2021 Aprilia RSV4/RSV4 Factory Review

Aprilia’s RSV4 has long been considered the darling of superbikes, but the 2021 version really is something else.

By Rennie Scaysbrook | Photography by Larry Chen, Kit Palmer

I’ll never forget the first time I wound the twist grip on an RSV4 all the way to the stop. It was on a deserted coastal road about half an hour south of the Sydney CBD, the 999cc V4 roaring one of the meanest, sweetest sounds my ears had ever taken in.

That was in 2009, which, at the time, meant the Aprilia was the only V4 superbike you could buy. It sounded like nothing else on the road and went faster than everything else, the sound wrapped in this tiny chassis and suspended by gold Ӧhlins front and rear. The black and red beast was the ultimate superbike vessel all those years ago, and I can’t help feel that history is repeating itself in 2021.

The RSV4 and its higher-spec RSV4 Factory have always been considered gems of the superbike genre. It’s fair to say that Aprilia has never made a bad RSV4; that’s because the motorcycle is a continual evolution of that original that blew my then-25-year-old eyes wide open in the back roads of Sydney. The 2021 duo are cut from the same cloth, although this iteration is like that 2009 RSV4 went to the gym for a decade, ate perfectly and didn’t drink. It has matured into a beast of a bike, sprouting winglets and an inverted swingarm and all manner of electronics. But underneath, it’s still the same charming, cheeky little Italian designed for Max Biaggi to go and win a couple of WorldSBK titles on it a decade ago.

As usual, you’ve got two flavors for your RSV4—the base RSV4 that was previously known as the RSV4 RR—and the up-spec RSV4 Factory, complete with Ӧhlins Smart EC2 semi-active electronic suspension, forged aluminum wheels and a wider choice of paint schemes.

Aside from those differences, the bikes are the same, which includes a now 1099cc V4 motor with a lighter crankshaft packing a pants-tightening 217 horsepower at 13,000 rpm and 125 Nm of torque at 10,500 rpm.

The great thing for Aprilia is they’ve managed to get the motor through the Euro5 emissions regulations without losing too much in the way of midrange torque. As the old saying goes, “if you want more inches, stroke it,” and that’s exactly what Aprilia has done by going from 52.25mm to 53.32mm to accompany the MotoGP-specific 81mm bore.

Compared to the 2020 RSV4, the ’21 edition maintains more torque from 4500 rpm right up to 13,500 rpm, with a substantial increase from 5000 to 8000 rpm, right where you’ll spend most of your time on the street and right where manufacturers like Honda and BMW got so hurt with their Euro5 emissions performance block.

At Laguna Seca for our track version of this test, the new motor absolutely wailed along. It made America’s most famous racing venue feel a bit like a high-speed carpark, and, due to the tall street gearing, I didn’t get the motor past about three-quarters of its rev range in fourth gear.

There’s so much power on tap (it has to be a real-world 195-ish horsepower by my finely tuned butt dyno), but rather than the overall power number being impressive, it’s the silky-smooth delivery that grabs your attention.

The revised motor utilizes new twin 48mm throttle bodies, fuel injectors, new ECU and revised throttle maps via the Aprilia Performance Ride Control (APRC) suite to deliver the power to the rider on a silver platter by a butler with one arm behind his back. “Would sir like a little more?” Why, yes. Yes I would.

The delivery of forward momentum is impressive, but you must continue to remain vigilant, because there’s so much power on hand you get shoved into your near future with incredible force and clicking up through the gearbox to keep the fun going on the sublime new quickshifter (Aprilia Quick Shift) is pure sex as you flash under the bridge at Laguna Seca.

When you transition to the road, that smooth delivery is, once again, evident. Running predominately in the Sport mode, the throttle is so gentle on initial opening I actually stalled twice. You must keep the revs up (the tall gearing wouldn’t have helped, either) leaving the lights, but once you’re flowing through roads like where we photographed the bike in Big Bear, California, the RSV4 provides about as close to superbike nirvana as I can think of.

As there’s so much midrange torque, you barely need to shift out of third or fourth gear when on the back roads—simply ride the wave of torque, letting the RSV4 flow from one corner to the next. Sixth gear isn’t an overdrive but unless you’re travelling north of 65 mph on the freeway, you’ll never use it. The revs drop right down and you’re a little out of where the motor really likes to be for full-blown acceleration, so best to run in fifth most of the time.

The motor gets about as close to a 10 out of 10 as I can give it, but what’s equally impressive is the chassis in that it doesn’t feel very different at all to any of the previous RSV4’s I’ve ridden over the past decade and a half. This is a very good thing because Aprilia got the OG so right back in 2009, all they’ve needed to do is refine the mix.

