9. Aprilia
The Italian motorcycle company is one of the marques owned by Piaggio, and it started as a scooter manufacturer, but has come to be known for its race-winning sportsbikes.
The company was founded after the Second World War by Cavaliere Alberto Beggio, as a bicycle production factory at Noale, Italy.
In 1968, Ivano Beggio, Alberto’s son, took over the helm of the company and constructed a 50 cc “motorcycle” with a dozen or soc ollaborators.
Their first production were actually mopeds, and were named Colibrì, Daniela and Packi. The company later produced a motocross bike in 1970 called the Scarabeo, which until the end of the 1970s, came in 50 and 125 cc versions.
Using a homologation special version of their V-twin road bike RSV Mille, Aprilia entered the Superbike World Championship in 1999, and won its first Superbike world championship in 2010 with Max Biaggi, claiming both the riders and the manufacturers titles.
