Aprilia V4 Tuono Factory

There it was, striking colour way sat in the workshop up at Piaggio Silverstone. First impressions, smaller than I thought, especially for an 1100cc bike. Very compact and lightweight looking, gorgeous! Very accommodating team at Piaggio. Tuono – Thunder in Italian, why doesn’t that surprise me, a name like that! It is the closest thing to strapping a thunderstorm between your legs, so I have been told! 

I’m standing there looking at it and thinking this bike is like someone I am about to go out on a date with but clearly shouldn’t, it’ll end in tears! It is a stunning bike from every angle, well nearly every angle. I can’t say I am a fan of the exhaust, it looks a bit like the designers had too many espresso’s in the morning designing the bike then ran out of coffee in the afternoon, plonked a great big hoover pipe on the side. All about emissions unfortunately. If it was mine, that would be coming off and something more fitting attached! An up swept exhaust coming out from under the seat would be a lot more fitting for a bike with its pedigree and links to the RSV4. I do appreciate though that nowadays manufacturers have to incorporate many extras into the exhaust system like the CAT and emission controls. The design features on the bike though are fantastic with winglets built into the almost fairing, and directional air ducts on the tail behind the seat to keep the bike’s air flow smooth at speed. The whole thing whispers ‘behave’ through all the fancy rider aids but really is encouraging you to twist that right hand and launch into the stratosphere. 

Right, that’s first impressions out the way, I have a ride now from Silverstone back to sunny Surrey, majority on the motorway. Starting the 1100 V4 up did sound like a much smaller tamed engine with that V4 chocolate popping sound on tick over, smooth and creamy. Gentle on the throttle to pull away as too much of the beans from the right hand potentially will have you power wheeling without any issues at all. I have to say that the gentle chocolatey popping sound on tick over swiftly changes when the power kicks in and it really lives up to its ‘Thunder name’ as makes a proper racket when pressing on providing one with a large grin. Feels like the lunch control button has been flicked, lightening quick and teleporting you down the road wondering how on earth did I get here so quickly! 

Cruising at 70mph is smooth and, actually surprisingly without too much wind pressure. That tiny screen almost the size of the old flying googles actually does provide some deflection/relief from wind pressure. The bar position was good as was worried it was going to be quite low down at the front, but not so. According to Aprilia the winglet either side of the snazzy headlights provides additional downforce, improving front-end stability and assisting with wheelie control, hmmmmm, not really convinced about the ‘wheelie control part’. I did notice the fuel gauge dropping quite swiftly whilst cruising and seemingly the motor does like a drink averaging anywhere between 33-38 mpg. Being happy with the throttle and that will drop below 30mpg.

The V4 motor with its 1099cc motor pushes power up to a claimed 180bhp with 89ftlb of torque, which is bonkers really in this almost naked machine not much bigger than a 600. Corning was just a dream, really effortless one would say. It’s not quite the RSV4’s 220bhp, but then that’s not the point of the bike. It is more geared towards mid range power which it delivers in bucket loads. You almost don’t really need to red line it, just mid range quick shifting through the quick shifter and you are in naughty territory.

The 6 speed gearbox based on Aprilia’s sport platforms have traditionally done quite well with their standard bi-directional quick shifters are really good. The big V4 Factory doesn’t spoil that tradition. Upshifts are positive and done with confidence at any time. Likewise, I can safely say the same for the downshifts, very quick and positive, engine braking phenomenal.

Having covered a fair few miles from Silverstone back to Surrey, I did feel that actually I wasn’t in too bad a shape. I think the smiles per mile kept my mind off the fact that really I needed to get off and stretch my legs and get some blood circulating again. 

Next stop, the usual, Boxhill. I like to see what peoples’ opinions of bikes are that I review and the big V4 didn’t disappoint. Plenty of people round it and many comments. Generally speaking the colourway was a big hit, as were the fins front and back, and general design, a lot of thought has gone in to making this a very sexy capable looking bike. The one comment that came up time after time was the exhaust. It just looks out of place on such a beautifully designed bike. As said before I know manufacturers have to cater for all emission controls in force, but I do feel a little more thought could have gone into the exhaust design. 

Moving on to the instrument cluster on the bike, I did like the 5 inch TFT screen set up. Very clear and relatively easy to use. I do find some of these whizzy fandangled TFT screens quite complex and difficult to navigate especially whilst riding, even worse when in reality you need your reading glasses on as well, you end up guessing half the time. Main thing is the speedo is easy to read, you can’t miss it.

How about the suspension set up and brakes, I absolutely love the gold anodised upside downers - Ohlins Smart EC2.0 system including the mono shock rear unit and, not forgetting the steering damper. The whole system is hydraulically adjusted in real time based on road conditions and your riding style, very clever stuff. This is all managed through the PRC suite with ADC (Aprilia Damping Control), which operates in active and manual modes. It is seamless to be honest, gives the rider a huge amount of confidence knowing the bike is so capable, more capable of going further than your average rider is prepared to take on. The braking system is second to none with those huge Brembo callipers and discs - twin rotors at 330mm and brembo radial-mount monobloc callipers. Rear brake is a 220mm rotor with brembo calliper, with ABS included  This little lot will stop you on a pin. As the bike is so lightweight the performance of the braking system seems enhanced even more. 

So in summary, the 2026 Aprilia V4 Tuono Factory, is what happens when your design engineers are told to build a superbike for the road, then over an espresso quietly ignore the 'for the road' part. It combines the gorgeous 180 bhp V4 motor, superb MotoGP-inspired aerodynamics, quality  Öhlins semi-active suspension, and cutting-edge electronics into a machine that's eye wateringly fast, surprisingly comfortable, even for a big chap like me, gloriously loud and utterly addictive. It won't save on fuel that’s for sure, money, or your driving licence, but it will certainly make you smile.

Fors

Performance: Superbike

Comfort: Better than I expected

Character: Off the scale design

Ownership outcome: Permanent grin

Aganist

Size: On the smaller size for an 1100

Exhaust: Needs attention on design

Fuel economy: What fuel economy?