Aprilia RSV4 RF: Track Review

Therapy. That’s what motorcycles are to us bikers, right? Be it riding them yourself or watching Valentino Rossi make a killer move on Marc Marquez, its motorcycles that make us happy. And the best form of this therapy? A deserving motorcycle at a racetrack with lots of knee down action, fast laps and of course a few wheelies thrown into the mix. That's exactly what my date with one of the best Italian superbikes, the Aprilia RSV4 was. The rather small manufacturer from Italy has made it big with the RSV4, winning four manufacturer and three rider championships in the WSBK. And we got to ride was the RSV4 RF, an even more exotic, limited edition version of the litre-class superbike, and one that is an important step forward for Aprilia. 

I felt lucky then, considering that only 500 units of the RF have been produced. What makes it more special? Weight reduction, more horsepower, better handling and more advanced electronics. Motorcycles as powerful and as fast as these are best enjoyed in the controlled environment of a racetrack and Piaggio India invited us to the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. It's the smallest and tightest of the three circuits we have and perhaps not the best for a 204PS superbike but fun, no doubt. 

A quick brief about the bike's WSBK derived technology and the advanced electronics suite came first. The chassis claims Aprilia is lighter, allows better agility and quicker directional changes. And I take their word for that. The competition in the litre-class superbike segment is so fierce, that engineers are quite literally on the job 365 days a year, trying to make the bikes lighter, quicker and, well, fiercer. Thank electronics then. 

The RSV4 RF boasts one of the best electronics packages and that's what also makes the bike extremely easy to ride. And the suite includes eight levels of traction control that you can change via the plus-minus ‘paddles’ on either side of the inside end of your left palm grip. Easy, eh? The controls for the rest of the electronics are slightly more confusing, though once you're used to accessing the menu functions it shouldn't be as fussy. 

A toggle switch on the left side clip-on is where you access it all, including three levels of wheelie control, ABS and launch control each. The simple bit is the way it works - lesser the level, less the intrusion. I stuck it all to level 1, set traction control to 3, hoping to have some fun yet play it safe. You could, if you have the skill and courage, turn it all off, but I think that's best left to the brave men in WSBK who've helped make the RSV4 the lethal machine it is!

There's three riding modes, Race, Sport and Touring. They don't alter the output like the modes on other motorcycles do though, but simply alter the amount of braking the engine offers, which means you can unleash all 204 ponies at a mere twist of the wrist, in any mode! The RSV4 also incorporates a lap timer (quite obviously) and you can even change the display to see the lap timer in a bigger size on top of the screen for better visibility on the go.

Get latest updates on
the automobile community

Login Now

As if all this techno-gadgetry wasn’t enough, Aprilia has developed an iOS app. Not to just check acceleration or lap times and top speeds. It lets you connect to the motorcycle wirelessly to adjust traction control and anti-wheelie settings not just in general but – hold your breath – around specific corners at racetracks around the world. Indian tracks aren’t part of the pre-programmed circuits yet though. The app also has an ‘Adaptive Race Assistant’ that provides real-time telemetry including bank angle and wheelspin. Next level stuff, eh? You bet!  

Electronics aside, the RSV4 RF also boasts some of the best equipment. Like Ohlins dampers at both ends and an Ohlins steering damper, super sticky rubber from Pirelli (Diablo Supercorsa SP to be precise). And all of this equipment — including that wondrous V4 engine and the brilliant chassis — comes packaged very neatly in a super compact body frame. With looks to kill. I don't think I even want to spend time writing about that design. It's outright aggressive, purpose-built, with twin headlamps along with a separate light for high beam in the centre. It looks mean. Especially with graphics straight off the WSBK bike. 

The super compact rear end, sans a pillion seat, is probably more compact than a super model's derrière. Sitting between your legs is a surprisingly slim, 999.6cc, liquid-cooled, 65-degree V4 motor that offers a stomach churning 204PS of power and 115Nm of peak torque. That's a staggering amount of power for a motorcycle with a dry weight of just 180kg! And it's smooth as silk. Yeah, we journos keep saying that for a lot of bikes. Japanese. Italian. British. But the RSV4's motor takes refinement to a whole new level. 

