All the bells and whistles of Aprilia’s APRC (Aprilia Performance Ride Control) package are now available on the RSV4R APRC, which is a tier down from the Factory SE edition that we recently tested (Cycle World, August, 2011). The R version was created to offer a more price-accessible version of the RSV4 superbike, and it now can be purchased with the same excellent technology suite previously available only on the Factory SE. The package includes traction control (ATC), anti-wheelie control (AWC), quick shifter (AQS) and launch control (ALC). This model first hit U.S. shores in May as a late arrival for the 2011 model year.
This software suite further expands the performance envelope of the RSV4R on the road and at the racetrack. Aprilia Performance Ride Control is one of the most advanced electronic options in motorcycling, and its availability on the entry-level version of the RSV4 is evidence of Aprilia’s commitment to rider safety.
At the center of APRC is the ATC traction-control system with eight levels of intervention that can be selected on the fly. The AWC wheelie control is unique in that it allows front-end lift but doesn’t cut ignition abruptly to control it; the system instead lets the bike drive forward without permitting the front wheel to go sky-high too abruptly. AWC also can be adjusted to rider preference or be shut off entirely.
The AQS quick shift allows full-throttle, nearly instantaneous upshifts by altering the ignition advance when the rider changes up to the next gear. And the ALC launch control optimizes acceleration from a stop—such as the start of a race—by monitoring the difference between front- and rear-wheel speeds and not allowing the bike to wheelie. Once ALC is activated, the rider can open the throttle completely, at which time the system maintains the preselected launch rpm (10,000 rpm in Level 1 or 2 and 9500 in Level 3). When the rider releases the clutch, the electronics optimize forward drive until third or any gear higher than second is selected.
The R-model’s engine remains in its basic RSV4R configuration, with fixed-geometry intake runners, but it has an improved and lighter exhaust system, as well as new mapping of the “fly-by-wire” injection/ignition system for more precise and efficient throttle response at any rpm.
The $16,999 RSV4R APRC is available in either Glam White or Aprilia Black.
