Rennie Scaysbrook | September 7, 2023
Aprilia has taken the wraps off their RS 457, with Kawasaki and the Ninja 400 squarely in their crosshairs.
The 457 boasts a new parallel-twin four-stroke motor and all-new chassis, and builds on the success of the RS 660, which has gone on to become Europe’s highest selling sportbike since its 2020 release.
Weighing a claimed 350 lb dry, the RS should be more than a match for the class stalwarts Kawasaki and the Ninja 400, which has dominated the segment and holds nearly all the places on the MotoAmerica Junior Cup grid.
Below is what Aprilia had to say about this highly-anticipated new ride, one that we’ll be sampling as soon as it becomes available.
The Aprilia RS 457 speaks to a new generation of riders, exploiting all the company’s expertise to design and build a true sport bike. The strengths of this motorcycle are its lightness, ease of handling, and technological equipment. The RS 457 is designed to accompany motorcyclists as they progress on road and track. The ergonomics feature clip-on handlebars mounted above the upper triple clamp, a practical solution that provides the best compromise between sportiness and riding comfort.
The new RS 457’s styling follows the legendary RS range; the supersport bikes that made motorcycling history. Starting from the aggressive aerodynamic front fairing to the underbelly silencer with a 2-in-1 exhaust, the RS 457 shares the same DNA from its larger siblings. The full LED front headlamp houses the iconic light signature shared across the Aprilia RS range. The dashboard boasts an elegant and practical 5-inch TFT color instrument display, along with all-new backlit handlebar controls.
The RS 457 may have just shot straight to the top of every sportbike-loving teenager’s Christmas list.
The Aprilia RS 457 is powered by a state-of-the-art, liquid-cooled parallel twin-cylinder engine, with double overhead camshaft and four valves per cylinder, delivering 47 horsepower. Beyond just power, the motorcycle’s weight is equally impressive, with a dry weight of 350 lbs.
The new engine is paired with a stiff frame. The aluminum frame makes the RS 457 unique for bikes in its segment. All of Aprilia’s design expertise, honed over decades of victories on all the world’s racetracks, has gone into its development. The crankcase functions as a load-bearing element, a solution borrowed from the RS 660, which ensures the low weight, dynamic qualities, and riding pleasure that have made Aprilia famous.
Maverick Vinales puts the RS 457 through its paces.
The 41 mm front fork provides 120 mm of travel and the rear monoshock, working in tandem with the steel swingarm, provides 130 mm of wheel travel, both offering preload adjustability. The braking system incorporates a 320 mm front disc with a ByBre radial-mount 4-piston caliper. At the rear, a 220 mm steel disc is paired with a ByBre caliper. Both wheels benefit from a two-channel ABS system with dual map settings, available for both wheels or exclusively for the front. The 17-inch sport rims accommodate 110/70 tires at the front and 150/60 at the rear, providing exceptional grip while preserving agility, a defining characteristic in the Aprilia RS family.
The electronic equipment on the Aprilia RS 457 is unrivaled, catering to a diverse range of riders while remaining faithful to Aprilia’s heritage. The Ride by Wire system, pioneered by Aprilia engineers, manages the engine mapping with three distinct riding modes that modulate power, torque delivery, and traction control. These features are adjustable across three levels. Additionally, a quickshifter (up and down) is available as an accessory for enhanced performance.
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