Of course, the engine is very quick to rev too. Wring the throttle open and the tachometer needle will swing across to its 14,500 rpm redline quicker than you can finish reading this sentence. It’s a technological marvel, no less. I knew it would be something special on track, and I was more than convinced just a couple of laps later. There’s a sense of fluidity to the motorcycle in the way the engine, throttle response, brakes, suspension and chassis work in sync, corner after corner. Agility gets a whole new meaning once you get used to the manic amounts of power your right wrist can send to the rear wheel. 

What’s also noteworthy is the exhaust note. With a V4 between your legs, the RSV4 RF is the closest a road bike gets to MotoGP machines, and it sounds beautiful. Now, turn 1 at Kari comes after the near 900m downhill main straight, and requires hard braking on big bikes as you’re easily carrying 230-240kmph down the straight. Despite grabbing a handful of the front brake lever the bike refused to lose its composure, the ABS offering a reassuring feel. This is the stuff you expect of a world class product, and the RSV4 RF bears testimony to the efforts put in by Aprilia’s engineers and racers in developing it. 

It drop into corners with a feather-light feel, and turn-ins are very quick too. Turn 1 is a fairly complicated corner, but the RF seemed to go through akin to a hot knife through a slab of butter. Corner 2 is again slow and tricky, but the exit leads onto a short-ish straight. I pinned the throttle in second gear, and with traction set to 3 the rear just about stepped out ever so slightly before the bike straightened itself and surged ahead with a brute force. The engine performance from the V4 is the RF’s biggest highlight, as bottom and mid-range grunt are a lot stronger than what any inline four can offer. Its power delivery enables smoother, quicker corner exits while also offering impressive tractability at all times. It only gets wilder as revs pile on, and all hell breaks loose post 7000rpm when the bike quite literally causes your eyeballs to pop out with the fierce acceleration. 

The alacrity of the motorcycle’s handling came to the fore at the next chicane, with the bike making it through without any ado. It felt calm and composed, even as I tipped it into the left hander before picking it up and throwing onto the other side for the sharp right hand corner rather aggressively. It felt as agile as a 600cc supersport to flick from side to side, and again, it’s the brilliant chassis at work. The traction control light seemed to flicker at almost every corner exit, and with the wheelie control set to 1, I could sense the front wheel just about coming up at exits, but the electronics kept it in check at all times.  

I’ve got to agree the bike felt a little too compact for my large frame, but I’m sure smaller riders will love the small size of the bike. The revised fairing design was also helpful in channelling air better over my helmet and shoulders as pointed out by the technicians, even when not tucked down fully. Over longer stints in the saddle this should help reduce fatigue. The key word for Aprilia while developing the RF I guess was stability. That’s what the bike offers in heaps at all times, be it braking hard from 200+kmph or flicking the motorcycle from side to side. 

Then there’s the explosive engine performance with power delivery so relentless, you could very well be forgiven for scaring yourself silly. The RSV4 RF is indeed a machine not everyone can handle. It is a track tool meant for the well-experienced track rider, and one that commands immense respect. In the right hands it has the potential to be one of the most rewarding litre-class superbikes, and boasts cutting edge technology like few others motorcycle today do. The icing on the cake is the fact that the RF is a limited edition motorcycle. And at Rs 23.46 lakh ex-showroom it is a steal since it’s actually cheaper than most other European litre-class superbikes on sale in the country like the Ducati 1299 Panigale, BMW S 1000 RR and MV Agusta F4R. 

Of course, it has what is probably the most advanced electronics package in the world, a stonker of an engine that feels straight off a race machine and a chassis that offers serious confidence levels. So you’re serious about lapping the race tracks in the country really fast and perhaps going racing too, the RSV4 RF is up for grabs – in limited numbers though. Also, the fact that Piaggio is ramping up its dealership network real quick will help, irrespective of where you live in the country.