Aprilia’s RS-GP MotoGP bike was the first to put a racing car-style rear wing on the track in 2022 and, if the 2024 prototypes shown at the end-of-season test in Valencia are to be believed, we’ll be seeing the same on virtually all rival bikes next year. And just as front wings quickly became an indispensable feature on road sports bikes when they appeared in MotoGP, it’s likely that rear spoilers will end up being introduced on production models in the future.
Aprilia has published a patent application which describes the design and purpose of the rear of its racing bike, but which also clearly indicates that the same idea can be applied on the road, stating that the idea “relates to ‘road’ bikes,” before explaining that the practical benefits really apply to racing. The patent features the same rear wing and spoiler combination that was first observed in 2022 and, although it has only just been published, the document was registered with the patent authorities at around the same time.
Ideas intended exclusively for competition are rarely the subject of patents. Partly because this means illustrating exactly how the ideas work and explaining their benefits – which is not ideal in a highly competitive environment. After all, there is no guarantee that the patent will be accepted, so filing an application may simply be giving away your secrets. Even if a patent is accepted, it would be seen as unsporting to try to use patent law to prevent rivals from using the same idea in competition, and the plethora of rear spoilers appearing on rival bikes reveals that Aprilia is trying to do nothing of the sort. With this in mind, logically, Aprilia’s patent application is designed to protect its idea in case the company decides to implement the same idea on a production model.
While rear spoilers will never be a game-changer for production bikes (even in MotoGP their benefits are still superficial, so rear wings are often added or removed depending on the specific circuits).
What Aprilia’s patent does is provide a clear explanation of exactly what the rear wing arrangement achieves. Aprilia’s system is a little more complex than a simple wing, combining a pair of winglets on the sides of the rear of the bike with a spoiler mounted on top. Although the result is very similar to the rear wings used on racing cars to help them with cornering stability at incredible speed. The downforce generated helps to keep the rear wheel on the ground, particularly during hard braking at the end of a straight when the rider is leaning into corners, when the rear wheel would normally be unloaded or almost unloaded.
The document states: “…the spoiler makes it possible to create an aerodynamic force on the rear wheel. This force is particularly effective during emergency braking, i.e. hard braking, and is designed to reduce rear wheel rebound, improving the bike’s grip and thus facilitating corner entry. In addition, the greater load created on the rear end of the bike is useful on straights with undulations, such as a descent, where the bike reaches a speed of around 350 km/h and would tend to lose grip.”
Although Aprilia doesn’t currently compete in WSBK – its 1099cc V-4 engine is too big for current regulations and the brand hasn’t yet followed Ducati’s example and created a special 999cc homologation version to stay under the 1000cc limit – it’s clear that a patented rear wing design used on a production bike could give it an edge against competing manufacturers. Honda’s 2024 updates to the CBR1000RR-R SP, for example, include changes to the winglets that can only really be beneficial at the highest level of racing. Aprilia’s patent application covers itself in case it wants to put aerodynamic thinking into production, and follows a patent in 2022 that described other aerodynamic methods of the RS-GP.