Aprilia RSV4-R 1000 2011 — Specifications

When Aprilia released the Factory, the Transalpina V4 shattered certainties. A race beast dressed for the road, hewn from technical granite, powered by 180 horsepower extracted from a 998 cc V engine at a 65-degree angle. The problem is that 20,000 euros doesn’t fit into every budget or every head. So the engineers from Noale pulled out their calculators and common sense, and they produced the R version. Less expensive, no less serious.

At 14,999 euros, the Aprilia RSV4 R 1000 immediately establishes itself on the turf of Japanese hypersports. The CBR1000RR, the GSX-R 1000, the Yamaha R1: these are its natural enemies. And within this price range, the Italian arrives with a technical specification that stings. The 65-degree V engine is intact, complete, furious. Aprilia has no intention of castrating the engine to widen the gap with the Factory. The 180 horsepower are there, the 112.8 Nm of torque too, the ride-by-wire throttle remains part of the package, as do the three engine maps. Road mode to manage the power without being caught off guard, Sport mode to align lap times on the track, Track mode for those who know what they are doing and accept to dialogue with an engine that has no patience. All within an aluminum perimeter twin-spar frame that weighs 184 kg dry, which places the machine at the top of the class in terms of lightness.

To achieve this price, Aprilia has proceeded with reasoned subtraction. The Öhlins fork tubes give way to a 43 mm Showa inverted fork, the Öhlins rear shock becomes a Sachs. On the road and even on the track for an intermediate-level rider, the difference will be imperceptible. You really have to ride fast, very fast, for the absence of high-end suspension electronics to be felt. The carbon fiber fairings disappear in favor of standard ABS parts, which explains the five extra kilos compared to the Factory and part of the price difference. The wheels go from forged aluminum to cast aluminum, the front discs trade stainless steel for steel, and a few Factory-specific chassis settings evaporate. Nothing dramatic for 95% of users.

What remains, on the other hand, deserves attention. The tightly angled V4 develops a sound and character that is its own. It revs with a disconcerting linearity up to 12,500 rpm, the point where it expresses its maximum power, and it pushes the machine up to 300 km/h at the end of a straight line. The high 845 mm seat, the 17-liter tank, and the closed riding position recall that this machine is first and foremost designed for the track, and then tolerated on the road. The target audience is confirmed riders looking for a technical mount without mortgaging their bank account on a Factory, or weekend athletes who want to unleash a machine capable on the track without going through the collector registration box.

Facing Japanese competition, the Aprilia RSV4 R 1000 plays a differentiating card. Where the Japanese inline four-cylinders excel in regularity and ease of access, the Transalpina V4 imposes a defined personality, an affirmed character, a way of going fast that is its own, which requires a little learning but generously rewards those who invest in it. It is not a motorcycle for everyone, and that is precisely what makes it valuable.