APRILIA TUONO V4 1100 RR (2015 - on) Review

Very comfortable bike to ride and practical for carrying luggage on rear seat area.Powerful brakes.I think it is a good all rounder to use for long trips or a Sunday ride out.

Very good powerful engine.A big improvement compared to the old 1000v4 engine,wider range of power.

I don't know service costs for my new bike yet but they are I think average cost for a good brand naked bike.I always buy Aprilia bikes so I have an idea of costs.

Good rear seat area for carrying luggage.Good display unit.Riding position is good and comfortable.

We tour 2 up on the tuono and it is great

The heart of the beast is its top feature

Had no problems

Fantastic brakes, and of course that wonderful V4. We use kriega soft luggage and it works very well

Magical. Best bike I've ridden by miles. It's a bit longer than a typical sportbike, which gives it a calmness and sense of security mid-corner that's unparalleled.The trade-off is a bit less flickability, but with the wide bars, it never feels reluctant to turn. To be fair, I put a K-Tech shock and fork cartridge kit on before I'd even ridden the stock suspension, but I'm sure the Factory Ohlins gives a similar experience. It works for distance, though the high pegs can cause an issue after a while. Peg lowering kits are available, but I don't tour enough to make it worth sacrificing the ground clearance. Brakes are Brembo M50's, therefore amazing, and the ABS is only as intrusive as you set it. Oh, and it's more fun on a track than any sportbike I've owned.

What can I say that hasn't already been said? The V4 is one of the greatest motorcycle engines ever made. The power delivery, the noise, the top-end kick, it's all there. The only sacrifice is tank range, with 200 km being about the furthest I can get before reserve, and that's keeping the revs down. Ridden hard, the light will come on at 160 km. Not ideal for touring, I guess, but with the high pegs, you need a stretch by then anyway...

Had a small oil leak from a valve cover that appeared within a few hundred miles, but it was dealt with immediately under warranty with minimal fuss. Otherwise nothing to report. Earlier V4's had valve issues, but the internet consensus seems to be that newer models have addressed that issue. It's not a Honda; it needs regular care, but it's nicely finished and assembled.

The biggest maintenance cost is valve checks, which is a V4 thing, not an Aprilia thing. Needs done every 20,000 km, so it's not a regular bill, but it's a big one. Otherwise, the bike demands sticky rubber, so tires will cost. Currently running Pirelli Diablo Corsa II's, which work beautifully. Fuel economy is typical sportbike poor.

Where to begin? With lean-sensitive ABS, traction control, wheelie control, launch control, cruise control, Bluetooth (with an easily installed module that allows datalogging), a silky up and down quick-shifter (even allowing open throttle downshifts for passing), large and clear TFT dash, etc, there's not much it's missing. There isn't a fuel gauge, which seems to really freak some people out, but as long as you reset your tripmeter, that's a total non-issue for me. Any fuel gauge I've had has been inaccurate and imprecise enough to be no more useful than a tripmeter anyway. The aftermarket isn't kind, as Tuono's inexplicably don't sell in enough volume to justify bits being made. As stated above, Pirelli DRC II's are perfect tires.

Bike is always at its best, not built for a pillion, who wants a pillion on a bike like this I will have the rear pegs removed at its first service.

V4 howl is incredible, nothing else like it on the market, already ordered an Akrapovic exhaust to be fitted at first service which apparently makes it sound even better!

Best build quality seen so far.

Who cares!

Best components, best tyres, only niggle is that the wheels are not forged.

The ride quality is great and the brakes work fine. The engine braking is adjustable with the engine maps. At low speeds (less than about 40km) the engine braking can be a bit severe around corners but when you take it touring you understand why because it is perfect at speeds above that. The seat is much improved from the last model. I still get a sore backside after a couple of hours but I get that with most bikes as I have no natural padding. On the freeway it gets pretty windy above 110km but you can duck down behind the windshield for a bit of protection. It provides more wind protection than any other (semi) naked bike I have ridden and I guess less wind protection is always the compromise for the increased comfort of higher bars. The engine gets very hot in slow traffic and a lot of heat gets passed onto your ankles. I don't think you could ride this bike in traffic wearing shorts and sneakers (although I have never tried it). The pegs are high for a naked bike which is good for cornering and does not affect comfort. It is quite a tall bike but not uncomfortably so for me (I am 5'10'').

The engine is amazing. It gives the low end torque of a v-twin and also the high end acceleration of an inline 4. The sound with the stock pipes is great at all rev levels. There is none of that high pitched whistle that you get with inline fours or triples and far less of the lumpy feel that you get with v-twins at low revs. You can adjust the settings to scare yourself as much or as little as you want.

No problems with quality or reliability so far. It is well put together, much better quality than the Ducati I had previously, which to be fair was a much less expensive bike. It is not quite as well engineered as some Japanese bikes I have owned (no fuel gauge, have to look down from road to see mirrors and speed), but it more than makes up for it in character and exhilaration level.

The running costs are about average for an engine this size, although it is a new bike so too early to say really. It uses a lot of fuel in heavy traffic situations (150km per tank) but much less than that touring (250-300km per tank).

My favourite feature is the quick shift. It works above 4000 revs on the upshift and really speeds up acceleration. It sounds great even just accelerating up to the speed limit in suburban situations. I also like the display, it is easy to read and has a lot of information (gear, engine temperature, clock, traction control level, etc). The interface to change all the settings is not intuitive but once you get used to it you can use it quite easily. The traction control and engine maps are easy to adjust. The ABS and wheelie control are more complicated. It has stickers saying #be a racer on the tail which I think are a bit nerdy, but you can take them off. The gearing is not too tall but I am about to try a front sprocket with one less tooth as I hardly use the top gear and want to see if it improves low speed performance even more.