2019 APRILIA RSV4 1100 FACTORY
FIRST REVIEW
P94
We are now at a time where 200
horsepower is old hat for the superbike
class. What an age we live in.
There are very few places in the world
where you can stretch a 1000cc-plus
superbike to anywhere approaching its
limits. Most tracks around the world will
barely allow a sniff at the higher revs in
sixth gear, but the Italian MotoGP circuit
of Mugello, nestled in the real-life water
painting that is the Tuscan countryside
about an hour from Florence, is not one
of them.
This is the venue where MotoGP
machines regularly top 210 mph down
the 0.69-mile front straight, so it's the
perfect place to test not just the RSV4's
newfound motor muscle, but also the
arguably larger sales pitch of new aero
winglets on the side of the fairing.
Even though the motor now pushes
north of 210 hp at the crank, the RSV4
1100 is not a ground-up redesign. At its
core, the RSV4 is still powered by that
65° V4, which now sports an 81mm
bore—the same as allowed in MotoGP—
matched to the former motor's 52.3mm
stroke.
Boring out the old motor has given the Noale engi-
neers a healthy increase in power from beginning to end
of the rev range. Compared to the 999cc RSV4 RR, at
6000 rpm the 1078cc Factory starts off with a seven
horsepower advantage that gets exponentially bigger as
the revs rise, culminating in 217 hp at 13,200 rpm com-
pared to the RR's 201 hp at 13,400 rpm.
But it's the torque increase that's extra impressive. At
the 6000 rpm, the Factory sits at 68 lb-ft compared to
the RR's 63 lb-ft, culminating at a 90 lb-ft peak at 11,000
rpm to the RR's 82 lb-ft at the same rpm.
(Below) The
ultimate evolution
of the Aprilia RSV4.
The 1100 Factory is
one of those bikes
you can stare at for
hours. (Left) The
carbon air scoops
help direct cooling
air to the calipers.
Aprilia claims a 20
percent reduction in
temperature.
