April 1st would have been so much less funny if some guys at Aprilia hadn’t thought to make a joke involving the factory’s two riders Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli.
With a lot of factory workers and guys involved in the World Superbike series, Aprilia had two machines covered in the traditional red wraps and claimed that the riders were unveiling a new livery for the RSV4 bikes.
However, as the two racers pulled the veils covering what appeared to be two WSBK beasts, they were surprised and puzzled to find two bicycles equipped with RVS4 tail sections and front cowls, including the windscreens. The overall shape of the objects underneath the red veil was consistent to what real motorcycles would have looked under the wraps, so the illusion was quite good.
Even more, to add credibility to the whole prank, Aprilia used some slick tire cuts to wrap the bikes’ wheels so they would look just the front and rear wheels of actual motorcycles under the cloth. Judging by the faces and laughter of both Melandri and Guintoli, I might say they didn’t have a clue on what was about to happen.
And seeing the brief “how it’s made” process for turning the casual bikes into World Superbike-wannabe machines makes this video even funnier. Enjoy!
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