great video and fantastic bike. Two small corrections: 107 kg is not heavy at all, it's pretty much exactly the same as other 450 at the time. So really impressive for a two cilinder. Second, a Kickstarter was not outdated at all in 2009, almost al mx bikes had it.

Man, I appreciate you reviewing all these non mainstream bikes. There are those of us who find these "odd" bikes interesting. Also nice to see you going a bit more in depth on each separate bikes history. Keep it up!

It (the twin) was originally banned by the FIM because it started to make more horsepower so they revamped the twin cylinder rule. The AMA followed. The money behind the FIM and AMA were paid off to prevent any progress in the sport. The bikes are relatively the same since roughly 2009. Motocross and the dirt bike industry are incredibly small minded.

My son Jon's mxv 450 is the reason you have been able to watch this video review. So all credit to him for seeking this bike out in the first place looking after it regardless of cost.

I have the 550 enduro version here in Germany, it's freak-out value at the practice track is priceless.

Great that a manufacturer tried something different...love that Aprilia twin ❤

If it was new today it would still be the most futuristic bike out. The MX series needs some cool bikes like this to shake things up, it's too bad they are too worried to upset the current manufacturers to allow some cool innovations, or even allow equal displacement 2 strokes (The AMA tried a couple years ago, but Honda said they would leave the AMA championships if = displacement 2 strokes were allowed).

How have I never even heard of this and I can't believe Sean was 2 secs faster without even really dialing jn the suspension, cockpit, etc! So sweet

The SXV 550 Supermoto Edition was the best sounding and absolutely fastest Supermoto I've ever had to race against in the German Championship. At one racetrack in the 2008 season (don't know the year exactly) it was measured with 202kmh on a long straight. No other bike was even close to that topspeed! I wish I bought one in 2007-2009 era, but it was 15.000€ for the bike, custom made to order for racing. It had a 2-in-1 underseat exhaust formed like the rear fender and I could listen to it idle for 24h every day. It was made by the Aprilia Racing Department on your order and made of SXV and MXV parts. The tank and fuel hoses were super-close to the exhaust and I remember one bike going up in flames at a race, when the fuel hose got in touch with the exhaust and caught fire.

Imagine if Aprilia went back to the drawing board on this thing sorted all the issues out and turned it into a light weight adventure bike 1-1.2l oil capacity (0.3gal) , 6-speed gearbox, 14l tank (3.6gal starting point) 🤤

I was working as UK Sales manager for the UK importer of Cagiva and MV Agusta at the time this bike came out and the Castiglioni who owned those brands at the time was furious. The engine in that bike had been designed by Cagiva in house, but an employee defected to Aprilia and took the design with him. I would have loved to see that motor used in more bikes. Very cool.

They were ahead of the game on a few things. Would be interesting to hear one modded and tuned.

Aprilla does not make a bad looking nor ugly bike. All their bikes are works of art and function.

Definitely ahead of their time for sure. I got the witness the short lived US offroad effort firsthand. My friend Ryan Echols was a factory rider and won several local hare scramble races on the 450. He piloted them in multiple GNCC pro class races, but the teething problems continued to pile up and they would not make a 3 hour race. Still really cool to see them up close ( and ride them) before anyone knew what they were.

Yes Christini AWD review next plz🙏 and thank you for paying homage to this great Italian Stalion! Its always been one of my favorite dirt bike dream bikes & it was so awesome to see it being put through its paces & it definitely lived up to all the hype I ever read about it. I can’t believe the results👏👏 what a worthy competitor it would still make today👍. Thnx for another great episode Max👍👏👏👊

I've had the SXV450 for ten years now and it's still going strong. Great video guys.

You asked what we should ride next! That's easy, ride the Stark VARG (80HP/938 Nm). Looking forward reviewing the lap times.

This bike still fuels dreams of a truly lightweight and high-performance v-twin adventure enduro. A lot of 'little' things would need changed (smaller bore/stroke ratio, milder cam, more oil capacity, fuel injection...) but the idea is still tantalizing

I feel like an absolute muppet for initially pretending to myself that i don't like your channel when i first stumbled upon it a few years ago, i think my problem was i couldn't get over how immensely jealous i was of what you're doing :D my bad! but since i realised how silly i was being and started to really just enjoy your videos, wow, what an absolutely amazing channel you've made mate, very very well done, the quality of the videos feel like it's been skyrocketing for a while now, along with your talent as a host! so not only a huge congrats on the deserved success of the channel, but thanks for giving us such fantastic videos! cheers!

