Head to Head: supernakeds
Ask any pub expert or forum troll and they’ll tell you that Aprilia’s Tuono V4R is just an RSV4 superbike with the plastics ripped off and some high bars. And they’re wrong. The V-four is detuned by 15bhp, with tweaked cam timing, longer fixed-intake trumpets and a heavier flywheel, while the bottom three gears are shorter. The motor is mounted lower in a re-engineered frame whose headstock is set further forwards and raked out at a more relaxed angle for stability. Lower footpegs and new seats improve comfort for rider and pillion. The brakes are different. So it’s exactly the same as a stripped superbike, apart from having every major component changed…
And yet the end result is still the gnarliest, snarliest supernaked ever. The first Tuono V4R is a vicious, malicious, ramping wildebeest of a thing, all rock-hard suspension, hair-trigger throttle response, explosive power delivery, eardrum-bursting exhaust and walletcrushing 30mpg thirst. If you want a chilled, easygoing roadster with a concealed sporty side for when you’re in the mood, you’ve come to the wrong place — this is a hardcore, fully committed, bare-knuckle streetfighter. Even the later Tuono 1100 is a more forgiving, roadfocused proposition. And Simon’s S1000R? Next to a Tuono, it’s as intense as a mug of lukewarm Ovaltine.