The transmission shifts down easily and with the slipper clutch working there is no rear tire hopping. Just throw it in and plant your knee. With the front Pirelli 120/65/17, the turn-in action is achieved with relative ease just as they designed it to be.

On the exit of the turns, hard on the gas, the front would get light but it still held its composure. The Valencia kink puts the rider on the wrong side of the track for turn four but, never fear, the R will go where you want it to. The lighter wheels and smaller front forks are key to this maneuverability.

The R might get out of shape on track but still has a very confident feel about it. This kind of control is uncommon on a production motorcycle. It created confidence while riding the tricky sections of the track, such as where I would short-shift up two gears while leaned over, keeping the gas on, anticipating exactly where the mystery brake marker (I called it that because there is no reference point) was hiding. Here's where I thought the bike could use a bigger front tire because the rider is leaned over on the brakes hard, coming down the hill and the front seemed to squirm around. It really wasn't a problem, but I feel it could be in the heat of a race battle. Once slowed down enough, I could negotiate the last corner properly, and I often changed my lines so that I could get a better drive out and make a pass. The R would easily go wherever I wanted it to, no problem.

The harder I rode it, the easier it was; just like with a finely tuned race bike. Every time I went out on it, I would look down at the steering damper and think I should adjust it but I never did, and it made no difference. Before I went out on my last bomb session, I thought about lowering the front five mm to see if it would hold the line a little tighter exiting the corners. I had the thing leaned over so far that I was starting to scrape the pegs. I wondered if maybe I shouldn't raise the rear, too. Who knows? It was working so well, why bother?

Even after riding all day, I still felt as though I could go 50 more laps. The R didn't take much energy to ride and was very comfortable. All an all, it is a very exceptional bike, which can be exploited to its full potential straight out of the box. I have never before ridden a bike that works so well and is so easy to ride.

There are to be only 1500 of the R models built this year but I think that the success of this bike will bring a demand for many more. In Europe, they have a Superstock class that is 750cc and up and allows only slight mods. This Aprilia works so well in standard form I think it will kick ass. Unlike the R1s and CBR900s and the others, the Aprilia won't need heavy fork mods or a rear shock replacement to be competitive. It's ready to go right now.

At the end of the day, I said my good-byes and went into town to reflect on the day's events. Later that night, I hooked up with the English journalists and we pounded beers, covering the pros and cons of the RSV Mille R, and it seemed to be all good and no bad. It wasn't the booze talking, either. My conclusion is that the RSV Mille R is a great bike.