I always wondered why there aren't 2 cylinder 4 strokes. The biggest problem i have with a 4 stroke is 1 power stroke for 2 crankshaft revolutions and down low, they flame out. An extra cylinder would help a lot. Interestingly enough, Harley Davidson's back in the day were one of the best in dirt track due to being a V twin because they caught traction better than anything else.

Have a 2009 RXV 5.5 - 5 speed gearbox and very rare here in the US… mine is S#13… no idea how many 09s made it here… never seen another except on RU-vid…. 70 rwhp…. and the bugs were worked out from the earlier versions…. Only problem I’ve had was blinkers that broke off almost immediately… no worries - replaced with bulletproof L.E.D.s…. Little over 1100 miles on mine..

You failed to mention Aprilia was also a force in the world of Trials ! Also culminating with a World Championship in 1992 with rider Tommi Avhala from Finland

I worked at a dealership for a few years and we sold a handful of these in the US. We had one at the shop that I spent a good bit of time on and I absolutely LOVED it. When you said about the low COG I think you nailed it. The bike feels very planted. I got along with the handling of this bike more than any other MX bike around the 2012-2015 era. Also, the correct starting procedure is to kick it over slow once to "charge" the EFI system, then around TDC just push the kicker through the stroke. Once you get good at it it'll feel like you're just letting your boot's weight move the kicker and it'll fire right off!

I have three friends who have ridden one Rx450 and two Rx550s: great bikes to ride. but Aprilia's durability and customer service were very poor. something kept breaking every day they Ride. there were problems with the freewheeling starter and the oil circuit, and things just weren't tight: petrol was running out of the tank and oil was leaking out of the engine somewhere. The supply of spare parts sucked! After less than 1 year, three friends of mine were left without a motorcycle because they all had a major Engine damage. Although Aprilia were aware of the problems with their engines, there was no concession: no guarantee of open-power approval. the experiences of my friends with the RXV models and Aprilia in general finally saved me from buying a Tuareg 660: numerous engines were exchanged shortly after the start of sales...

Wish they made those again...I remember when they came out....would have had one if the dealership wasn't so far away. People always forget this bike when talking about the new Tuareg and Aprilia playing in the dirt.

Good to see the fast guy really ripping on it. Definitely get the sense that its really a motocross capably machine instead of a mediocre trail/dual sport/desert type bike.

MXV450 owner here from Southern California. It's lived life as an MX, Supermoto and Flat Track bike. It is upgraded to a 5-speed gearbox from the SXV. Great machine and so unique to ride. I have heard as little as 20-25 bikes were shipped into Canada and the USA.

Sick bike! Shame the AMA ruined it. They don't like anything with a 2 in it.

Another great video Max, thanks for the aprilla story, looks a great bike a lot of racing pedigree, the Europeans make some beautiful machines.

Man, it seems theres a lot of misinfo in the comments. As someone who owns 2 MXV's, and 6 SXV/RXV's, they made approximately 350 of the MXV's worldwide, they sold 12 in the USA, and 9 in Canada, not much. The main reason being the stained reputation from the SXV/RXV line, which maybe they hoped to save with the MXV but ultimately abandoned the project in favour of their upcoming big race bikes. Being that this was the first engine Aprilia designed in house and didn't buy from Rotax, they did a pretty good job, but had poor execution, because of some oil routing issues heat would build up, cause the case sealant to fail, starve the cams for oil, and ruin the engine, this can be fixed with later updates, as I have 44,000 kilometers on my SXV550. However none of this applied to the MXV, which had different oil pathways and updated internals, its not common for issues to arise on these bikes, but thats a small sample compared to the 15 thousand or so other XV's that sold. The MXV engine is basically the same as the other ones, just different oil reservoir and kickstarter. Mine are bored out to 500cc and one has a 5th gear transmission installed, 550 cams, tune, etc, all custom work. These can be hopped up to about 90 horsepower, before it just pops, but from the factory it was in the 50 range. There is also a difference between 2009 and 2010 MXV's, with the 10's having slightly updated frame geometry to support the triple tree on hard landings, with the 09's relegated to an extremely rare frame stiffener kit. Although I have never seen a 2010, as they mainly used those for their supermoto team, because of course they went back to supermoto! Complete with carbon fiber gas tanks, aluminum connecting rods, dual titanium exhausts, shortened swingarms, etc. They were named SMXV's, and from what I can gather, 14 left the factory in 2014, as replica Adrien Chareyre bikes. Most likely they were just a body kit put on to unsold 2009 bikes, as they did with the pikes peak edition. So in reality, a 2010 MXV is more likely to be a leftover 2009, than an actual 2010.

