2019 APRILIA RSV4 1100 FACTORY
FIRST REVIEW
P98
hey, at least you'll look cool!
The motorcycle we rode at
Mugello was fitted with the car-
bon brake-cooling scoop, avail-
able as an accessory. Debate
raged between journalists at the
intro as to whether the benefits
of the scoop were noticeable,
although Aprilia claims a 20
percent reduction in temperature
(20°), lever stroke reduced by 20
percent (5mm), so that brake per-
formance was better maintained
than without it.
Again, without a back-to-back
comparison of scoop vs. no
scoop, it's hard to say, but the
Brembo Stylema package, similar
to the one found on the Ducati
Panigale V4, has enormous
amounts of power and feel at the
lever. I certainly didn't want for
more at Mugello, which has some
decently hard braking zones from
high speed at turn one of San
Donato, turn 10 of Scarperia, and
the final corner turn 12 of Cor-
rentaio.
(Above) Ohlins NIX
forks have 5mm more
travel than the outgoing
RSV4 RF model
and give the rider
incredible front end
feel at the bars. (Below)
Thankfully, the RSV4
retains the best looking
seat in the business.
Correntaio is one of those
corners where chassis agility
comes to the fore. It's a wide en-
try, late apex left-hander, taken
in second gear on the 1100.
Being able to pull the machine
tight and change lines at will has
been an RSV4 trademark, and
it's improved once again with the
1100. Running a slightly reduced
triple clamp offset and mated to
a revised Ohlins NIX fork that's
5mm longer than before, you
can bury the front under brak-
ing, load that Pirelli and turn the
thing on a dime. It's a glorious
feeling as you give the bars a tug
and pull the bike to the apex and
pin that throttle, with the weight
transferring smoothly to the rear
and the Ohlins TTX shock doing
its job just right.
The suspension performance
is sublime. These are the best
