I tip into the first corner and immediately feel the front tire talking back. And there goes my whole idea of this being a “small” motorcycle. Somewhere along the way, years of testing bigger bikes apparently made me arrogant enough to call a 457cc sportbike small. Sitting on the Aprilia RS 457, that sounds ridiculous. It’s an Aprilia. I can feel it before I’ve had time to think about the displacement.
I know this front end
Give me this bike without telling me the badge, and I’d call it by the third corner. That’s how familiar the steering feels. There’s the precision I know from the RS 660 and RSV4, that reassuring connection to the front, and the balance between stability and agility. Aprilia keeps finding it across very different engine sizes. I’ve associated the brand with that chassis feel since Max Biaggi was racing in the 250cc world championship. The 457 carries the same feeling into a more compact package, and on this tight Austrian circuit, I trust it quickly.
The old lion needs a bigger cage
Here’s the catch: I’m the awkward part of this combination. When I try to move across the bike for a direction change, I don’t look or feel like a graceful cat. Think old, lazy lion at the zoo. Preferably lying down. I’m tall, and I don’t have the flexibility to make this compact riding position work as smoothly as I’d like. Smaller displacement shouldn’t automatically mean less room for the person on top, but that’s the bargain here. My freedom to move was the bottleneck in this session. If you’re tall too, spend some time checking how much room you’ve actually got to shift around.
Easy to flick without getting twitchy
The bike itself moves through these corners playfully. Its compact proportions and narrow rear tire give it a different feel from Aprilia’s bigger sportbikes, yet that eagerness doesn’t turn into nervousness. I like that. It’s willing to change direction while still giving me the settled front end I want. The Eurogrip Protorq tires were new to me: I knew the brand, but hadn’t ridden them before. They worked well here. After ten laps, the unused strip at the edge was down to roughly 0.08” (2 mm). I mentioned checking lean angles with the Ridelink Wingman, but I don’t have a measured angle to report.
Where the RS 457 sits among reference laps
The 2026 RS 457 recorded 1:07.897 on Eurogrip Protorq tires at 93.2 °F asphalt temperature. Sportbike references include the 2024 Honda CBR500R at 1:11.2 on Michelin Road 6 tires and 100.4 °F; the 2021 Kawasaki Ninja 650 A2 at 1:10.1 on Bridgestone S22 tires and 69.8 °F; the 2025 QJMotor SRK 600 RS at 1:09.391 on CST Ride Migra S3N tires and 86 °F; and the 2025 QJMotor SRK 921 RR at 1:07.580 on Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV tires and 86 °F. For a nearby time, the 2025 Yamaha MT-07 Y-AMT sits at 1:07.760 on Dunlop Sportmax Q5A tires and 102.2 °F. These are reference entries, not a current ranking. Read every time alongside its tires and asphalt temperature; both significantly affect the result.
Ten laps to get comfortable
These impressions come from a short test during a YouTube production at the compact supermoto circuit in Bad Fischau, Austria. Tight turns, direction changes, short straights: it’s a useful place to feel how quickly a bike earns your trust. We get exactly ten warm-up laps, then the timed lap, starting from a standstill just 66 feet before the timing line. That short run-up makes clutch control and traction part of the result. You’ll be able to see my less-than-elegant movements in the YouTube video on the 1000PS channel. These videos sometimes appear weeks after the written review. The useful lesson here is about confidence in tight corners, not top speed.
A real sportbike that still has to fit you
I had a good time on this Aprilia. The RS 457 adds something worthwhile below the RS 660: a modern motorcycle with contemporary rider aids, an accessible price positioning, and the feeling of sitting on a proper sportbike. I haven’t got a specific price to quote from this test. What I can tell you is that the compact size never erased the Aprilia feel. The front-end precision and the easy changes of direction were there. My complaint is personal but important: I needed more room. Try the fit carefully, especially if you’re tall. The bike made me happy; I just couldn’t move around on it as freely as I wanted.
Quick specs for the bike tested
The supplied specifications list a liquid-cooled 457cc parallel twin producing approximately 47 hp at 9,400 rpm and 32.1 lb-ft at 6,700 rpm, with a six-speed transmission. Listed ready-to-ride weight is 386 lb, seat height is 31.4”, and tank capacity is 3.4 US gallons. Tire sizes are 110/70-17 up front and 150/60-17 at the rear. Those are specification figures, not measurements from this session. For me, the useful takeaway remains the fit between you and the motorcycle: there’s real sportbike feel here, so make sure you’ve got the room to enjoy it.