Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory
For 2020, Aprilia add electronic Öhlins suspension to their already highlight acclaimed RSV4 1100 Factory
Tech update for Noale’s 1,100-cc superbike
Power like 217 hp in the wet should be frightening, like stepping into a bull ring for the first time and running around in a red cape. that much power and force should be overwhelming in the wet — but isn’t. the new 2020 Aprilia RSV4 factory 1100 is the most advanced RSV to leave the Aprilia factory and is now fitted with the latest electronic smart EC 2.0 Öhlins suspension and steering damper and, alongside clever rider aids, makes this supersonic superbike usable in the wet and far easier to set up, too. its semi-active suspension now has three “active” modes and three “static” modes, which are electronically adjustable with the help of the buttons on the left bar. You could argue Aprilia are a little late to the game given that the major manufacturers already have electronic semi-active suspension but, to quote Aprilia directly, ‘we would never use semi-active suspension until the stopwatch demonstrated an improvement in terms of lap-times. that time has come. After two years of development in close contact with Öhlins technicians and thanks also to experience gained with the tuono V4 1100 factory, semi-active suspension now features on the top-of-the-range rsV4 1100 factory.’ Aprilia have extensively tested the new Öhlins electronic suspension at tracks like imola and Mugello and claim that the new rsV4 1100 factory is half a second faster.
217 hp, 177 kg dry… the most advanced Aprilia rsV4 of all time; i was like a kid on Christmas eve and couldn’t wait to try out the new model. we headed to a very wet Vallelunga racetrack just outside rome in italy to put the new rsV4 1100 factory through its paces. if it worked in the wet, i reasoned, then it’s sure to work in the dry.
Power and Torque
when did 200 hp become normal? these days, if you haven’t got over 200 hp, you’re effectively bringing a knife to a gun fight.the V4 remains unchanged for 2020, which means 217 hp at 13,200 rpm and 122 nm at 11,000 rpm. At the beginning of 2019, the rsV4 was upped in capacity from 1,000 cubic centimetres to 1,077 cc by keeping the stroke the same but increasing the bore from 78 millimetres to 81 mm and, although power remains the same in the “new” model, it’s still hugely impressive.
it’s not a one-trick pony either; torque from the V4 is stunning and, on paper, its 122 nm blows away the Japanese competition and is only beaten by the slightly larger ducati (Aprilia: 1,077 cc, panigale: 1,103 cc) with a quoted 124 nm of torque.
Engine, Gearbox, and Exhaust
the team that designed the fly-by-wire fuelling deserves a huge bonus this Christmas, because it’s perfect. i recently rode the new 1100 tuono on track and couldn’t praise the fuelling enough and it’s the same story with the new rsV4 factory. it’s so precise, yet isn’t snatchy and smoother than a professional wet shave. there isn’t a trace of lag, you’re
in direct control of the bike and have a perfect connection. the gearbox, combined with the up and down quick-shifter is, again, perfect. the engineers must be immensely proud of their work and rightly so.
in wet and tricky conditions, this is what you require: immaculate fuelling and throttle response that allow you to search for grip and quick gear-changes to moderate and optimize the force to the rear tyre. it’s perfect.
the cherry on the top of this perfect cake is a road-legal titanium Akrapovic exhaust that sounds so sweet and, arguably, makes the 2020 rsV4 the best-sounding production bike of the moment. i’m unsure how Aprilia have managed to get it past the euro regulators, but it does sound good, even at low revs.
it’s not just fuelling, because the engine is a peach. the 65-degree V4 provides a lovely harmony between usable torque in the low and mid-range and a screaming over-run of power that eventually hits the rev-limiter at 13,600 rpm. on test, in heavy rain, i simply short-shifted to give the rear full racing-wet an easier time, but in more favourable conditions when the rain stopped, i let it scream, only changing gear when the rev-limiter lights illuminated, logging 265 km/h down the relatively short back straight, even in the wet.
there are three engine modes to choose from: rain, sport, and track. despite the rain, we still opted for the sport mode, as the rain mode is for wet riding on standard tyres and we were using full race wets. each of the three maps gives full power but changes the engine character and the power delivery, they also change the percentage of engine braking, which is specific to each map.
Economy and Price
since engine remains unchanged and the weight and aero package, with the same indefinable wings, is the same, fuel economy and range should match the previous model’s 14 km/lish during normal riding. the fuel tank is 18.5 litres, which is decently generous in this superbike category, and should give a range of 260 km-plus to a tank, though in the real world you’re going to start searching for fuel around 210 km. on track, these figures will obviously be vastly reduced.
Price:
£23,399 (rs 23.39 lakh)
Aprilia are slotting the new rsV4 factory right into the middle of the pricing war, making it a fraction cheaper than honda’s semi-active fireblade sp (£23,495, that is, rs 23.49 lakh) and over a grand cheaper than their closest rival, which is arguably ducati’s panigale V4 s (£24,795, that is, rs 24.79 lakh). interestingly, the previous V4 1100 factory with conventional Öhlins suspension was listed at £22,399 (rs 22.39 lakh), so, you’re only paying £1,000 (rs 1 lakh) for the clever electronic suspension. both, kawasaki’s ZX-10r se and Yamaha’s r1 M, come with semi-active suspension and are cheaper, again; the Yamaha at £21,999 (rs 21.99 lakh) and the kawasaki at only £19,149 (rs 19.14 lakh).
