Aprilia Rsv4 Factory

Aprilia RSV4 Factory

CW EXCLUSIVE

CYCLE WORLD TEST

Rockin' in the real world

DON CANET

SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO TRUST your gut and forego a few unanswered questions. This certainly applied earlier this year when stating the case for Aprilia's RSV4 Factory as the Best Superbike of 2009 in Cycle World's annual Ten Best Bikes voting. I was the sole member of the CW editorial staff to have ridden the all-new 2010 machine at the time the ballot was cast, which placed the weight of responsibility squarely on my shoulders to relate my experience aboard the Italian V-Four to co-members of the selection committee. If there were any cause for reservation, it was the fact I hadn’t ridden the RSV4 on the street.

Sure, Best Superbike is a category in which performance may rightly take precedence over real-world practicality; look no farther than 2008’s category-winning Ducati Desmosedici RR. Yet the difference here is that the $20,999 Aprilia is within reach of the motorcycling masses in both price and production volume, particularly when you factor in the less costly R version. It also stands to reason that many of these bikes will serve as daily transportation. The top-of-the-line Factory is equipped with race-grade Öhlins suspension and steering damper, forged alloy wheels and various carbon-fiber bits. It also takes chassis tuning to a new level. Adjustments are provided for swingarm-pivot location and steering-stem angle, as well as the stem’s fore and aft placement within the steering head, which alters front/rear weight bias. Additionally, engine height within the frame can be changed.

Great anticipation swept through the CW offices as we awaited the delivery of our RSV4 Factory. Our testbike was one of the first to hit American shores, docking a month or so prior to the stateside arrival of the RSV4 R. Temptation was strong to ride the Factory right to the track to burn up the Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa radiais, but having previously established the RSV4’s hot-lap prowess around the German circuit of Oschersleben in an Open-class sportbike shootout (“Supersport Days,” CW, July), our focus this time would be assessing the Factory on the street and dragstrip. At the track, Aprilia’s lOOOcc V-Four didn’t merely edge out the Japanese inline-Fours and pair of European V-Twins, it won hands-down by setting the quickest lap time and totally dominating the subjective survey forms submitted by each test rider.

With an eager CW staff grappling for the ignition key, riding impressions soon began painting a very favorable view of the bike’s street manners. “After hearing all the positive things that Canet had to say after his two encounters with the RSV4 abroad, I was dying to throw a leg over it,” enthused Associate Editor Blake Conner. “The Aprilia didn’t disappoint; as the first member of the staff to ride the bike on the street, I came back raving about the bike to anyone who would listen. What instantly stood out for me was how tight and precise the bike feels in every functional respect. Controls, handling and, in particular, the V-Four’s fuel-injection mapping and engine response, are all superb. One of the best sportbikes in recent memory.”

Conner’s testimony was backed by similar sentiment from other editors who rode the bike. One of the RSV4’s more remarkable qualities is its ease of operation. One can gain a sense of this by simply maneuvering the bike around a parking lot for a few minutes. First of all, there’s plenty of sideto-side steering lock and ample clearance between knuckles, fuel tank and fairing when performing tight U-turns. With the adjustable steering damper backed off to a light setting, low-speed handling rivals the natural feel of a Honda CBR600RR, and that’s saying something.

While the riding posture is pure sport, there’s nothing odd or awkward about the ergonomics. The tank and frame provide excellent support during hard braking without ever feeling obtrusive. Peg placement is such that legroom is sufficient for sub-6-footers, and the shift and rear-brake levers are adjustable to suit rider preference. The spacious saddle is race-inspired with a thin pad for enhanced feedback from the road, yet there are no sharp edges or pressure points in its contour.

What if you don’t live at the foot of the winding road for which this bike was built? While extended freeway stints are not the Factory’s forte, they are within this sportbike’s repertoire. The Öhlins suspension is firm overall, yet it remains supple during its initial stroke, making for a reasonably comfortable super-slab experience. Engine vibration is also quite subdued, with only the faintest trace felt through the pegs and gas tank. A high-pitch tingle does travel through the bars if you touch them with your fingertips, but it is actually damped by rider weight in normal going and ends up not being an annoyance. Because engine vibes are so well-managed, there is no predominant “sweet spot,” which means ideal freeway cruising speed is at the rider’s discretion, as it should be. Spinning 5500 rpm in top gear yields an indicated 70 mph on the digital speedo, while dialing in an additional 500 revs on the analog tachometer nets 80 mph.

