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Aprilia RS 457 : Our observations after a day of track riding

17th January 2024, 13:04 by Aditya Nadkarni

The Aprilia RS 457 employs a stiff aluminium dual-beam frame at the front, with a steel tubular subsection at the rear. Suspension duties are handled by 41 mm USD forks with 120 mm suspension travel and preload adjustability at the front and a monoshock with 130 mm wheel travel and preload adjustability at the rear.

Riding the Aprilia RS 457

The Aprilia RS 457 is powered by a 457cc parallel twin, liquid-cooled, DOHC four-valve engine that produces 47 BHP @ 9,400 rpm and 43.5 Nm @ 6,700 rpm. We got to experience the RS 457 at the Kari Motor Speedway racetrack in Coimbatore, and the below observations are limited to just the track experience.

35 kW (~47 BHP) is the maximum peak power permissible for an A2 sports bike in Europe and Aprilia didn't shy away from tuning the motor to deliver exactly that - the best in the segment! Moreover, with a 69 mm x 61.1mm bore:stroke configuration, the motor has a longer stroke than other parallel twin rivals and this results in class-leading torque of 43.5 Nm. Heck, forget the competition, this motor produces more torque than the recently launched 452cc single-cylinder in the Royal Enfield Himalayan! Coupled with a slick 6-speed gearbox and a light slip & assist clutch, this powertrain is certainly one of the strong points of the Aprilia.

Releasing the clutch, the bike crawls forward at ~10 km/h without much hesitation or clutch modulation required. From 2,000 rpm upwards, the motor doesn't show much hesitation and pulls cleanly from 3,000 rpm onwards. Unlike the KTM motors, I am expecting this Aprilia to be a breeze to ride in traffic, with minimal clutch slip required to get a move on from speed breakers or traffic. This one won't stall without any accelerator input in first gear and picks up clean from low rpms in higher gears.

The torque is spread wide and comes in almost linearly from 3,000 rpm all the way to ~9,000 rpm. Although I haven't ridden the rivals, I think this Aprilia could be the easiest motorcycle to ride fast without a struggle. On the main straight at Kari, I saw speeds close to 150 km/h in 5th gear and nowhere close to the redline of the gear. Thanks to the wide powerband, there is no need to keep the engine on the boil either! Out in the real world, I think this will make for a great highway experience.

You can tour on this bike. There are luggage points provided to strap your bags. Aprilia provides a high windscreen, and USB charging options as accessories and also has a pannier kit available internationally, though we did not get confirmation if the pannier will be made available in India. Your upper body isn't too leaned forward like in an RC390, but the legs are compressed and will need some stretching in between during longer rides.

My main complaint with this motor is the top-end. Although the claimed peak power is produced at 9,400 rpm, I felt multiple times like I was near the limiter at 9,000 rpm itself, whereas the redline was well above 10,000 rpm. The power seems to drop very much before the redline and this derides the bike of the hooligan rush that some of the rivals are known for! On the flip side, this bike has a dual character that can do a bit of both - relaxed highway touring (whereas the KTMs are always eager to run away) and spirited runs.

The clutch action is extremely light and enjoyable and is well-supported by slick gearshifts. Aprilia could have provided adjustable levers as standard, but for my hand size, I had nothing to complain about. The bike comes with a ride-by-wire throttle and three riding modes.

Refinement & NVH

This new 457cc parallel-twin makes use of a 270-degree crank and that makes it sound much more interesting (and better IMHO) than its Japanese parallel-twin rivals - somewhat similar to the Royal Enfield 650 twins but without the bassy rumble. At higher revs, I think it sounds good to a passerby, but to the rider, it feels a bit thrashy as compared to a bassier note that I would have liked. That said, it is just a personal preference and not a negative note on the Aprilia.

The NVH package is good and the parallel-twin is way more refined than the KTM single. There is some buzz at higher rpms, but nothing to be concerned about or bad, and can almost be termed as "good vibes".

Suspension and Handling

The Aprilia employs a stiff aluminium dual-beam frame at the front, with a steel tubular subsection at the rear. Suspension duties are handled by 41 mm USD forks with 120 mm suspension travel and preload adjustability at the front and a monoshock with 130 mm wheel travel and preload adjustability at the rear.

While I can't comment on the ride quality of the suspension, this setup does translate to excellent handling out on the track without being too tiring or harsh! The bike leans into corners naturally and within a few laps, even an amateur like me could get some good lean angles confidently. Weight transfer felt natural and hard braking did not seem to induce any heavy nose dives.

Braking

Braking duties are handled by ByBRE, Brembo's budget brand, which has now become the mainstay of most bikes in the segment. The setup consists of a 320 mm disc with a radial-mounted 4-piston caliper up front and a 220 mm disc with a single-piston caliper at the rear. Dual-channel ABS comes standard. The rear channel can be switched off when required and the bike is also equipped with traction control and anti-rollover systems.

Overall, the setup is very good and performs the job efficiently. That said, I would have liked a better initial bite from the front brakes and the rear felt a bit spongy, especially at track speeds. I also felt the tyre to be stepping out while hard braking after the long straights, but after a discussion with the R&D, I realized I should have crosschecked if I was on one of the riding modes which disabled the rear ABS for the track. Either way, the rear unit could be improved for feel and feedback.

There are racing brake pads offered as accessories for the European market. Hopefully, the same will be made available here as well soon!

Closing thoughts

To summarize the track experience with very few words, this is a very easy-going and forgiving sports bike with excellent manners that helped an amateur hop on hesitatingly and within a few laps, end up doing this on the track: