P132
RIDE REVIEW I 2024 APRILIA RS 457
in your eye. The note from the
exhaust is richer and louder than
expected, and when that engine
is pulling hard in the meat of the
powerband, it is a thrilling sensa-
tion (as far as small displace-
ment machines go).
Initial
throttle response is
playful, not scary, and once the
engine hums into that 3000 rpm
range the real fun begins and
the RS is pouncy.
Aprilia chose the Autodromo
di Modena as its testing ground
since it played to the strengths
of a small, lightweight sportbike.
Yet something was just slightly
off in finding harmony between
the peppy twin-cylinder engine
and the optimal gearing for the
tight and technical circuit. I tried
keeping revs high in second
gear into corners, but the RS
complained loudly as it danced
around the redline. Carrying
one gear up in third, the RS 457
was sleepy exiting the corners.
A consensus was discussed
among my fellow riders that
some minor tweaks in the final
drive gearing ratio would prob
-
ably remedy this.
The RS
457 comes with three
different riding modes, three
levels of traction control, and
two levels of ABS that can all
be independently tweaked to a
rider's content. The rain mode is
painfully anemic on the race
-
track, but I ran a full lap in it to
confirm
it functioned as prom-
ised (with the TC toggled into its
most
intrusive setting).
Throttle response was tepid
and peak power was also reined
in. The Eco mode surprised me
in how closely it related to the
Sport mode. It is just a touch
