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The Aprilia RSV4 is the only V4 engined superbike in production, and it’s already proven to be competitive against the best that Japan, Italy and Germany have to offer at the highest level of superbike racing. Max Biaggi finished fourth in the World Superbike riders’ championship in the RSV4’s first season of competition, while Aprilia took a comfortable fourth out of seven in the manufacturers’ championship.
The roadgoing Factory version is remarkably close to the WSB machinery. The adjustable geometry chassis allows parameters such as the position and inclination of the steering head, and the height of the rear swingarm pivot to be adjusted. The positioning of the engine in the frame can also be altered to change handling characteristics to suit rider preferences and different circuits. The Factory version has Öhlins Racing front forks, with their 43mm stanchions titanium nitride coated to minimise friction. As in Biaggi’s and Shinya Nakano’s race bikes, the forks allow precision adjustment of preload and compression and rebound damping. Looking after the rear end is an Öhlins Racing shock absorber that can be adjusted for preload, compression and rebound damping, and length, allowing ride height to be optimised to suit rider preferences. Brakes up front are the finest radial callipers money can buy – Brembo monoblocs – mated to 320mm diameter stainless steel floating discs developed by Aprilia especially for this machine. A Brembo “Serie Oro” system utilising a 220mm stainless disc and dual piston calliper with a racing type pump and integrated reservoir retards the rear wheel on demand.
With all these top-drawer components making the RSV4 Factory the most race-ready superbike money can buy, one would have expected it to be difficult for Aprilia to come up with a brand new four-cylinder engine – their first - capable of delivering the performance the chassis deserves. The Italian engineers’ creation is superb, though, and Max Biaggi proved it at Monza in May by establishing a new World Superbike top speed record of 326 km/h. The super compact 65O V4 combines the factory’s mechanical engineering know-how, gained in winning well over 300 World Championship races, with state of the art electronics, to produce a truly significant engine for the 21st Century. It utilises full ride-by-wire technology with no mechanical link between the twist-grip and the throttle valves, which are controlled by the latest generation Marelli control unit. Each cylinder bank has a dedicated servo unit, actuating the relevant throttle bodies only, allowing the processor to manage the fuelling for each cylinder independently. There are three engine mapping programmes available, controlled from the handlebars, allowing the rider to change the power delivery mode to suit prevailing conditions.
By using a 65o V angle layout rather than the 60o of their V-twins, Aprilia was able to build the engine very over-square, with the resulting large bores allowing for very big valves and high revs – the bike revs happily to 14200 rpm and produces its peak power of 180bhp at 12500, with the torque peak of 115Nm arriving a little earlier, at 10000 rpm. The unique timing system makes extremely compact cylinder heads possible, measuring only 250mm high at the rear. The four valves per cylinder are operated directly by camshafts driven by a combined chain and gear system utilising a lateral timing chain and central gear train. And, talking of gears, the RSV4 uses a compact cassette gearbox with a wet multi-plate clutch and a mechanical slipper system to keep the motorcycle honest during heavy deceleration.
Weight - or the lack thereof – is extremely important in a motorcycle that’s so track-focused, and Aprilia’s gone to a lot of trouble to trim any potential lard from this beast. The engine makes much use of ultralight materials, with all valve covers and external housings being made from magnesium. The Factory's frame, at just 10,1 kg, weighs virtually the same as that of the twin cylinder RSV, while the very trick aluminium swing arm weighs just 5,1 kg. New forged aluminium rims (cast on the RSV4 R) reduce weight by approximately 1kg when compared with those of the RSV twin, while the new front brake rotors account for a further 500g reduction in mass. For track use, the turn indicators can be very quickly removed along with the mirrors and licence plate holder.
The Aprilia RSV4 Factory is simply the closest anybody can get to buying a World Superbike works racer from their local motorcycle dealer. It has a gorgeous, powerful V4 engine, a lightweight, super-strong frame that’s fully adjustable, and top quality suspension and brakes. The standard RSV4 R with less expensive suspension and a frame that lacks the steering head angle, engine location and swing arm pivot adjustability has now also arrived for those who’d rather sacrifice a little racetrack performance to ease the load on the family budget by around 20%. The Aprilia comes with a 24 month unlimited distance warranty.
· Engine: Aprilia longitudinal 65° V-4 cylinder, 4-stroke, liquid cooling system, double overhead camshafts (DOHC), four valves per cylinder
· Fuel: Unleaded gasoline
· Bore x Stroke: 78 x 52.3 mm
· Total displacement: 999.6 cc
· Compression ratio: 13:1
· Maximum power at the crank: 180 CV (132,4 kW) a 12.500 rpm (both models) · Maximum torque at the crank: 115 Nm a 10.000 rpm (both models)
· Fuel system: Airbox with front dynamic air intakes. Variable length intake ducts controlled via ECU. 4 Weber-Marelli 48-mm throttle bodies with 8 injectors and latest generation Ride-by-Wire engine management. Choice of three different engine maps selectable by the rider with bike in motion Track Sport Road
· Ignition: Magneti Marelli digital electronic ignition system integrated in engine control system, with one spark plug per cylinder and “stick-coil”-type coils
· Starting: Electric
· Exhaust: system 4 into 2 into 1 layout, single oxygen sensor, lateral single silencer with engine control unit-controlled butterfly valve and integrated trivalent catalytic converter (Euro 3)
· Generator: Flywheel mounted 420W alternator with rare earth magnets
· Lubrification: Wet sump lubrication system with oil radiator and two oil pumps (lubrication and cooling)
· Gear box: 6-speed cassette type gearbox 1st: 39/15 (2.6) 2nd: 33/16 (2,063) 3rd: 34/20 (1.7) 4th: 32/22 (1,455) 5th: 34/26 (1,308) 6th: 33/27 (1,222)
· Clutch: Multi-disc oil-bath, with mechanical slipper system
· Primary drive: Straight cut gears and integrated flexible coupling, drive ratio: 73/44 (1,659)
· Final drive: Chain: Drive ratio: 40/16 (2,5)
· Frame: Twin-spar adjustable aluminium frame, with castings and pressings. Envisaged adjustments for Factory version: • headstock position and rake • engine height • swingarm pin height Öhlins adjustable steering damper
· Front suspension: Öhlins Racing upside-down fork, 43-mm stanchions (with Tin surface treatment). Low profile forged aluminium radial calliper mountings. Completely adjustable spring preload and hydraulic compression and rebound damping. Wheel travel: 120 mm (Showa units for R version)
· Rear suspension: Twin sided aluminium swingarm; mixed low thickness and sheet casting technology. Öhlins Racing monoshock with piggyback with completely adjustable: spring preload, wheelbase and hydraulic compression and rebound damping. APS progressive linkages. Wheel travel: 130 mm (Sachs unit for R version)
· Brakes: Front: Dual 320-mm diameter floating stainless steel disc with lightweight stainless steel rotor and aluminium flange with 6 pins. Brembo monobloc radial callipers with 4 34-mm opposite. Sintered pads. Radial pump and metal braided brake hose. Rear: 220-mm diameter disc; Brembo floating calliper with two 32-mm isolated pistons. Sintered pads. Pump with integrated tank and metal braided hose.
· Wheels: Aprilia forged aluminium alloy rims, completely machined, 5 split spokes. Front:3.5”X17” Rear: 6”X17”
· Tyres: Radial tubeless. Front: 120/70 ZR 17 Rear: 190/55 ZR 17 (alternative: 190/50 ZR 17)
· Dimensions: (default settings) Max. length: 2040 mm Max. width: 735 mm (at the handlebar) Max. height: 1120 mm Min. height from the ground: 130 mm Saddle height: 845 mm Centre to centre distance: 1420 mm Trail: 105 mm Steering angle: 24.5°
· Dry weight: 179 kg * (184 for R version)
· Fuel tank capacity: 17 litres (4-litre reserve included)
· Other: *Dry weight, without battery and fluids.
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