2025 Aprilia Tuono V4 First Look

The idea of a naked bike with 180 hp would have seemed preposterous just a few years ago but the relentless progress of motorcycling means that even with a 5 hp increase from the previous model’s 175 hp the 2025 Aprilia Tuono V4 isn’t close to the top spot in the class when it comes to outright power.

Beyond barroom boasts it’s unlikely you’re ever going to feel the need for more than 180 horses even if the likes of Ducati’s Streetfighter V4 and BMW’s M 1000 R offer as much as 30 hp more, and as a result, the Tuono is something of an overlooked gem in the realm of superbike-derived streetfighters. The updates to both the standard Tuono V4 and the higher-spec V4 Factory for 2024 might not be earth-shattering, but they make that package even more appealing.

Let’s start with the visuals. Over the years the Tuono has, for a naked bike, become increasingly plastic-clad. The 2024 version, for example, has a fixed nose fairing, side panels, and a bellypan as well as the chassis, tank, and tailsection from the full-faired RSV4. For 2025 it’s become a little less abashed about its nakedness, losing the belly to proudly display that unusual, 65-degree V-4 engine, and gaining restyled, shorter side panels. The nose, however, becomes even more superbike-adjacent, gaining the seemingly inevitable winglets. Aprilia will tell you how they’ve been forged in the wind tunnel, and the link to the company’s MotoGP bike is clear to see, but the claimed downforce they achieve—5.5 pounds at 155 mph—doesn’t seem like a figure that’s going to be noticeable to the average buyer.

Further body changes extend to subtle revisions to the panels on each side below the seat, while a new rear light unit incorporates all the lighting functions into the license plate holder, allowing the whole lot to be quickly removed when you venture on track.

Under the skin, the extra horses come from the adoption of the 1,099cc capacity of the RSV4 superbike, replacing the 1,077cc of the previous-generation Tuono V4, along with new 52mm throttle bodies and a redesigned exhaust system. Peak claimed power arrives at 11,800 rpm and max torque of 89.2 lb.-ft. appears at 9,600 rpm.

The electronic gizmos harnessing that performance have been improved even more with the addition of predictive algorithms that are claimed to process all the information gleaned from the bike’s sensors and IMU, including lean angle, gear position, speed, throttle position, and more, and use them to apply adaptive functions that learn from your riding. Key elements of the APRC package of rider assists include traction control with eight levels of intervention and a slide control function. There’s also wheelie control with three settings and an adaptive function to learn the rider’s characteristics, and a choice of three different engine maps and three engine-braking maps. A quickshifter is also standard.

While those functions are available on the standard Tuono V4, which uses fully adjustable Sachs suspension at each end, you need to step up to the Tuono V4 Factory with its electronic Öhlins suspension and semi-active Smart EC 2.0 electronics to get the full suite of rider assists. The Factory’s spec includes three-mode launch control, predictive slide control, a pit limiter, cornering lights, and cruise control.

On the Factory, you can also option a Race Pack that includes a built-in GPS module that works hand-in-hand with the traction control and wheelie control settings, specifically for use on track, so you can preprogram the systems to operate differently in each corner of a particular track. There’s also a Suspension Pack that does the same, but for the settings of the Öhlins semi-active fork and shock.

Pricing has yet to be announced, but the 2025 Tuono V4 will be offered in either Shark Grey or Scorpion Yellow, while the Factory version comes only in Dark Kraken—Aprilia’s combination of black with red graphics and a two-tone seat.