Hey that’s awesome man! I was just talking about this bike with a customer . We talked about it’s history, and how Aprilia vanished from the mx scene in a short period of time. Love the fact that you take the time to do these kind of video’s, refreshing really😅👌🏻

I fell in luv with this bike the first time I saw it in a magazine, I'm 30seconds into the video now! Talk to you later! Lol!

I want one so badly but it's too exotic for my taste, like i don't feel like im going to be able to find spare parts

Well done Max and the team. One of my fav episodes so far.

Hi there, Max. Great vid about this smashing Aprilia! I remember one of my friends competing against 125 Aprilias in 1978 in NL amateur MX those days. Those things were already good and fast then! Back to the 2 cylinder front: I love this 450, a shame it's flame went out... If you ever can get your hands on a Gilera 2cyl, which I once saw in the capable hands of dear departed Gaston Rahier, or even the Honda 125 twin, I'd be over the moon!! Talking AWD/2x2 bikes: there have been several projects on that front. I remember a Yamaha based Dakar project of 2 french twin brothers and a Maico based 2x2 bike that should be in the Sammy Miller museum in GB. Anyways: good hunting and I'll be quite happy to see you get your hands and camera on either 4 of the beforementioned. Thnx & greetz from T🐻 in NL.

Let's not forget the Climber trials bike and the awesome RX125 ! 🙂

Awesome vid Max. Keep the vids coming and let the good times roll.

Max 🫡 mate, every week pulling the bike out the hat 🎩 lol, great vlog again, thanks for pulling these gems out for us to watch 🤜🏻🤛🏻

Very pretty bike! Hey Max, it really is a mega & unique thread you’re creating by showcasing these amazing, but not mainstream bikes. Keep going👏👏👏✅

Wow Awesome video, I have one in my collection here in California. There's a really cool way to start it without actually kicking it in a traditional sense. Very fast bike that holds its own against all the new stuff out there on track or in the desert.

Had the 550 sxv for a bit and it was so good! Such a shame they couldn’t race and didn’t get developed into an end user bike basically stayed a factory prototype so the engines needed a crazy amount maintenance. You need to get hold of the Maico 700 enduro bike or the ATK 620/700

I knew a guy that had one road legal, and it was rapid it drove like it had a turbo. You would rev and nothing happened like a 2 stroke but as soon as you got a few revs into it the bike flew and as long as you stayed in the power range it was more than capable of competing with 2 stroke bikes, out of the power it was like a Sunday driver. It did have different exhaust setup than the normal one if I remember correctly.

I had a 2007 RXV450 Enduro, which i bought new. The bike was beautiful looking and sounded like a Ferrari, made great linear tractable power through the RPM range. The suspension was excellent for enduro, and the steering was fantastic - really shined in tight single track. Sadly i had to get rid of it because it did not have a kick starter, which is a problem when the electric starter was totally unreliable. I literally had to bring a spare starter with me on rides because you never knew when it would fail. I had the starter re-wound which helped somewhat but did not solve the issue. Perhaps lower gearing in the starter drive would have lessened the current load on the starter. It was a sad day when i let that bike go but poor reliability was the deal breaker for me. Sad because the bike was A+ in so many ways.

I was like enough to get the chance to ride it as my own bike between 2009 and 2010 Supermoto season. It was an absolute game changer, still the most beautiful bike i’ve ever ride in my life. 10 years ahead of the rest of the field, especially in Supermoto ❤

Awesome vid :) stoked to see the MXV tested and ridden hard! Everyone rags on the reliability of the sxv/rxv but once setup properly they're pretty decent. So now I need an RXV and an MXV to go with my SXV lol.

I owned a single cylinder vor for a very short time,now that was an exotic bike!

Yup, great machine, I had one. I also had a rxv550 enduro that had SM wheels, I couldn't bring myself to put the dirt wheels on it and put it in the dirt because it was so clean and such great condition. Back to the mxv450, awesome machine, fast, handled so very well. I was not a performance rider, just a trail and occasional single track rider with my then young son. I did mount an OEM side stand(OEM parts were dirt cheap) which was helpful on the trails. Even with my efforts to make the bike more trail friendly it would never be tamed for the trails, so I sold it in favor of a ktm500 with a wide ratio transmission. It is a special machine.