As Conner pointed out, the RSV4’s Weber-Marelli fuelinjection is very well-sorted, producing rock-steady cruising without a hint of surge, whether on the Interstate or chugging through town at 3500 rpm in a tall gear. Clutch pull is reasonably light with excellent engagement feel. These qualities allow the RSV4 to pull away from stops with uncanny smoothness, and the gearbox provides silky upshifts when good technique is used. Sloppy coordination of throttle, clutch and shifter, however, reveals a fair amount of drivetrain lash. Most bothersome, though, is the engine heat directed to the rider, particularly on warmer days. “I was looking forward to a break from the BBQ job our Ducati 1198S testbike was laying on during the daily commute,” said Executive Editor Mark Hoyer. “But the Aprilia isn’t much better, even without the underseat pipes of the Ducati. Idling along in summer traffic while wearing jeans caused a definite hot seat, although once moving, everything suitably cools.”

As with Aprilia’s V-Twin Shiver 750 and Dorsoduro models, the RSV4’s ride-by-wire fuel-injection system hands final throttle authority over to its onboard ECU. It also features three power-delivery profiles (Track, Sport and Road) that the rider can toggle through on the fly. During the Oschersleben track test, initial on-throttle response was too abrupt while riding in T mode, upsetting the chassis during full-tilt cornering. Aprilia has since tweaked the mode’s calibration for improved ridability. Nonetheless, response in T is still quite sharp and will likely appeal more to street-bound performance junkies looking for a thrill than a track-day rider searching for the fastest lap time. Our collective staff preference on the road favors the fine balance of power and controllability offered by the S mode.

A few interesting observations from the RSV4’s runs on the CW rear-wheel dyno: Aside from sharpening throttle response, T mode provides unabated output in all six gears. Torque builds smoothly right off the bottom and extends out to its 10,000-rpm peak before tapering off just as smoothly. The transition point where the secondary showerhead fuel-injectors come on and the primary injectors located below the throttle plate shut off can be seen in the graph squiggles at 6500 rpm. There’s also a minor step at 10,500 rpm, which coincides with activation of the variable-length intake trumpets.

Peak output of 146.5 horsepower is achieved a tick shy of the 12,900rpm rev-limiter.

Curiously, the revlimiter allows an additional 500 rpm of over-rev in fifth and sixth gears, letting the engine spin to 13,400 rpm.

The peak horsepower number was disappointing, given the fact that the RSV4 Factory provided at the Oschersleben test earlier this year produced 164.7 hp at the rear wheel, 18.2

more than our bike here. While there were discrepancies between the numbers CW recorded for some of the other bikes included in that test and those recorded on the apparently optimistic German dyno, the differences were on the order of 3-4 percent, much more normal dyno-to-dyno statistical variation and not the 11 -percent drop seen with the Aprilia. Clearly, something else was going on with the RSV4 Factory. For additional reference, we ran our testbike on local-dealer Spectrum Motorsports’ dyno, where it produced a number nearly identical to that recorded on the CW dyno. Further, we obtained a second RSV4 from Aprilia, which produced 150.8 hp on our dyno. Better, but still not quite up to snuff with the Japanese fourcylinder competition or Aprilia’s expectations. “Every indication from previous testing is that the U.S.-model RSV4 should produce more power,” said an Aprilia spokesman. “We are looking into this to see what the issue is with this pre-production press testbike.”

Dyno discrepancies aside, switching to S mode not only takes some of the edge out of throttle response but also tames peak output in the first three gears. A comparison of thirdgear dyno runs performed in T and S modes shows identical output up to 9500 rpm, at which point S mode power feathers off to the tune of 5 horsepower throughout the top end of the range. We couldn’t test the first two gears due to tire slippage on the dyno drum, but we did verify that output in the top three gears matches that of T mode. Toggling to R mode has a dramatic effect on both throttle-opening response and power output with a sizable reduction throughout the rev range and a 113-hp peak at 11,000 rpm.

Acceleration and top-speed testing were done exclusively in the high-power T-mode. So it was a bit of a surprise how difficult it was to get the RSV4 off the line without bogging.

In part, this is because our test venue is located at a powersapping 2500 feet above sea level, but the bike also has a very tall first gear. Net result was that we needed to maintain 9000 rpm throughout the launch, while aiming for full clutch engagement by 60 mph. Once under way, the engine pulls very strongly to its rev limit-if you’re going drag racing, stay on your toes or you will bump the limiter, particularly in the lower gears! Even though the RSV4 employs a unique twostep rev-limiter strategy that initiates with throttle closure for a soft effect before cutting fuel delivery, I set the adjustable shift light to illuminate 500 rpm before the limiter to help me get the most out of the peak output without bumping the limiter. And while the RSV4’s corrected time through the quarter-mile of 10.09 seconds at 140.72 mph is certainly respectable, its clutch isn’t going to withstand too much bracket-racing abuse.

