2009 Aprilia RSV4 Factory review

Twisty and bumpy pot-holed roads detect any shortcomings in a bike and early indications were that there aren’t too many with the RSV4 Factory. The bike is tailored well to keep a good grip with the knees and the seat is surprisingly comfortable for a sportsbike; even after a good strop in the saddle there is no numb bum. The stability of the bike at speeds over the usual bumps and canyons NSW roads is sensational with little or no headshake. The cornering is magical as the RSV4 holds its line precisely and confidently allowing corner speeds you didn’t think possible.

The 43mm USD Ohlins front suspension was surprisingly compliant over the uneven surfaces and the Ohlins piggy back rear shock didn’t have the tendency to kick you in the butt to slam you into the tank if you came off a bump the wrong way.

The angle of the seat and the shape of the tank also assist in preventing a falsetto voice at the next fuel stop.

The handling of the SV4 is more than complimented with the performance of the DOHC 65 deg V-four powerplant.

What an absolute gem.

“…hang on because the ride to the 14000rpm redline is phenomenal as it is wickedly fast and responsive.”

It has been claimed many times that a V-four configuration is the best design for a motorcycle engine and the Honda VFR, the Ducati Desmocedici, various two-stroke 500cc GP machines and MotoGP 990’s and 800s are testimony to that philosophy.

The RSV4 underlines it!

With the engine just over 200mm wide it allows for a narrow twin-spar aluminium frame to encase the most powerful engine that Aprilia have commercially produced.

Aprilia developed the RSV4 to centralise the mass to be as close as possible to the centre of gravity to enhance agility and stability. The fuel tank was moved to be right under the rider – a’la MotoGP – to minimise handling differences as fuel loads vary and so there is less weight up top with the airbox and electronics replacing fluid. The seating position also lowers the CofG.

Aprilia also claim, “the new V angle of 65° has made it possible to increase the bore/stroke ratio (78mmx52.3mm) to leave ample scope for future development using large bores that would not be viable for space reasons in an in-line engine.”

Some of the features of the 999.9 cc V4 are a counterbalance shaft that spins at equal revs to the engine to cut down vibration, a cassette style gearbox for swift ratio changes at the track and ease of maintenance as well as a slipper clutch with a multi-plate wet clutch operated by cable.

It doesn’t end there as it has a full ride-by-wire system with no direct connection between the twist grip and the four 45mm variable intake throttle bodies. This is controlled by a Marelli dual microprocessor unit that controls the two cylinder banks via air, fuel ratios and ignition timing with two injectors per cylinder. Each bank has a dedicated servo unit actuating the two relevant throttle bodies, injecting fuel into each pair of cylinders independently.

One injector is lower down the throat while the other injector is located higher up and comes into operation at 8000 revs when the tubes electronically extend by about 12 mm to spray a fine mist down into the bowels.

When that happens hang on because the ride to the 14000rpm redline is phenomenal as it is wickedly fast and responsive.

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Tags: 2009, Aprilia, Australia, Max Biaggi, review, RSV4 Factory

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 11:37 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.