Words: Jeff Ware Photos: Zane Dobie

Aprilia have taken the step to split the Tuono range with a more versatile road friendly Hyper Naked Tourer to back up the super sharp sports focussed Tuono V4 Factory.

Small adjustments make a huge difference at times and the taller handlebars and other differences between the V4 1100 and the Factory means the the V4 is more comfortable and upright than previously. The new styling is on point, too, although you could argue whether it truly is a nakedbike anymore, given that there is a lot of real estate covered in bodywork and it has a big fairing. I’m a traditionalist, so I’m going to call it a semi-naked.

Onboard the V4 1100, I immediately feel the changes to the earlier models. The bike has a more sports-touring view and the upright position makes me feel even further off the ground than before. With a high seat height, the tall handlebars and my long arms, I feel my head is up in the clouds and this takes a little time to get used to. The tank is wide at the top but narrow in the knee cutouts, and the reach to the handlebars is a long one. It’s a comfortable rider triangle, an all-day position, but there is one glaring issue that has me scratching my head…

There is not enough space between the rider footpegs and the pillion footpegs, causing a dangerous situation for me, with two near crashes during the photoshoot when my foot was completely stuck and I ran wide onto the wrong side of the road. Once I was hyper aware of the situation, I rode with my feet sticking out to stop the heel getting caught, but then my toes hit the road in the corners. I could not ride on the ball of my feet on the Tuono V4, which had a negative impact on the handling of the machine.

Heel clearance issues aside, the Tuono V4 boasts a sweet chassis with instantly recognisable racing DNA that makes me feel at home, and feel confident very quickly. The even more commanding than before riding position gives ultimate leverage on the wide handlebars, meaning total advantage of lightweight chassis can be put to work, while the rake feels sharper as a result.

With only 99.7mm of trail, you could expect less front feedback and grip from the Tuono but I think the softish Sachs forks add to the feeling that there is a larger footprint on the road. It is a communicative front-end, on or off the brakes, but braking needs to be done with finesse to avoid sudden fork dive. The geometry still makes the bike racy, even with stable steering and soft suspension. Of course, the plus side is the fantastic ride over bumps and undulations, giving real comfort, a first for a V4 Tuono!

The back end of the bike is similarly plush, with firm springs to give sporty support on the gas, coping with that whopping torque and power, and giving mid corner line holding, while still soaking up the crappy Australian country roads without the kidney punching of the old days. It’s a great balance from the Sachs set-up, and although it feels a bit soft and floaty at first, you soon realise how quickly you are actually going, while not suffering for the bumps!

Direction changes are quick and stable, but the Tuono is quite top heavy being a tall machine. A bit of effort at the ‘bars is required, but once on its side the bike is rock solid and give plenty of confidence-inspiring feel at both ends, even with that soft fork set-up.

You can carry good corner speed on the Tuono, but need a little rear brake to dampen that vicious punch from the engine on throttle opening if you want to keep the soft set-up balanced and poised. Ride it fast in the dry like you are riding fast in the wet, with gentle movements and finesse, and you are heavily rewarded by the race DNA of the sweet chassis…

Summarising handling, it’s comfortable and soft suspension-wise, possibly too soft for some really hard riding sports riders, but the geometry of the chassis allows the bike to get aways with the soft suspension and still steer and corner well, and even remain stable on the brakes. And the brakes are huge…

We are talking standard suspension settings though, and I feel with a bit of extra preload and damping, within the stock availability, the Tuono could be just about spot on for a sports naked that needs to isolate the rider from our terrible, no horrendous, roads here in Australia…

One area that isn’t more ‘Touring’ or nakedbike easy are the brakes – they are still the same amazing units straight from the stunning RSV-4, the Brembo M50 calipers (drool) and massive 330mm front rotors (dinner plates), with a Brembo radial-pull master-cylinder up front and a 220mm rear rotor with a two-piston Brembo caliper controlling things out back. The front brakes are sensational, with brilliant feel and modulation, incredible power yet are great even at low speeds, while the rear is a little wooden in feel and could do with more power and less effort on the pedal.

The heart of the bike is of course that monster, loveable yet scary V4, which has been carefully adapted from the RSV4 to suit the nakedbike.

The engine is a beast, there is no other way to put it. No matter the mode, the map, the care with the right wrist, it is angry and blindingly quick. You need to be ready and committed when you open that RbW throttle and unleash the 175hp caged within the mighty V4. It’s agro, abrupt and not that refined and a real wild ride compared to some bikes in the naked class. It’s fast, really fast, and tractable. The gearbox is slick and the quickshifter reliable. The sensitivity of the throttle takes some time to get used to, as it is so touchy, but the bike can be ridden smoothly once you get used to it. There are six riding modes to choose from, I spent 90 per cent of the time on Sport.

There are so many advanced electronics on the Tuono V4 that it’d take an entire seperate article to cover them all so check out our breakout below and visit the Aprilia website for more on that. Overall, the Tuono V4 is now much more of its own road bike, rather than a pure sports naked derived from the RSV4 and for hardcore sports riders. The few small comfort changes have made a big difference and made the Tuono much more tourable than it was before… But still gives no end of thrills…

2022 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Specifications

Price: $28,830 R/A

Claimed Power: 129kW@11,000rpm

Claimed Torque: 120Nm@9,000rpm

Wet Weight: 209kg

Fuel capacity: 17.9L

Engine: Liquid-cooled 65-degree V4 16-valve DOHC, 1078cc, 81 x 52.3mm bore x stroke, 13.0:1 compression ratio, 48mm throttle-bodies, Marelli injection, Ride by wire, Four-into-two-into-one exhaust

Gearbox: Six-speed cassette type, straight cut gears, quickshifter

Clutch: Wet multiplate slipper clutch, cable actuation

Chassis: Aluminium dual beam chassis with pressed and cast sheet elements. Adjustment for headstock position and rake, engine height, swingarm pin height.

Rake: 24.8°

Trail: 99.9mm

Suspension: Sachs upside-down fork, adjustable, 43mm stanchions, 120mm travel (f) Sachs rear shock with progressive linkage, and adjustable spring preload, compression and rebound damping, 129mm travel (r).

Brakes: 330mm rotor(s) (f), Brembo M50 monobloc calipers, Brembo master-cylinders, 220mm rotor (r), twin-piston Brembo caliper

Wheels & Tyres: Cast alloy 3.50 x 17in, 6.00 x 17in, 120/70-17in, 190/55-17in

DIMENSIONS

Wheelbase: 1452mm

Seat height: 837mm

Overall width: 810mm

Overall Length: 2070mm

Overall height: 1170mm

Equipment: APRC (Aprilia Performance Ride Control) IMU-based traction control and cornering ABS,6 axis inertial platform, APRC suite (Aprilia Performance Ride Control) with Engine maps (AEM), Engine brake management (AEB), Traction control (ATC), Wheelie control (AWC), Launch control (ALC), Cruise control (ACC), Pit limiter (APT). 6 riding modes (3 Road, 3 Track), all individually adjustable, and three pre-set riding modes. Cruise control, TFT colour dash, up/down quickshifter.

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