Handling, Suspension, Chassis, and Weight
this is where it gets interesting. now with the electronic smart EC 2.0 Öhlins suspension and steering damper, you have three “active” options— A1, A2, and A3 — and three “manual” options —M1, M2, and M3. Active means the suspension is acting according to the road and riding and manual is more like conventional suspension. A1 is developed for slick tyres, obviously on a racetrack, which should, surface-wise, be relatively smooth. A2 is for race or track-day tyres, again on track, but now the track is a little uneven, and, finally, A3 allows more movement for the road on road tyres. the manual modes are similar but not semi-active. the modes within Active and Manual are not fixed and can be fine-tuned to the rider’s weight and skill, weather conditions, and track, etc. the Öhlins steering damper is also now managed electronically.
when you come to fine-tuning the suspension, Aprilia have simplified the process, which means you don’t need to be an Öhlin’s technician to get the optimum setting. everything is displayed via a 4.3-inch full-colour dash using the buttons on the left bar. but Aprilia don’t use words like compression; instead you have the option to increase or decrease brake support or reduce or increase rear support on acceleration. You can even add or reduce cornering support. All very clever and designed to be easy to use.
for most of the test, i opted for A2: track use with race tyres. Yes, it was wet, but grip was all right and Vallelunga is a flat and relatively smooth racetrack. on the RSV4, i instantly felt at home. some taller and larger riders have remarked on the small dimensions of the RSV, but i’ve always found it roomy enough on the road and it feels like a race bike with fairings on track. As soon as you leave pit-lane, you’re boosted in confidence by that perfect fuelling, which means on pre-heated wet race tyres you push on from the off.
sometimes electronic suspension can take away a chassis’ natural feedback; instead you rely on the suspension and tyres rather than feel the level of grip, but not so the Aprilia. i’d never ridden on Valleunga previously and soon discovered that different sectors of the track havevarying levels of grip, which change several times during the 4-km lap. but after only a handful of laps, i’d worked this out and this was down to the excellent feedback via the smart EC-2 Öhlins suspension. some corners where taken with knee-down confidence, others not so.
it was the same result in heavy braking and acceleration. some lines had more grip than others and, again, the Öhlins suspension allowed me to feel for the grip available. i could brake later and later as the conditions improved, get on the power slightly earlier, feel the rear wet tyre take the load, and smoothly, with precise fuelling, start accelerating. the chassis is excellent, you can make mistakes and bring it back to a tighter line without any complaints. obviously, in the wet i couldn’t push as hard as in the dry, but the data showed that towards to end of the day, when the rain stopped, i achieved a lean angle of 45 degrees on those wets and always felt relatively safe, thanks to the feedback the chassis was giving me. if a bike works so well in the wet and the previous models have always cut it on track, then i can safely assume the new rsV4 factory will share the same impressive trait.
Brakes
in 2019, Aprilia uprated the brembo brakes from the old M50 radial calipers to the new stylema items, to put the RSV on a par with the competition. the braking set-up remains unchanged. there are three levels of Abs: level 1 with conventional Abs on the front and no Abs on the rear, level 2 with cornering Abs front and back with rear wheel lift intervention, and level 3 with cornering Abs front and back and rear wheel lift intervention, which is more road-specific.
in the wet, i opted for level 1 and was immediately impressed by the feedback and lack of obtrusiveness. on a par with the other very clever rider aids, you can’t “feel” the system working, there is no juddering or anything similar. only in extreme situations in very slippery conditions did i feel the system take over, saving me from locking up the front tyre, which would have resulted in an off. Again, we can’t push the brakes to the absolute limit in the wet, but so far and based on the previous model, they should be faultless.
Rider Aids and Equipment/Accessories
As you’d expect on a £23,399 (rs 23.39 lakh) Aprilia superbike, the list of rider aids is huge. You have the aforementioned rider modes — race, track, and sport — which give full power in each mode and simply change the engine character, responsiveness, and engine brake assist. You also have the braking modes mentioned above. Additionally, eight-stage traction control, simple to change via the thumb and finger toggle on the left bar, is easily altered on the fly and can also be deactivated. there’s more: AWC is a three-level Aprilia wheelie Control, ALC is Aprilia launch Control, AQs is Aprilia Quick shift, there’s a pit-lane limiter, Apl, and even cruise control, ACC.
Again, like the fuelling, the rider aids can’t be complimented enough —they are first class. to make a 217-hp superbike usable and safe in the wet takes very clever electronics and rider aids. i’ve ridden the previous model and the naked tuono, which has very similar electronics, and both are exceptional. the only downside — and this is me being very picky — is the engine brake assist, which prevents the rear from locking up but, unlike other manufacturers’ similar systems, can’t be changed independently. in fact, it can only be changed via the three engine modes.
As you’d expect, the majority of the accessories are created for the track, not many practical tank bags here. we had the front brake carbon air vents (£257, that is, rs 25,700) fitted, which are designed to cool down the calipers and maintain a consistent braking performance. i’m unsure they are needed on a road bike, especially in the wet, but they do look very trick. As you’d also expect, a full racing exhaust is available from Akrapovic, which requires a dedicated map supplied by Aprilia racing. there is also a racing ECU designed for track use and to work with the dedicated racing exhaust. Cosmetically, there are a host of carbon extras to lighten the bike further and give even greater visual impact.
Verdict
it’s really hard to find fault with Aprilia’s new rsV4 1100 factory. i’m struggling to find a negative, apart from the horrendous track conditions at its launch and a rather small dash, but even that is still clear and easy -to-read. All i have is superlatives and praise for the revamped 2020 model.
the fuelling is perfect, the gear-change, the quick-shifter, engine performance, and sound are impossible to fault. on test, the new Öhlins electronic suspension gave great feedback and rider confidence and it’s easy to adjust and personalize, too. the electronic rider aids are some of the very best, ditto the chassis, and, to top it all, the rsV4 looks stunning. hopefully, our initial impressions translate into the road. i can’t wait to find out.