Aprilia has fitted their first production inverted swingarm for the ’21 RSV4, which they claim is a massive 30 percent stiffer and saving 600 grams of unsprung weight. The result is the RSV4 gives such beautiful feel on the side of tire, especially when you start dialing the power back in past the apex.

The 2019 edition was no slouch here, but it used technology and thinking from a number of years ago. The inverted-swingarm theory was taken from Aleix Espargaro’s RS-GP machine and was clearly a masterstroke, helping the RSV4 rail with the fluidity of a 600 but the power of a (bigger) superbike.

However, on track at least, there’s an interesting point with regards to the RSV4 versus the RSV4 Factory.

Time was when the base RSV4 used to be the poor relation to the RSV4 Factory. That appears to be well in the past now because the base RSV4’s game has improved drastically for 2021. The base runs the conventional Sachs 43mm fork and shock compared to the electronically adjustable Ӧhlins on the RSV4 Factory, and its performance was eye-opening at Laguna Seca. Compared to the always-adjusting RSV4 Factory when in Dynamic mode, the base RSV4 was beautifully composed at Laguna and more predicable over the course of a lap. Light, nimble and oh-so-stable, the base RSV4 made for a compelling argument when you consider the $7000 price difference between the two if all you were doing was racing/track days.

Once we switched the Factory into Manual mode on the suspension, where the semi-active element has been removed and the suspension behaves like traditional units, the Factory’s performance then shone through over the base. The Factory comes with lighter wheels—the single best performance upgrade you can make in my book—and its increased side-to-side agility over the base model came to the fore. Initial turn-in took less effort, as it did when plunging down the Corkscrew, and, when it came to riding the Factory on the street, that’s when the real value shined through.

The Ӧhlins Smart EC2 electronic suspension, when used on the street, is brilliant in its application. The inconsistencies encountered on the road surfaces give the sparky Ӧhlins a distinct advantage over conventional suspension, in much the same way as the conventional suspension does over its electronic brethren on the street. Being able to change modes on the RSV4 Factory is easy thanks to a well-thought-out user-experience design. The dash isn’t the prettiest but Aprilia’s done a good job of getting all the required information in there in an easy-to-read manner. This is especially important on the road, as you’re more likely to require mode and suspension changes, as well as easy access to trip information, than when you’re ripping around Laguna Seca.

The APRC system, complete with its Bosch IMU, features three preset riding and three programmable modes in which you can alter everything from engine braking to traction, launch, and wheelie control, Cornering ABS, slide control and cruise control.

Aprilia’s really gone to town on the aerodynamics for the RSV4. New LED lights, similar to the RS 660, adorn the front of the bodywork, while revised downforce winglets on either side of the fairing help keep the front wheel down under acceleration and increase braking stability when it’s time to heave on the Brembos.

A wider windshield and an increased area for your chin to sit on when in a full tuck has been developed and makes this iteration far more comfortable and less tiring to ride. To that end, the engineers have lowered the seat height by 9mm and the footpeg position is 10mm lower, while amazingly giving you an extra 1.5 degrees of ground clearance when cornering, not taking 1.5 degrees away.

You don’t feel as cramped on the 2021 RSV4, which is something taller riders will love. The original development rider for the RSV4 was pint-sized Max Biaggi—in fact you could say the RSV4 was made for Max so he could go and win Aprilia a couple of WorldSBK crowns. It now appears Aprilia is listening to riders of taller stature, as at 6-feet tall I found the new machine to be an almost ideal fit.

Taking this into account makes the RSV4 a much more enjoyable street bike. It’s not uncomfortable, not overly nice, either, which is about as good as you can hope for these days on a superbike. The lower pegs are a welcome addition, and I punched out two full twos in the saddle and didn’t feel too broken, only a little. Having cruise control helps, but Aprilia’s lack of a fuel gauge is uber frustrating. On that note, we got 37 mpg out of the Aprilia RSV4 Factory on our road test, which is not bad at all considering the motor’s historic love of guzzling gasoline.

But you can take those little gripes and put them to one side because the RSV4 and the up-spec RSV4 Factory are utterly superb superbikes. The aurora an RSV4 has is undeniable, a bit like a Maserati versus a Ferrari when compared to Ducati, but now the level of both machines is so high, it’s hard to know which one to go for. If I’m going racing/track days, I think I’ll go the base model and splurge on a fork cartridge kit and some bodywork, but if it’s my daily rider/weekend scratcher, I’ll be taking the Factory purely for the extra ease of adjustment and the color range options. Either way, both are incredible machines. Aprilia has created the best RSV4 yet. CN

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