Church of MO: 2010 Aprilia RSV4 R Review

And after the world wailed and gnashed its teeth in vain for a decade or two, waiting for Honda to produce a kimono-lifting V-Four sportbike, Aprilia finally did the deed in 2009, and all the children did sing. In 2010, the Romans of Noale did the world an even bigger solid by making a $5000-cheaper version, the RSV4R, that anyone could afford. Unfortunately the actual MSRP is lost to history, as no one could be assed to provide a simple spec chart in those days. Besides, if you have to ask…

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A less-expensive RSV4 is still impressive

By Tor Sagen Feb. 16, 2010

Photos by Milagro

Aprilia‘s RSV4 Factory might be the most impressive new bike we’ve tested this season, and it blew us away when we tested it against KTM’s excellent RC8R and Ducati’s stellar 1198S in our first literbike shootout of the year.But we wondered how good the standard and less expensive RSV4, the R, would be. Our European correspondent takes it for a spin around Portugal’s Estoril circuit to find out. He says “Exiting corners with 10.000-plus rpm on an Aprilia RSV4 is one of the most satisfying things to do in motorcycling.”

Full throttle in third gear, knee down exiting the Senna curve, and once again I have to keep a sharp eye on the wet patches. The Metzeler Racetech rear tire spun up earlier at a speed of 100 mph, and whilst I don’t mind a bit of drifting, a relatively cold December day in Portugal is not the day to challenge the grip too much. So I’m a bit more cautious than I usually would be and the laptimes suffered.

The Parabolica Ayrton Senna leads me on to one of the fastest straights on the MotoGP calendar. The straight is almost a kilometre long, and leading up …read more

Source:: Church of MO: 2010 Aprilia RSV4 R Review