2016 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory Road Test Review

Well, after stunning us with the new RSV4 RF last year (“Electronic Warfare,” Dec./Jan. 2016), we certainly couldn’t wait to get our hands on Aprilia’s newly updated Tuono V4 1100 (“Fast Way Home,” Aug./Sept. 2015) for a full test after hearing former SR staffer Bradley Adams gushing about the revamped naked bike (we use “former” because he recently defected to the staff of sister publication Cycle World…). Anytime a manufacturer claims that the new model puts out “almost 20 hp more” than the previous version at 8,000 rpm—when said previous version certainly wasn’t a weakling by any stretch of the imagination—our interest gets piqued.

We used to always say that the Aprilia sportbikes would be great if they just had a little more steam from the engine room, and it appears the Noale factory finally heard us, though it’s interesting that Aprilia didn’t take the easy route of simply transplanting the new RSV engine into the Tuono, “retune it for midrange torque,” and call it good. Instead, the company decided to boost displacement by enlarging the bore by 3mm (from 78mm to 81mm), increasing engine size to 1,077cc from the previous 999cc powerplant. There are a host of other mods to help increase power production (the new pistons sit on Pankl connecting rods that are a total of 400 grams lighter, revamped crankcase ventilation windows for reduced pumping losses, reduced rod journal diameter to 36mm), and the new Tuono also receives the latest aPRC electronics to help manage that extra steam. Even the chassis received various mods—lower center of gravity, 6mm-longer swingarm, tighter steering geometry—to work with the increased power and maintain sharp handling.

So the new Tuono isn’t just a warmed-over previous model. Needless to say, we couldn’t wait to find out how much of an improvement the V4 1100 was. And our model was a V4 1100 Factory version, with the full complement of Öhlins suspension components and latest Brembo braking hardware.

We’re not sure how it got past the EPA sound Nazis, but once the Aprilia barks to life, you’re met with a boisterous—but melodious—exhaust note that almost eliminates the need for an aftermarket pipe. Put it this way: If you live in an apartment complex or have neighbors who hate to be disturbed in the morning, you might want to wheel the bike to an open area first before hitting the starter button. It’s that loud.

The V-4 quickly settles into a fairly fast idle, and sitting on the tallish 32.5-inch seat reveals that Aprilia has indeed heard the tortured cries of the previous-generation Tuono faithful. The new saddle is much broader, more supportive, and better padded than the old two-by-four that Aprilia had the temerity to label a seat on the previous V4R. You can now handle hour-long stints on the Tuono without losing that all-important road feedback while carving the canyons.

Besides the vastly improved seat, highway stints are also made more bearable with the slightly better wind protection provided by the revamped 3.3-pound-lighter bikini fairing on the front that takes styling cues from the new RSV4. Yes, the Tuono is still a naked bike, but there’s a noticeable improvement in airflow on the rider’s chest and helmet above 60 mph compared with the previous version. And since we’re talking about street riding here, a couple of small gripes surfaced in this arena: The turn signal switch lacks any feel when you push to cancel it, causing us to continually look at the dash to make sure we’d accomplished the task. And while that dash—with its analog tach and LCD info panel—is still very functional, the eight-year-old setup is beginning to look very dated in this day and age of TFT displays.

Clutch effort is light and with good feel, which is a good thing because the Tuono still has a fairly tall first gear. But unlike the previous Aprilia that required some rpm and generous throttle application to produce enough power to pull the tall gear, the new Tuono engine’s abundance of torque means you don’t have to sound like you’re playing Boy Racer to pull away swiftly from a stoplight.

You quickly find out how much more power the new 1,077cc powerplant puts out once you've fully disengaged the clutch. While not quite the torque monster that is the KTM 1290 Super Duke R, the Aprilia puts the hurt on the rest of the competition as far as bottom-end and midrange steam are concerned, and it's the kind of power the old Tuono can only dream of. There's so much more power, in fact, that even with the traction control at Level 1 (the least amount of intervention), we found the electronics intruding a lot more than expected. Even in situations where we figured there was plenty of grip from the big 200-size rear Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa, we could feel the TC pulling back power, and the intervention was fairly coarse as well.

Granted, a lot of the TC’s heavy-handedness is likely due to the V4 1100’s propensity to loft the front wheel at any given moment under throttle. With the upright riding position and wide (though narrower than the previous generation) handlebar, the Aprilia’s power threatens to yank your arms out of their sockets anywhere above 4,000 rpm, and that weight transfer on a relatively short wheelbase when the power comes on means effortless wheelies. Thus, the aPRC wheelie control gets a workout on the V4 1100, constantly stepping in to keep the front wheel earthbound, with Level 1 allowing the tire to rise about 6 to 10 inches off the ground, Level 2 allowing maybe an inch at most, and Level 3 pulling back enough power to keep the tire planted at all times.

Where the old V-4 finally felt like it was coming alive at 8,000 rpm, the new engine is already well into its stride, and its power is such that you could be more than satisfied just running the engine up to that point. But keep the throttle pinned, and the new Tuono builds power and speed at an increasingly ferocious rate that has your legs and hands gripping the bike tighter to keep yourself from literally getting blown off the back. The new Aprilia simply has power everywhere over the old model.