Thank you for the videos , I've always wanted a Aprilia 550 but never had the cash . I never knew the 450 was so awesome . Everyone thinks the latest bikes are better and faster than the older ones . I've seen over and over that is not the case . It's still ; 90% fixed and 10% bike . Would Iike a new bike ? Who wouldn't ! I'm just as happy riding my older bikes . I love the open class bikes they are a blast . Again thank you for the opportunity to see these really rare and exotic bikes in action . Two Thumbs Up ! 😊👍👍

Max, I am literally drooling. Never even had heard of this what an exotic Machine

I remember seeing one new in the shop in Perth Australia thinking it was pretty awesome. I was unsure of its reliability or parts costs at the time. The shop selling them was only around a couple years which makes sense after watching this video

What a totally cool track !! Reminds me of areas I used to ride here in the canyons in Southern California here in East San Diego County. Large hills & valleys linked together like a giant bowl of Spaghetti with berms & jumps & off camber shit & steep climbs & decents thrown in for good measure . Lots of fun back in my youth ……. All dozed over now with tract homes built everywhere. The Aprilia was a pretty radical departure at that time & I had only seen one in the flesh before your video here today . If memory serves me correct they were NOT a standard 45 degree “ V” , but either a 60 or 65 degree ( or something of the like ) that gave them that unique exhaust note . 👍

The 450R is still the Gold Standard Motocross bike imo and i think it always will be. However, I have been riding since i was 5 and am now 28 and its so cool to see brands like Yamaha and Ktm still producing 2 stroke bikes, they are gems and an experience in itself. If anyone here hasnt tried a 2 stroke you should, they are a blast!

Must admit the 450 sounds better then anything on mud

Great video, these exotic tests are really interesting. I'd love to see a review of a one of those CCM team bikes that Church and Sword raced. I remember reading the frames were bonded aluminium rather than welded (borrowing from the automotive industry) and they used Yamaha engines.

Had the aprilia sxv550 supermoto for some years. A beast of a bike. Moody, fast and absolutely deadly. But really fun!

I had an RXV450 back in the day and it was incredible. And also never let me down thankfully! Had dirt setup for the weekend and supermoto setup for weekday daily duties.

My favorite bike ever! Great video man!

Makes me miss my SXV 550 !!

NICE BIKE, IT REMINDS ME, OF MY YOUTH, RIDING, MY YZ 490J, WHAT A BLAST... GREAT CONTENT, KEEP UP ,THE GREAT WORK, MAN..

Awesome video guys.. I'm in love with the mxv since their exit. I've the luck to test it when is new.. And really want it... The torque is awesome, without explosion.... I think that they need to trust more

I've just picked up a RXV450 and had the first ride on a MX track. It is kinda heavy but actually handles pretty well. Power is smooth and plentiful.

Love your videos, you and Sean are very likable lads 👍☺️ big love from Sweden 🇸🇪

Wow what a great video and story! And OMG what a machine! Love tbis type of content! Cheers!

I'd been eyeing one of these for about a year now, thanks for giving a review of it!

I have serial number 19 so they made at least 20 units. I also have a 2009 RXV550.

We have a good few aprilias in eastern/central Europe especially the two strokes but these are still very rare they are great bikes and use the rotax engines which are fairly reliable and are also used by Honda in the new Italian two stroke models

Love that owners of these rare bikes know they’re built to be ridden and don’t keep them in a garage collecting dust, but allow you to share them with us!

I wanted one of those when after seeing it at the Aprilia display at the International motorcycle show. First dirt bike I had ever seen with an ignition map switch, they stated low map was for muddy conditions, great looking machine.

I would love to see you riding the bmw 450

You NEED to test a Stark Varg 80hp version PLEASE 🙏 👊

Good to see you back 999Lazer‼️😊 Your track there in the U.K. is just awesome ~ I watched 3 years of British Championships races there in the last decade or so...👍🙋God Bless, Y'all from S. Texas

Yes, looking forward to this, thanks Max, great content as always 😊

Have you already put in your order for a Panthera 600 engine?? This has to hit the channel for sure.

I used to have a SXV 550 with a pipe and airbox mods only. To hear the sound on this bike being sooo different is quite weird. The SXV was the best Supermoto I´ve ever ridden but a nightmare to own with parts being as rare as meteor showers.... and unfortunately they need a lot them ^^..

Great to see you giving coverage to my local track!