Ripping along at the RSV4’s top speed of 178 mph was a walk in the park aboard this very stable machine. There was about 1000 rpm to spare, too, thanks to the generous uppergear overrev discussed earlier. Imagine what she could do downhill, downwind or tucked into Max Biaggi’s draft!

The pairing of Brembo Monobloc calipers and 320mm rotors up front provided excellent power, feel and consistency when we rode the RSV4 on the circuit. The system translates very well to the street, offering those same benefits without being overly aggressive in initial bite. I prefer the Aprilia setup to the street overkill of Ducati’s 330mm-rotor approach. I believe a passenger would agree, as well, due to the reduced number of brake-induced helmet knocks the Aprilia’s brakes would likely provide...

A passenger wasn’t a worry for us, as our Factory model was delivered in solo-seat guise; customer bikes come with removable passenger provisions. Aside from a modest tool kit attached to the underside of the seat pan, there is no storage space to speak of as the fuel tank also occupies the space beneath the seat. Aprilia’s claimed fuel capacity of 4.5 gallons didn’t pan out at the pump, where 4.2 gallons was the most we could squeeze in after running ’er bone dry. It’s a thirsty machine, too, as we seldom covered 100 miles before the low-fuel light illuminated and the Reserve tripmeter started counting up the miles. I managed 25 miles on reserve before coasting into a gas station. Due to the tank being very shallow beneath the filler hole, gassing up without splashback can be a chore. These are minor quibbles and not unbecoming of a bike with its sights on a World Superbike title.

While a championship at the pinnacle of production-bike racing doesn’t appear to be in the cards for the RSV4’s maiden season, the future looks flush with possibility. A dominant Open-class shootout performance and Best Superbike honors are solid evidence that Aprilia is on the right track. □

RSV4

FACTORY

$20,999

0 V-Power

The Official Feel Parteer of CYCLE WORLD.

EDITORS' NOTES

E PLURIBUS UNUM! IF YOU AREN’T A Latin student, it means “Out of many, one.” And there are many individual reasons I like riding this Aprilia. One part is looking down at the triple-clamp and seeing its trick top nut. Another is that the gauges balance a subtle supply of LCD information with a centered analog tach.

When it comes to feel, my feet are particular, and the RSV4 has a perfect shift-pedal detent, with equal throws between every gear. Handlebar and lever angles triangulate an aggressive, purposeful riding position. The wide, thin, firmly padded seat delivers excellent feel from the fluidly set-up Öhlins suspension and grippy Pirelli Diablo Supercorsas. The V-Four engine has unique vibes and sounds, plus excellent power, with a soft rev-limiter that is as appealing to me as the bike’s angular style.

All together, it's a combo that inspires hard riding, and I returned from the road thoroughly impressed and very much one with the machine.

Mark Cerniclçy, Associate Editor

AS WHEN THE RSV MlLLE V-TWIN WAS introduced a decade ago, Aprilia has once again exceeded my expectations with this RSV4. While I had assumed this new V-Four would offer a fresh and viable alternative to liter-class Twins and inline-Fours, I certainly didn’t anticipate such high levels of performance and refinement from the RSV4. Neither did I figure it to win this year’s circuit-based magazine shootout in such convincing fashion nor provide such practicality and versatility on the street.

I have come to expect great things of any Aprilia sportbike chassis, but did have doubts as to the Italian bike-maker’s current ability to produce a competitive large-displacement four-stroke engine of its own design and manufacture. Those feelings were fueled by the rather pedestrian performance of Aprilia’s 750cc Twin.

So much for preconceived notions. The RSV4 is proof that Aprilia has arrived as a performance leader through and through.

Don Canet, Road Test Editor

STAFFERS HERE AT CW ARE ALL A BIT different. Take Cernicky, for example: One minute he’s doing a 100-mph stoppie, the next he’s using freakin’ Latin in his Editor’s Note. Anyway, all I’m saying is that, while we all have a lot of experience testing bikes, each rider has different strengths. Canet is good for speed, precision, repeatability, etc., but what I respect him for most is his harsh, clinical detachment.

See, I’m a sucker for a bike with personality, and DC keeps me honest because he’s so good at uninfluenced observation and assessment. But when he came back from Germany, I heard a strange tone in his voice, and I think he might have used the word “awesome.”

Which is just how I feel about this RSV4 Factory. It has Japanese refinement combined with Italian personality and a soulful engine note.

Yep, getting Canet to have a little freak-out in his voice takes a pretty amazing bike. Or an awesome one...

Mark Hoy er, Executive Editor