Considering the power increase though, perhaps it’s a good thing the aPRC electronics are so heavy-handed. Remember that claim about 20 more horsepower at 8,000 rpm over the old Tuono? Aprilia wasn’t that far off: At 8,000 rpm on our dyno, the 2016 model is 15 hp up over the previous version, a very significant boost. Even more telling, however, is that at 3,000 rpm, the V4 1100 has a 10 foot-pound torque advantage over the old model. That’s basically the difference between thinking about a downshift because the bike is struggling to pull the gear to wondering how long your license is going to last with the front wheel in the air so much. And while Aprilia claims just a 5 peak horsepower increase, the difference between our testbikes was almost 10 hp.

Interestingly, Aprilia dumped the Rain setting with the aPRC Ride Modes on the new Tuono, leaving just Race, Track, and Sport settings available. All three modes provide full power, with just the throttle response differing between them. Sport is the mellower of the three, though it’s still fairly aggressive; and we couldn’t tell much of a difference between Track and Race modes (other than that there is less engine-braking from Sport), to tell you the truth.

With the electronics intervening so often, we figured it would be worth turning off the power nannies just to see how much power was really there—and it’s at that point where you unleash the real beast. If you thought the Aprilia was fast with the aPRC electronics keeping things somewhat in check…

With no wheelie control struggling to keep the front tire somewhere near the pavement and no traction control getting paranoid that you’re going to spin the bike out from underneath you, the real V4 1100 below the surface comes to life. Some deft throttle control is certainly necessary to keep from looping over backward in first and even second gear, and the wheelies become so commonplace that you will certainly become a beacon of hooliganism to local law enforcement. The Tuono pulls so hard off the corners that it will be difficult to wipe the grin off your face after the first ride.

With such power on tap, it’s a good thing that Aprilia upgraded the brake pads on the new Tuono. The previous version’s binders surprisingly lacked power and felt wooden in response and feedback, but the V4 1100 Factory’s Brembo units are vastly superior in all performance aspects. You always know what’s happening at the tire contact patch, giving you the confidence to push your brake markers deeper and deeper. And the Race ABS is sorted enough that we basically never felt it intervening, even on the racetrack. Its activation threshold is certainly pretty high, and you have to really be getting the chassis out of shape or the tire completely approaching lockup for it to take over.

As expected, the Öhlins suspension on our Factory model worked superbly, providing excellent chassis and wheel control in any situation without forcing you to put up with a rock-hard ride as a compromise. The Tuono isn’t the lightest-steering naked bike on the market, but it’s certainly nowhere near the heaviest either. The relatively wide handlebar gives you plenty of leverage to initiate a turn, and the Aprilia steers into a corner with a nice, neutral feel to any lean angle. By tightening up the steering geometry (rake angle reduced from 25.1 to 24.7 degrees, with trail shortened from 107.4mm to 99.7mm), Aprilia did a very good job of overcoming the steering sluggishness that comes from the huge 200-size rear tire without making the new Tuono twitchy or nervous under acceleration.

The entire setup is competent enough that stepping out onto the racetrack is easily within the realm of the Aprilia’s performance repertoire, and you will certainly be surprising many supersport bikes with the Tuono’s speed. You don’t even have to swap tires, as the standard fitment Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP rubber has proven itself to be an excellent trackday tire. The only issue is that your arms and neck will tire of enduring the constant windblast without any real fairing to hide behind.

At this point, a lot of you are probably wondering, “Okay, enough with the gushing. Isn’t there something bad about the bike?” Well, yeah, there is one gripe we have with the V4 1100, and that is its continuing (from the previous generation) voracious thirst for fuel. Our Tuono averaged a dismal 29 mpg, and even with the larger fuel capacity—an additional gallon over the skimpy 3.9-gallon tank of the previous model—we usually saw the low-fuel light coming on at just 120 miles and often before that. And pay attention to the dash around the 100-mile mark; if you see the low-fuel light come on, don’t dally around finding a gas station. The Tuono once left us pushing off the highway at 123 miles with a bone-dry tank. Not fun.

Aprilia certainly did well with the new Tuono V4 1100 Factory. All of the previous complaints we had with the old model (well, except the thirsty engine) were addressed with the new version. Despite the electronic rider aids being a little too heavy-handed in their intervention—actually, for good reason—the Aprilia is certainly one of the most fun bikes we’ve ever thrown a leg over. And at a list price of $16,999, the Tuono V4 1100 definitely isn’t out of reach for the majority of riders out there who want what is likely the best-performing naked bike on the market. We only caution that you should have a traffic attorney on your phone’s favorites contact list…

Test Notes+ Incredible engine + Excellent suspension + Much-improved brakes - Guzzles fuel - Dash a little dated - Umm…give us a minute x Your driver's license is at risk on this bike

Suggested Suspension Settings Front: Spring preload—10 turns out from full stiff; rebound damping—11 clicks out from full stiff; compression damping—13 clicks out from full stiff Rear: Spring preload—10mm thread showing on shock body; rebound damping—12 clicks out from full stiff; compression damping—14 clicks out from full stiff