Aprilia’s team of enterprising engineers faced a real challenge in adapting their class-topping Tuono V4 1100 to meet Euro 4’s requirements for 2017.
That’s because when you’ve been building a bike for the past two years which might just be the best real-world motorcycle that money can buy, you don’t want to risk new restrictions detracting from what you’ve so painstakingly created. So quite apart from needing to meet the new EU regulations, you’re also under pressure to live up to the benchmark you’ve set yourself with the outgoing model. Tough gig!
The chance to find out if Aprilia R&D chief Ing. Roberto Calò and his crew had done just that should have come on a sunny spring day, dancing through the Austrian Alps northeast of the Aprilia factory in Noale on the Factory version of the new 2017 Tuono V4 1100. Except, guess what, we were washed away by a sizeable storm.
I learnt that the absence of a reduced power Rain map on the new Tuono’s uprated APRC/Aprilia Performance Ride Control system didn’t affect this massively capable real world motorcycle’s rideability in damp conditions. By adjusting the system via the handlebar controls I had a pussycat of a V4 at my command for splashing round the hillside roads, with just one major concern I needed to pay attention to. The front Pirelli Supercorsa fitted to the Factory is essentially a slick tyre with nominal tread to make it street legal. That meant it was the front end I had to worry about keeping upright, not the rear where the electronics did their job to perfection.
The rain spoilt a day I’d been looking forward to. So by extending my next trip to Italy the following week by an extra day, I fronted up at the Aprilia factory for another go. The result? A glorious spring day blasting through the foothills of the neighbouring Dolomite mountains in company with hard-riding development engineer Mauro Salvador on a similar bike. No wonder Aprilia consistently deliver class-topping models if they have engineers as fast and skilled as Mauro to properly assess the fruits of their handiwork
I rode the original Tuono V4R seven years ago and was immediately convinced this was the best real-world sportbike I’d yet ridden. Challengers from rival manufacturers have come along since then, but the cubed-up 1078cc version of the Tuono unquestionably regained its supremacy two years ago. Its excellence is maintained with the switch to Euro 4 noise and emissions levels. It’s a totally versatile, thoroughly practical everyday motorcycle with phenomenal performance. From bumbling along in third gear through city streets at low revs, to blasting along with upwards of 100mph on the new TFT dash it’s developed to be completely at home in all kinds of riding conditions.
Unlike many Naked bikes that are spinoffs from superbikes, the Tuono V4 1100 hasn’t been watered down at all. On the contrary, for it has 6Nm more torque than the latest RSV4 and a wider spread of grunt all through the revband. There’s 15% less power, but once more with an even fatter midrange. And you can’t help but relish that, holding a gear to scoot from one turn to another as you surf the Tuono’s unbelievably wide torque curve. It’s got such a meaty midrange that it’s become a sort of sexed-up twist-and-go maxi scooter with Superbike engine performance and racetrack-derived handling. Just stick it in fourth gear and let the engine run as low as 2,000 rpm exiting a turn, then ride the waves of torque all the way to the 12,500rpm limiter. With the real power threshold as low as 4,000 rpm, this is an unbelievably easy bike to ride for something so powerful.
It’s thrilling, too. There’s a choice of three engine maps just as on the Superbike. R-for-Race delivers the full 175bhp with immediate throttle response, having you clicking up the eight-stage traction control to stop the rear 200-section dual-compound Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa going walkabout. This is really too aggressive a map for road use, so keep it for track days, like it says on the label. Like all the Tuono’s digital programmes the TC can be altered while riding without closing the throttle, and operates smoothly in conjunction with the ride by wire throttle. It doesn’t cut out the engine or flutter the ignition, just decisively prevents the bike accelerating and breaking traction at rear, with a light on the dash flashing as it does so. At the other end of the scale, S-for-Sport is much less fierce but still lives up to its name, though I liked the intermediate T-for-Track map best for real world road riding. All three modes still give you maximum power and torque but with varying degrees of urgency and smoothness of delivery in all gears. But you’ll always find a combination of engine map and APRC settings to suit the riding conditions and even your mood.
None of that works unless you get the basic engine package right, and Ing. Calò and his colleagues have very definitely achieved this. In spite of that massive increased torque, the clutch is light and progressive. This is an exceptionally friendly superbike-turned-streetfighter. The V4 starts delivering serious performance at 5,000 rpm. From 7,000 rpm upwards acceleration becomes explosive in Sport mode and with peak torque delivered at 9,000 rpm, I found that was where the front wheel started to pop up lazily off the tarmac. Hold the gear and at 10,000 rpm there’s another dose of top end power as the engine heads for the rev-limiter in a way that’s seriously satisfying, and definitely dramatic.
There’s a degree of real world rideability that’s unexpected and better still when combined with the APRC rider aid package. You can’t help but appreciate the smoothness of the perfect powershifter, now fitted with an auto-blipper for clutchless downshifts. The Tuono’s distinctive engine note is as intoxicating as ever, the lazy-sounding V4 drone at odds with the startling performance available at a twist of the wrist. The Tuono’s insane performance is delivered almost apologetically, at almost any revs. Top gear roll-on from an indicated 100mph with the tacho on the TFT dash parked at 7,500 rpm is muscular and decisive, with the droning exhaust just changing slightly in pitch as revs mount. There’s always more of everything yet to come on this motorcycle.
I found the revamped Aprilia’s handling to be as excellent as ever, with enough leverage from the one-piece handlebar that you can soon forget about the slightly longer wheelbase in terms of compromising agility. The big surprise was how rock-solid stable the Aprilia super-streetfighter is under fierce accaleration, especially with the three-stage AWC switched on. No handlebar waving in the wind, no speed shimmy even when you hit a bump, just totally planted. Aprilia was aware this could become a problem with a Naked bike with such a high potential top speed, so it made extensive wind tunnel testing in designing the Tuono’s half-fairing. The Öhlins suspension on the Factory version I was riding seemed a little stiff, but both the piggyback rear shock and the 43mm upside down fork are fully adjustable.
I certainly couldn’t complain about the brakes, especially with some residual engine braking still left by the setting chosen for the slipper clutch, and the variable engine idle speed programme dialled in to the APRC. I found it’s best to ride the Tuono V4 1100 through turns without hanging off it – you’re faster if you just use the leverage from the ‘bar to steer it, with a bit of help from your knees as you remain in situ. Less hard work, too, leaving you to just focus on enjoying the ride aboard this streetfighter supreme.
In its Euro 4 guise the Tuono V4 1100 remains the benchmark in real world everyday riding, with a soundtrack that makes you smile every time you open the throttle. This is an absolutely exceptional motorcycle in every way – a compliant, comfortable streetlegal Superbike, supported by class leading electronics that are ultra-accessible in everyday use.
They don’t get any better than this.
Photos: Milagro/Thomas Maccabelli
