I was running some errands in the afternoon and suddenly saw a striking Aprilia Tuono V4R parked by the roadside, its yellow paintwork gleaming in the sun. I walked towards and marveled at the handsome beast.
In the flesh, it looked a tad smaller compared to the normal 1,000 cc bikes. In fact, it looked just a bit bigger than my Tuono R and a bit smaller than my Ninja 650R. I guess the other bikes looked bigger due to the bulkier fairings attached thereon.
This Tuono V4R no. plated Wxx 8078 really looked good. I weren't a big fan of its bug-eyed design as seen from the Net; but up close and personal, it really looked good. I had a new Samsung camera with me and wanted to whip it out for some photos; but the owner wasn't around so I couldn't ask for the rightful permission.
And guess what, Malaysia was the first country in Asia that saw the debut of the Aprilia Tuono V4R at a cool RM93,000!
Well, read on for the review from MCN :
Aprilia’s new Tuono V4 R APRC has genuine superbike performance, advanced electronic rider aids, a MotoGP soundtrack and a real-world, roomy riding position. Could this be the ultimate real-world superbike?
Producing a claimed 167bhp, it’s more powerful than its closest super naked rivals, like the Ducati Streetfighter, KTM 990 Super Duke and Triumph Speed Triple. It’s a serious weapon on the track thanks to its balanced chassis, strong brakes, powerful engine, quickshifter, traction control and anti-wheelie. On the road it’s loads of fun when you turn the anti-wheelie off and setting the traction control high to deal with the unexpected, is a useful safety feature. You can be the first away from the traffic light GP too, if you use the electronic launch control. With a wide spread of smooth power and an impeccable throttle response it’s far less brutal then the V-twin Tuono of old. It’s also available without the APRC package for a grand less.
The Tuono uses the same compact 65° V4 engine as the RSV4 superbike, but tweaked slightly to make it friendlier for road riding. Claimed power is 167bhp@11,500rpm and there’s 82ftlb of torque at 9500rpm. The rev limit is set at 12,300rpm.
Compared to the RSV4, the motor has new valve timing, 20mm longer fixed intake trumpets (opposed to electronically-operated in the superbike) and a heavier flywheel. The first three ratios in the cassette gearbox are shorter and it still has a slipper clutch.
The motor is soft and friendly at low revs, builds strongly in the midrange and explodes into an arm-wrenching frenzy at high rpm. It’s fabulous. Both the APRC and non-APRC versions have three power maps to choose from: T (track), S (sport) and R (road).
Handling and braking on-track is as good as any superbike and it’s impressively stable for a super naked machine with high handlebars, thanks to its superb chassis set-up and anti-wheelie control. It’s the same confidence-inspiring story on the road and your body isn’t contorted into a race crouch, like on a superbike. The seat is very hard, though and becomes a pain within an hour’s riding.
Compared to the RSV4, the chassis is the same but the engine is positioned 5mm lower, the front end kicked out by 10mm and the swingarm pivot lowered by 5mm, to suit the Tuono’s more upright riding position.
Plump for the APRC (Aprilia Performance Ride Control) version and you get anti-wheelie, launch and traction control and a quickshifter. That’s on top of a beautifully-crafted aluminium frame and swingarm, fully-adjustable Sachs suspension, Brembo brakes and a switchable display (road/race) LCD dash. You get an amazing amount of equipment for your money.
The Tuono is superbly built, has robust paintwork and a polished frame and swingarm. Reliability should be top notch too.
When you consider how much the price of Japanese machinery has increased over the past few years, the Tuono V4 R look like the bargain of the century, especially when you consider its high performance and level of equipment.
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