Aprilia is getting serious with its sport bike offerings here in the United States, as we just got an email from Aprilia USA announcing massive price reductions on its 2012 model year Aprilia Tuono V4 R, Aprilia RSV4 R APRC, and Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC, to the tune of $2,000, $3,000, and $4,000 respectively. That’s right, you can get a Tuono V4 R for $12,999, an RSV4 R APRC for $13,999, and an RSV4 Factory APRC for $18,999 MSRP. Boom goes the dynamite.
While the 2013 Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC may look like the same dominant superbike that has been blowing the doors off at bike shootouts, but the company from Noale has made some subtle changes to its V4 street weapon, the most noticeable of which is a three-level dual-channel ABS system from Bosch. The ABS unit can be completely disengaged, should a rider feel it necessary to retain the ability to lock-up the newly added Brembo M430/M50 calipers (the same brake calipers as the Ducati 1199 Panigale), and brings the Aprilia RSV4 in-line with its other liter-bike competitors.
While Aprilia could have stopped there and called things a day, the Italian brand has made further changes to the Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC’s stock engine placement in the chassis, as well as other refinements in the RSV4’s exhaust and ECU. The result is a lower center of gravity, and a mild boost in peak horsepower and mid-range torque, which brings the revised RSV4 Factory up to 181.4hp at the crank and 86.3 lbs•ft of peak torque @ 10,500 rpm.
Aprilia is launching its RSV4 Factory APRC to the press for the first time in Jerez this week, allowing journalists to get their grubby mitts on the APRC, and see what this performance ride control stuff is all about. For those of us not in attendnace at Jerez, Aprilia has released a video that goes over the Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC’s new features, which we already covered here.
In the video we can see the rider launching the Aprilia RSV4 Factory APRC from a dead-stop using the launch control mode. As we described earlier, enabling the launch control requires only selecting the program via the mode joystick, grabbing both of the left-hand side traction control buttons on the handlebar simultaneously to arm the launch control, and then all that’s left is aggressively twisting the grip to full-throttle, and you’re off (sans power wheelies).
Aprilia also demonstrates changing the traction control settings on-the-fly, and the AQS quick shift feature, which allows for clutchless and speedy shifting through the six-speed sequential gearbox. Aprilia goes through the rest of the RSV4 Factory APRC’s features in the video out after the jump.