2016 Aprilia RSV4 RF First Ride Video Review

Kevin Duke
by Kevin Duke
Videos by Sean Matic and Duke

This year marks the debuts of several remarkable new motorcycles tugging hard at the moto spotlight, and the most intense category is the literbike supersport/superbike category. BMW’s class-leading S1000RR has been updated and tested here. Yamaha offers a ground-up re-do of its R1 tested here, and it comes equipped with perhaps the most advanced electronic rider aids of any company. And let’s not forget Ducati’s awesome 205-horse 1299 Panigale tested here, nor the outrageous supercharged Kawasaki H2 tested here!

Lurking in the shadows is an updated version of Aprilia’s RSV4, a bike we’ve loved since its 2009 introduction. It’s a sweet-handling and soul-singing animal that has seduced every MO editor to some extent. And for 2015 (called 2016s in America), the World Superbike title-winning RSV4 gets injected with a purported 16 extra horsepower to a claimed-at-crankshaft 201 ponies.

We recently tested the high-end and limited-production RF model at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli and came away impressed by its invigorated motor and updated electronics that can, among many things, be programmed to alter traction-control and wheelie-control settings corner by corner on a racetrack! The RFs will soon be arriving at dealers in America and lists for $21,999. The base RR version retails for $15,649 and will arrive on our shores in September.

We published our text-and-photo review ASAP, and now we bring you what it looks and sounds like in this video review. Enjoy!

Kevin Duke
Kevin Duke

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