Aprilia rolled into the new decade with its racebike-inspired Tuono V4 1100. The factory drew on its own not-inconsiderable WSBK experience to turn out this track-capable ride, and the targeted demographic would be those riders who actually aspire to hit a closed-circuit or road course. A 175-horsepower V4 plant delivers the goods with a full array of revamped, race-centric, ride-quality electronics and corner-sensing technology to complete the package.

2022 Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Performance and Capability

Aprilia powers the Tuono V4 1100 with a 65-degree four-cylinder Vee, hence the ingeniously clever name, and the result is devastating. At 11,000 rpm, the liquid-cooled mill grinds out a whopping 175 horsepower with 89 pound-feet of torque that maxes out at 9 grand. That's a lot of power to deal with, but the factory gives you the tools you need to keep it rubber side down.

A ride-by-wire control communicates with a new Electronic Control Unit as the primary command feature under a trio of power-delivery curves and bundles a slew of race-centric electronics under the Aprilia Performance Ride Control umbrella. Lean-sensitive traction/wheelie control joins the ABS for added stability and Launch Control helps you nail your holeshots.

A Quick Shift feature sends you both up and down the range without ever touching the clutch. The Aprilia Pit Limiter lets you set your pit-lane speed if you actually ride the thing in some sort of sanctioned event to finish out the fandanglery.

The six-speed, cassette-style transmission crunches the ratios. Between the gearbox and the lump, a slipper-type clutch does its thing to deliver light clutch pulls and drag-torque protection.

The engine relies on a quartet of 48 mm Weber-Marelli throttle bodies for induction control with a Magneti Marelli digital ECS and coil-over plug wires to manage the ignition. It's seriously oversquare with an 81 mm bore and short, 52.3 mm stroke for a total displacement of 1,077 cc. The overall drive ratio makes for a Tuono V4 1100 top speed of 155 mph.

Design

Essentially, what we have in the Tuono V4 1100 is a liter-sized superbike with some of the bodywork stripped down to produce a very capable naked streetfighter. The Tuono may be set up to actually race, but it's also bred for the streets, so it comes with all the expected street-legal equipment.

A trio of headlights split the night with cowl-mount, standoff-style turn signals to finish the forward lighting. Up top, a smoked, bubble-shaped flyscreen punches a minimal hole in the wind so I doubt you can tuck in tightly enough to fully fit in the pocket.

Intake ports outboard of the headlights take advantage of the pressurized air at the nose of the machine for a low-budget boost to the volumetric efficiency. That's the good news. The bad news is that you have to get up to around 100 mph before this feature generates any appreciable boost to the performance. It's going to be next to useless on public roads aside from the bragging rights that come with the standard equipment package.

Minimal cheek fairings form the upper half of the sportbike scoop, but fall short of even covering the sides of the radiator. The frame and engine are largely exposed, and there's just enough blackout treatment here and there to suggest it might be a custom machine.

Low-rise bars pull you forward over the 4.8-gallon fuel tank to encourage an aggressive riding posture. There's still just enough pullback to give your wrists and shoulders a break with a more-upright riding position.

A full-color, thin-film transistor display bundles all of the instrumentation into one location and acts as the rider interface for the higher electronic features. It will network with your smartphone and respond to voice commands through the Aprilia optional MIA accessory.

Out back, an adjustable plate holder, tag light, and blinkers all come integrated, no doubt to make it easier to strip ahead of race days. Up under the tip of the tail, the taillight takes care of business from its permanent position up out of harm's way. If you like to share the fun with a friend, the sculpted p-pad and fold-up footpegs will help keep that brave soul aboard.

Chassis

Aluminum is the material of choice for the perimeter frame on the Tuono V4 1100 with dual beams as the main structure, cast and pressed members for reinforcement and rigidity. The engine is a stressed member to finish off the skeleton.

Aprilia again draws from its WSBK experience for the steering damper, stems, and anchors for the Tuono V4 1100. Öhlins provides the electronically-controlled steering damper for automatic kickback protection, while Sachs makes the 43 mm usd front forks and piggyback monoshock.

A 27-degree rake angle and 3.92-inch trail put the Tuono at the decidedly agile end of the spectrum. The suspension comes with the full trinity of adjustments so you can dial both ends in, manually, 'til you get just what you want as far as ride and feel.

Cast-aluminum rims contribute to low unsprung weight. They come in the standard 17-inch diameter with a Z-rated 120/70 upfront opposite a 190/55 to round out the rolling chassis.

The brakes are substantial, and like the suspension, taken straight off the RSV4. Dual 330 mm discs and four-piston, radial-mount, Brembo Monobloc front calipers do the bulk of the work – around 70 percent – while a 220 mm disc and twin-pot anchor keep the rear end behind you where it belongs.

Anti-lock comes stock. It's none other than Bosch's 9.1 MP cornering ABS feature with three separate modes for variable amounts of slide and rear-wheel-lift mitigation, plus it's switchable for raw brake action.

Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Price

The 2022 Tuono V4 1100 costs $15,999.}} It rolls in a choice of two paint packages, Tarmac Grey or Glacier White.

Traction management:

APRC System (Aprilia Performance Ride Control), which includes

-Traction Control (ATC)

-Wheelie Control (AWC)

-Launch Control (ALC)

-Cruise Control (ACC)

-Speed Limiter (APL)

All of which is configurable and deactivated independently.

Competitors

Aprilia is a tough act to follow, it's true, but I think I found a match for it. I didn't even have to leave Europe's boot to find the Ducati StreetfighterV4 S .

Ducati Streetfighter V4 S

Ducati's new Streetfighter line is the same sort of bike as the Tuono V4 1100. They both pack true track capabilities into a package that allows them to blend right in with the naked streetfighter genre. As for bodywork, it's a trade-off since the Ducati carries much less up in front of the forks. It connects the dots in the engine cowling for a complete sport scoop, pretty much the opposite of Aprilia's layout.

The rest is pretty similar across the board. The Streetfighter quickly opens up to expose elements of both frame and engine with the same concession to passenger comfort/safety. You can take a friend or easily strike the fold-up footpegs to strip down to your race weight.

The Streetfighter relies on a stressed engine to complete the frame, perhaps a good deal more than the Tuono as the engine supports the steering head. Öhlins wins again with its components holding up both bikes. Arguably the Duc got the better end of the deal as it rocks the Smart 2.0 automatic mode that delivers event-based performance.

Duc milks a staggering 208 horsepower and 90.4 pound-feet of torque against the Aprilia's 175/89 for a significant advantage on paper. The Streetfighter is set up with all the same electronics except it trades the pit limiter for a Slide Control feature.

At the end of the day, it comes down to a power advantage in favor of the Ducati. That comes with a significant price offset at $23,995 against the reasonably-priced $15,999 sticker on the Aprilia.

He Said

“The scary thing about this ride is its accessibility. It brings a lot of power to the table, and at that price point, there is no sticker shock acting as a firewall. Just remember, just because you can afford it, doesn't necessarily follow that you must buy it. This is a machine for advanced riders, to be sure.”

She Said

My wife and fellow motorcycle writer, Allyn Hinton, says, “Something notable that I don't see many people talking about is the ride modes all deliver full power, unlike many other bikes that reduce power for a 'Rain' mode, Aprilia gives you three modes in which the difference is the amount of engine braking. I guess the folks at Aprilia figure you can handle the rain yourself if you have a bike like this, and an awesome beast it is, too, with so much of it derived from or taken straight from, the RSV4.”

“On an aside note, a point that might matter to some folks is replacing the exhaust. Know that even if you put on the approved Akrapovic slip-on, it voids your warranty.”

Further Reading

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