2019 · Supersport · Buyer's Guide
Last Of The Screaming V4s
The RSV4 1100 is the big-bore reading of Aprilia's V4 superbike, and the numbers are not shy: 1077 cc, 217 hp at 13,200 rpm, 90 lb-ft at 11,000 rpm, all of it carried in a 452 lb wet motorcycle. What matters more than the peak figures is who controls them. Aprilia's APRC ride-by-wire with three switchable maps, traction control, wheelie control, launch control and cornering ABS are there to make the output usable rather than to soften it. The styling has the same intent as the hardware. Hard, compact, unmistakably built out of a race paddock.
This bike works best for a rider who already knows what they want from a front end and rides often enough to stay sharp. Give it a real road or a circuit and it feels tight and deliberate; give it a commute and it feels like the wrong tool. It ages the way serious sportbikes age, which is to say the chassis and the electronics stay relevant long after the design trends move on, while the running costs sit in tires, chain and consumables. The 200-section rear and the appetite for revs are part of the bill. Honest caveat: nothing about this motorcycle is arranged around your convenience.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 217 hp (160 kW) @ 13,200 rpm |
|---|---|
| Torque | 90 lb-ft (122 Nm) @ 11,000 rpm |
| Displacement | 1077 cc |
| Engine | V4 |
| Cooling | Liquid-cooled |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Final drive | Chain |
| Fork | Upside-down (USD) |
| Front brake | 330 mm |
| Front tire | 120/70-17 |
| Rear tire | 200/55-17 |
| Wheelbase | 56.5 in (1435 mm) |
| Seat height | 33.3 in (845 mm) |
| Wet weight | 452 lb (205 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 4.9 gal (18.5 L) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Connectivity
Drivetrain
Safety
You hear it before you have gone anywhere. The V4 idles with an uneven, hard-edged beat that turns into a proper howl once the revs climb, and that sound is a genuine part of what you are buying. The riding position puts your weight forward over a narrow 33.3 in seat, and at walking pace your wrists know it. Once you are moving, the tank locates your body and the whole bike shrinks around you. Vibration stays fine and busy through the bars, more texture than nuisance, and it cleans up as the needle rises. The TFT is legible in daylight and the up-and-down quickshifter means your left foot does most of the talking. At a fast road pace the machine feels smaller and calmer than the spec sheet suggests, right up until you open it.
Where this Aprilia RSV4 1100 pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Displacement
Wet weight
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the RSV4 1100 is actually built for.
This is the home address. Ground clearance and high-speed stability let you move braking points late, and the APRC aids stay honest as your pace climbs instead of stepping in and flattening the session.
Made for Barber Motorsports Park · WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca · Circuit of the Americas
Canyon roads are exactly what this chassis wants, and the three maps let you soften things for cold tires or slow traffic. The ride out through the city is the toll you pay for the good part.
Made for Angeles Crest Highway · Coronado Trail / US 191 · Highway 1 / Big Sur
Repetitive technical corners suit its precision, and lean angle never becomes the limit. On slow Dragon-style hairpins the ergonomics work you harder than the road does, so build the day around riding, not mileage.
Made for Back of the Dragon · Blue Ridge Parkway · Cherohala Skyway
The Aprilia RSV4 1100 also comes in these variants, models and special editions. Each has its own page covering only what differs from the standard RSV4 1100 — equipment, electronics, specs and used price.
If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
Any price note compares both bikes at the same age — the youngest age both have on the used market — against this Aprilia RSV4 1100. “cheaper/pricier” is what that bike costs second-hand, not how worn it is.
