It was never meant to be: The Aprilla 2002 Blue Marlin Cafe Racer Concept.

From Mcnews.au:

"Inspired by the past, Aprilia has created a genuine 'concept bike' in the Blue Marlin.
At the end of the 1960s, European sports bikes were still drawing on the image inherited from racing bikes from the period immediately after the Second World War. First English, then Italian motorcycles were the leading players in this moment of growth for the motorcycling sector.

And this was when the youngest, most combative and dynamic Italian companies made their mark on the market, proposing road-sports models inspired by the racing world of the previous decades (pragmatic but at the same time romantic).

A period of extreme creative fervour, when Aprilia began to make its first steps, proposing a slim streamlined bike, fruit of the intuition of the young Ivano Beggio, already keenly following and interpreting ideas and trends. This was the Colibri 50, Aprilia's first sports road bike. A product representing a perfect combination of simplicity and purity of form.

Now, after more than thirty years, this model becomes the inspiration for a high performance bike, designed to give new emotions through a combination of extreme lightness and engine power, partly thanks to the use of new technologies and materials enabling these sensations to be enhanced.

The Aprilia 1000 Blue Marlin has tapering, aerodynamic lines. Its essential design, emphasized by the complete absence of fairings, enhances the sensations identifying the very soul of motorcycling, such as the immediate perception of the bike's speed, amplified by the pressure of air on the body."

The mechanics of the Aprilia 1000 Blue Marlin have been conceived to emphasize the heart of the bike, the RSV 1000 60° V twin. The double cradle perimeter frame is made from chrome/molybdenum combining research and experience, drawing on concepts and technology from both the off-road and track world) with the most advanced research in materials and mechanics. The result is an ultra-lightweight frame with high torsional rigidity enabling the engine to express the high power output to the full.

The distinctive and exclusive double cradle design, with its small size and rear aluminium closure plate, also allows for fixing of the service elements (saddle mount, rear shock absorber and swingarm), with enormous advantages in terms of weight and dimensions. The frame also houses the oil tank, built into the bottom cradle.

The rear gas shock absorber without spring and levers leaves the maximum possible space for the exhaust, without compromising the essential lines and distinctive design.

Emphasizing the concept of lightness and clean lines is the new tubular aluminium truss swingarm with its streamlined wedge shape echoing the line of the overlying saddle mount, a genuine masterpiece of essential design and lightness.

The dashboard provides further confirmation of the concept of immediacy and practicality inherent in every individual component of the Aprilia 1000 Blue Marlin. Ease of reading and complete information are guaranteed by a perfect mix of classical and modern analogue and digital instruments going together perfectly to create an original and attractive result.

The components in this product are the best available on the market. From the Ohlins upside down 43 mm diameter fork with 120 mm travel to the Brembo braking system with double 320 mm floating disk and four pot calipers at the front and single 220 mm disk with two pot calipers at the rear."

Specifications:

Engine type -Four-stroke, longitudinal 60° V twin, with anti-vibration double countershaft (AVDC patent)
Cooling - Liquid cooled with three-way pressurised circuit.
Bore and stroke - 97 x 67.5 mm
Total displacement - 997.62 cc
Timing - Double cam shaft in cylinder head controlled by mixed gear/chain system, four valves per cylinder
Max. power - 130 hp at 9,500 rpm
Max. torque - 101 nm at 7,250 rpm
Fuel injection - Integrated electronic engine regulation system. Indirect multipoint electronic injection. 51 mm diameter throttle bodies
Ignition - Digital electronic with two spark plugs per cylinder (TSI Twin Spark Ignition), integrated with injection.
Gearbox - 6-speed with wet multi-plate clutch
Frame - Chrome molybdenum double cradle (diameter 34 mm x 1.5 tubes) with built-in oil tank. Removable tubular aluminium seat mount
Length - 2070 mm
Width - 710 mm
Height - 1050 mm
Seat height - 800 mm
Wheelbase - 1415 mm
Front suspension - Ohlins upside-down fork, 43 mm diameter sleeves, with titanium nitride treatment. Wheel travel 120 mm.
Rear suspension - Hydraulics externally adjustable in rebound, compression and preload. Tubular aluminium truss swingarm. Gas shock absorber without spring or levers
Front brake - 320 mm diameter Brembo stainless steel double floating disk. Four-pot calipers, 34 mm dia. and four pads in sintered material
Rear brake - 220 mm diameter stainless steel disk; two-pot caliper, 32 mm diameter