EICMA 2015 FIRST LOOK: Aprilia’s 230-horsepower RSV4 Privateer-Racer

Aprilia did not unveil any real new models at EICMA 2015, but it did reveal a new attitude about its World Championship-winning superbike, the RSV4.

In 2015 the Noale, Italy-based manufacturer changed its racing plans based on a change in World Superbike rules. First the team objected to the fact that the new rules outlawed the RSV4's cassette-type gearbox that gave them the possibility of tailoring ratios to suit each track. On their side was the fact that the standard, street-legal RSV4 comes with a cassette-type gearbox. In utter disdain, the team announced that they were quitting SBK and would return to MotoGP.

Then a semi-official factory team entered a pair of RSV4s in the SBK series, only to find out that, new rules notwithstanding, the RSV4 was a top contender yet again. But at that stage the MotoGP commitment was absorbing all of Aprilia’s racing budget, with little left for SBK.

For 2016 Aprilia is once again totally focused on MotoGP, but is putting its years of SBK experience to use by offering a Superbike racing platform to privateer racers. With the assistance of MotoGP racer Alvaro Bautista, Aprilia unveiled the RSV4 R-FW Misano, a factory works-tuned, race-ready machine that can be refined to various levels of performance to suit the Superstock or Superbike classes.

The level of preparation and personalization are selected by the client, and the list of options is an arm long. Moreover, the client himself is instructed on the intricacies of engine tuning and maintenance. Each bike is delivered complete with a dyno chart confirming its performance level. Output of a race-ready RSV4 R-FW can exceed 230 horsepower.