Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory 2015 — Specifications

When Noale decides to put a roadster on a performance regimen, this is what results. Take the engine from the RSV4, increase its displacement to 1077 cc, boost it to 175 horsepower at 11,500 rpm and 120 Nm of torque at 9,000 rpm, then cram it into an aluminum box-section frame refined for the occasion: the result is called the Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory, and it doesn’t pretend to be anything else. At €16,949, this 2015 Factory version marks a turning point in the Tuono’s career, not because it reinvents the formula, but because it pushes it to its limits with a rather impressive technical consistency.

The difference from the standard version first lies in what you notice on a motorcycle: the suspension. Öhlins outfits the machine from front to back, inverted fork, rear shock, steering damper. Everything is adjustable, everywhere, with the precision one expects from the Swedes. The rear tire gains width compared to the standard Tuono, which noticeably changes cornering grip. The "Superpole" graphic livery recalls the beast's competition origins, without overdoing it. It's not mere decoration: it's a visual identity consistent with what the machine promises mechanically.

The onboard electronics place this roadster at the level of the most well-equipped hypersportives of the era. APRC manages eight distinct levels of traction control, wheelie control, launch control, and the quickshifter. The Bosch 9MP ABS offers three modes plus possible deactivation. Three engine maps allow you to adapt the response to the situation, and a telemetry system connects wirelessly to a smartphone. Four-piston 32 mm radial Brembo calipers bite down on stainless steel floating discs. It's track equipment installed on a license plate, and you can feel it every time you brake.

Facing the KTM 1290 Super Duke R, its most direct rival in this extreme naked segment, the Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory plays a different card. The Austrian is more raw, more brutal in its transitions, with a slightly more accommodating ergonomics. The Tuono is more surgical, more linked to its sporting roots, with a riding position that never forgets it descends from a track superbike. At 182 kg dry weight and 825 mm of seat height, it remains accessible in stature, but demands a rider who knows what they’re doing as soon as the RPMs rise. It’s not a motorcycle for beginners: it’s a tool designed for those who want to extract something precise on every outing, whether on a track or on the open road.

The 18.5-liter tank ensures correct range despite the consumption one imagines to be generous when attacking. The top speed announced at 250 km/h remains within the legal norm of the genre, even if no one buys this motorcycle for its highway manners. You regularly find Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory models used at interesting prices, the 2016, 2017, 2018, or 2019 models having benefited from progressive but significant improvements. However, the 2015 version lays the foundation for what will make the range successful in the years that follow. It's a sharp, demanding, honest motorcycle in its brutality, and that’s precisely why it retains a solid affection among riders who don’t want to be lied to on the packaging.