SYLVAIN GUINTOLI'S APRILIA RSV4
RACER TEST
P100
on used tires."
So look at the photos of me
riding the Aprilia, dear reader,
and you'll see what I was do-
ing wrong. And no, I couldn't
persuade Albesiano to let me
have another 10 laps to learn
how to ride the RSV4 properly.
Maybe next year, when lucky lad
Leon Haslam will be racing the
factory-supported Red Devils
Roma Aprilia that will effectively
be a revised version of Guintoli's
title-winning 2014 bike that ac-
counts for the new 2015 rules.
As ever, this is a very, very fast
motorcycle. And it's smooth with
it, thanks to the balance weights
in the handlebar ends and the
single, gear-driven counterbal-
ance. There's no undue vibration
from the V4 Superbike motor—
just a sense of genuine perfor-
mance from this ultra-individual
powerplant. It's one of the most
distinctive-sounding Superbike
engines yet made, issuing an
ultra-distinctive meaty burble
at low revs from the Akrapovic
carbon can. As always, it sounds
like a high-pitched twin low
down, but a deep-voiced four up
high.
And where the ultra-compact
RSV4 really scores in terms of
handling—compared to any other
four-cylinder Superbike—is the
way it steers and changes direc-
tion from side to side so easily,
making this a less tiring bike to
race. In spite of the rangy wheel-
base, the Aprilia turns more eas-
ily than the inline fours, thanks
to the compacted mass of its
unique V4 architecture. And that
in turn makes it a controllable,
confidence inspiring, motorcycle
that's a deserved three-time
World Champion.
The combination of the ECU's
variable idle-speed program and
the mechanical slipper clutch
worked well together in harness-
ing engine braking from high
speed at the end of that .6-mile
straight, with no trace of rear
wheel chatter. I found quite a
bit more engine braking than
I expected (perhaps reflect-
ing Guintoli's immediate Ducati
heritage compared to Biaggi's
250cc GP ancestry) which also
helped stop the bike so hard and
late. It's no longer crucial to use
the rear brake first to load up the
back before braking all-out from
high speed, to try to counter
any instability. This year there
was no trace of the Aprilia's
The last of the fire-breathing worx Superbikes as the series technical rules change in 2015.
