2019 APRILIA RSV4 1100 FACTORY
FIRST REVIEW
P96
slightly compress it so that when you
actually hit the Brembo Stylema brakes,
there's not as much weight transfer.
The front-end is already loaded, so you
dramatically smooth out that transition
from top speed to braking. It's a win-
win at high speed. At low speed (i.e.,
traffic speed), you'll have to be a seri-
ously, seriously good rider even to tell
the wings are there. The downforce at
below 100 mph is minimal at best, but
mounted slightly lower on the fairing as the
production bike has the air intake and the
headlight assembly to deal with.
The downforce these winglets produce is
not enormous, but certainly enough to help
keep the front wheel close to the tarmac
when you crest the rise at the end of the
front straight and keep the chassis stable.
I did not get the opportunity to test the
1100 against the sans-wings 999cc RR, so
I cannot make a direct comparison to say
they are better or worse when used in anger.
What I can say, though, is at an indicated 186
mph on the dash, the 1100 was supremely
stable. No headshaking, no funny business—
it was like riding a guided missile.
When the time comes to hit the brakes,
the wings have another benefit. At those
indicated high speeds, the downforce is
exerting enough pressure on the fork to
(Top) Forget Red
Bull. Aprilia gives
you real wings! At
186 mph, you'll
get 17 pounds
of downforce on
the front end.
(Bottom) Ohlins
TTX goodness
holds the back-end
fort down. This is
proper superbike
race-spec stuff.
(Above) The Brembo Stylema
calipers have tremendous bite and
feel. Rennie admits he couldn't get
close to maxing these brakes out.