I remember the SXV did get wins in the super moto races where they had mixed off road and tarmac circuits in the south of europe. I don't remember the names ( Van Den Bosch??) who rode this beatiful machine in the late 2009/2010

You NEED to build a KTM XC or XC-W with the NEW Panthera 600cc motor!!!!!

fun fact, Josh Coppins has a son who actually races in my local Mx championship, and yes just like his father that kid is fuckin scary fast lol, remember him being as quick as the 85s on his 65 probably about 10+ seconds quicker then the rest of his group

Good old ashdown, looking forward to being back there this weekend after my accident there two months ago. Great video as usual, bike sounds wicked 👍👍

There's a few MXVs that got turned into SMXVs here in Europe, a cross between the SXV and MXV. Some parts of the engine are better on the MXV, and were more reliable and allowed to make a bit more power for the racing teams. I own a RXV 450 myself, it's just mental when you open the throttle fully. The bike is excellent, even at 180 I don't have any stability issues. Biggest complaints about the SXV was the long wheelbase for supermoto tracks, teams had to buy custom triple clamps and cut the swingarm shorter. I know some guys got 75-80whp out of the 550 engine, so about 60-65 for the 450.

Never seen an mxv but there are quite a few rxv/sxv's in Australia still a pretty rare bike here but they are around if ya look.

I suggest a 1985 Cagiva 500 MX. It has a very nice motor. Imagine this V twin in a 250 cc and 350 cc also. Great review and I learned something. Great track. Big hills like a MX track should have. Best channel on You Tube.

The tank and airbox positions are similar to the 1985+ Yamaha F750 5-valve Genesis. The inline 4 engine was laid down at 45° from vertical, the carbs drew down vertically from the airbox where the gas tank is normally located, and the fuel was carried just above the transmission. Man, you could really hear the airbox HOWL when you ran it flat out at 145mph... The MXV450 is a really cool machine!

Saw a 450 and a 550 racing supermotard in Sydney Australia. Quick bikes. Rare as rocking horse shart

Also don't forget this bike was launched just as the great economic recession of the late 2000s was taking full swing. Manufacturers were pulling out of motorsport everywhere. Remember when Honda sold its F1 team for one pound to a certain Ross Brawn?

But then the Panthera motor can go in MANY bikes!

I bought a brand new MXV450 and converted it to Supermoto after racing an SXV550 for a bunch of years. The MXV was the evolution of the SXV/RXV range, but while they looked similar they didn’t share a lot of important parts. It’s hard to be 100% sure but it sounds like that bike is set-up in Big-bang configuration where both cylinders fire almost simultaneously, Screamer mode is when the ignition is equally spaced across the cycle like most V-twin engines. Big-bang is better for the dirt but Screamer mode is better on Tar. The switch on the handlebar just changes the mapping from hard to soft. The commonly accepted production volume is around 250 bikes. The MXV450 might have been seen a failed experiment by some (probably most) but the technology and out-of-the-box thinking was quite revolutionary for the time and it’s still one of the best looking MX bikes ever made.

I think it'd make a great snow bike!! Love the sound!

Awesome thank you for such good motor bike it would of bin better if it was a 2 stroke

Best looking bike ever. Max let’s see some TM’s screaming 🙏

What an exceptional video and wonderful Aprilia mx 450 !! I was fortunate enough to ride the 450 dual sport and spectacular bike !!! My dealer was a Aprilia Husqvarna dealer and I ended up with a 2009 TE 450 , loved that bike to , but always wondered what if ? 🤔 thanks for this outstanding video

Thank you! Its so hard to find footage of these things

My step uncle had one of these and it set on fire haha. Was a Lovely sounding bike when on full chat.

Best mx channel. Hands down

Excellent, well presented, thought out journalism and overall awe content! I have yet to find this kind of info anywhere else.

Awesome review, I saw Stefan Merriman ride the Welsh round of the world enduro championship on one in about 2008. Sounded awesome.

A work of art this thing!!! Love it!

Unreal production quality. I'm new here, but here to stay. I'll look forward to the next episodes.

AMA is the most asinine organization, the internet gotten crazy with Truimph "Leaks"/ Photoshops they showed this exact bike. Never thought this was real and it was interesting to learn about this machine even being a V-Twin and as mentioned a RoadBike Manufacture joining. very interestinng times indeed with Beta, and Truimph and many others. Can't wait the Big 5 HAVE to innovate or they are going to take over the market rightfully so. Thank you again for this Video!!