PIKES PEAK-WINNING APRILIA TUONO 1100 RSV FACTORY
R I D E R E V I E W
P104
run its street-legal Superbike in the
race because the Heavyweight Divi-
sion at Pikes Peak caters exclusively
for production motorcycles originally
delivered with a one-piece handlebar.
Otherwise, they're only allowed to run
in the Exhibition Prototype class (still
with a one-piece handlebar, but not as
original equipment from the factory),
essentially an open category catering
to everything from factory prototypes
and home-built specials to super-
bike racers. The marketing kudos for
manufacturers comes from winning the
Heavyweight Division.
The Tuono's 1078cc 65-degree V4
engine was left completely stock, but
with the addition of an aftermarket
Akrapovic titanium exhaust. But after
much experimentation the team finally
settled on ultra-low overall gearing of
15/54, compared to 15/42 as stock!
That's the sort of gearing stunt riders
opt for, but Rennie had a good reason
for fitting it. "At the tire test we did ear-
lier in the month, I was like, this thing
is so slow! We knew we had exactly
170 bhp at sea level, but when we got
to altitude at 6000 feet, we were at
160 when we first mapped it, and then
we had issues with the fuel type during
race week. So then when we changed
the map with the correct fuel we'd lost
about eight bhp more. We actually got
back up to 162 bhp by race day, but it
was a serious amount of work for the
guys to do at the dyno. So, we decid-
ed to drop the gearing so that the bot-
tom three gears would flash by in an
instant, and I'd spent most of my time
in the top three gears, except for in the
hairpins where it was always bottom
(Left) Cathcart
gets the good
word from
team manager
Shane Pacillo.
(Below right)
Scaysbrook
charges
through the
mid-section
during practice
for the 2019
PPIHC.
Gold wheels were swiped off a
RSV4 RF from 2014.
