Cycle News

Cycle News 2021 Issue 34 August 24

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1404341

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RIDE REVIEW I 2021 APRILIA TUONO V4 P98 played its part. Get out of the traffic, open up those quartet of 48mm throttle bodies and let the sweet, sweet V4 music blare out as you crack up through gearbox on the knife- through-butter quick- shifter, and the Tuono V4 absolutely comes alive. The semi-active Oh- lins, once switched into Sport mode on the dash, give the Tuono such poise it is very difficult to fault. On the track, I much preferred the manual setting for the suspension in the ECU, but on the LA roads, with the baffling level of crappy surfaces you must endure, the semi-active Ohlins are a god- send. It's a stiff ride in Sport mode, and you'll likely want to dip back down into the Road settings for your trip back home, especially if you live in the city. The motor is as you were, sir. There's very little to hint that this is any different to the last itera- tion, except the dreaded flat spot due to emissions regulations has reared its ugly head—although not as badly as some- thing like the Honda CBR1000RR-R SP. The motor needs to labor past the 4-6000 rpm dead spot in a bit more of a pronounced fashion than the more powerful RSV4, which simply tears past it as though it weren't there. Changing modes doesn't help as it's an emissions issue, but it's not as bad as it could be. You're still met with that lovely throttle response below 4000 rpm and get the motor charging past 7000 rpm and you better hang on as there's still 4500 rpm to go before the engine tops out at 13,500 rpm. You're met with a cavalcade of forward Sachs conventionally adjusted suspension is a focal point of the base model Tuono.

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