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/452615
VOL. 52 ISSUE 4 JANUARY 27, 2015 P99 power and torque from the dron- ing V4 motor. Which allowed you to focus on hitting your braking marks and getting your line right before getting an early drive out of the turn. Basically, trusting in the finely tuned electronics to help hook up the rear Pirelli for a slingshot exit. Then, come the .6-mile straight... this time around I was ready for the sixth-gear power wheelie I'd expected to get each lap, just cresting the little rise towards the end of the straight, soon after hitting top gear close to maximum torque. Last time I rode the RSV4 at Mugello, that happened to me for the first time at over 180 mph according to the telemetry… I nearly crashed be- cause I did everything wrong, in- cluding backing off the gas. This time I was ready for it with my foot hovering over the rear brake lever to stifle the lift in its infancy. Except, I was going even faster, and it still didn't happen. Turns out, Aprilia now has a much en- hanced anti-wheelie program in its electronics package precisely to stop stuff like that happening. That's not to say the front wheel still doesn't lift slightly off the ground as you wind the throttle hard open in third gear exiting the Poggio Secco chicane, but it's totally controlled. The handlebars just wiggle slightly in your hand without affecting your forward drive in any way. You don't even need to make sure that you heavy up the footpegs and push your body weight forward to load up the front wheel like before. The electronics have taken care of it. And you have power and torque to spare to afford the luxury of their doing so. Pity. I was looking forward to getting just a little bit frightened by pulling sixth-gear power wheelies this time around. Instead of which, I got seri- ously impressed by how much performance Aprilia's engineers have managed to deliver so controllably. It is a bike that is the rare best of both worlds–one that steered with more than ac- ceptable agility through the quar- tet of Mugello chicanes, yet was ultra-stable on the power. Well, okay, I admit I was feathering it through Arrabbiata Uno—round fast sweepers like Savelli and the long, long Bucine final turn. I wouldn't call the Aprilia exactly nimble. I was riding Chaz Davies' Ducati Panigale the same day, and that did indeed flick from side to side better than the Aprilia, but the V4 took no prisoners once you switched on the power and hooked up the rear Pirelli. To the point that I got taught a lesson in how to ride the bike properly, by wearing out the soft compound SCO rear tire in just a handful of laps. "I had to consciously change my riding style when I came to ride the Aprilia after two sea- sons on a Ducati," said Guintoli afterwards. "And you raced one for so long you need the same adjustment. On the Ducati I used a lot of lean angle and big sweeping lines to keep up turn speed, like on the 250cc GP bike I raced for 10 years. But with the Aprilia you must lift it up exiting a bend to use the fat part of the tire to preserve its life. That way you can maximize the use of the true strength of the bike, which is its acceleration and power delivery, especially (Clockwise) No, it's not playsta- tion... Controls for the sophisti- cated electronics package on the RSV4 was right at Guintoli's finger- tips. The liquid-cooled V4 produces over 240 hp at 15,000 rpm. Plenty of stopping power to handle all that horespower.