2021 Aprilia Tuono V4 Factory Review | MC Commute - video Dailymotion

Motorcyclist

For ‘21 our favorite naked bike gets the works treatment with the 2021 Aprilia Tuono V4 Factory gaining the same improvements as its superbike brother. Get up to speed on the technical improvements in the 2021 Aprilia Tuono V4 First Look Preview article. Also peruse the 2021 Aprilia Tuono V4 Factory First Ride Review. Interested in the stroked and full-fairing version? Read the 2021 Aprilia RSV4 Factory Review, 2021 Aprilia RSV4 MC Commute Review, and 2021 Aprilia RSV4 Factory MC Commute Review to learn the ins and outs of this vehicle.  --  2021 Aprilia Tuono V4 First Look Preview: https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/story/news/2021-aprilia-tuono-v4-first-look-preview/  2021 Aprilia Tuono V4 Factory First Ride Review:  https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/story/reviews/2021-aprilia-tuono-v4-factory-first-ride-review  2021 Aprilia RSV4 Factory Review: https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/story/reviews/2021-aprilia-rsv4-mc-commute-review/  2021 Aprilia RSV4 MC Commute Review: https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/story/reviews/2021-aprilia-rsv4-mc-commute-review/  2021 Aprilia RSV4 Factory MC Commute Review:  https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/story/reviews/2021-aprilia-rsv4-factory-mc-commute-review/  Full story here: https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/story/reviews/2021-aprilia-tuono-v4-factory-mc-commute/  Video/edit:  @AdamWaheed    Photography: Larry Chen  Motorcycle riding gear worn:  Helmet: Shoei RF-SR Jacket: REV'IT! Tornado 3 Gloves: REV'IT! Sand 3 Pant: REV'IT! Austin Boots: TCX Rush 2 Air  Motorcyclist Shirts: https://teespring.com/stores/motorcyclist Shop Products We Use: https://www.amazon.com/shop/motorcyclistmagazine   See more from us: http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/

Transcript

00:00 Hey folks, good afternoon and welcome to this special edition MC commute coming

00:07 to you live from the official North American press introduction of Aprilia's

00:13 2021 Tuono V4 and V4 factory naked bike. Let's swing a leg over this bad boy and

00:22 tell you what it's like to ride. Folks there it is Aprilia's 2021 Tuono V4

00:30 factory. This is a naked leader and above sized naked sport bike from Aprilia out

00:41 of Noelli, Italy. Aprilia has been crafting these motorcycles in Italy

00:48 since the 2002 model year. They went to the V4 engine configuration from a V2

00:58 engine configuration for... what's up man? You like it? This is my new V4 Tuono. It's

01:12 the best bike on the market. You heard it here first guys, the best bike on the

01:17 market. So this is the 2021 V4. As I was saying, Aprilia went from the V twin

01:25 engine to the V4 engine for the 2012 I believe model year. So let's hop on this

01:37 bad boy and see what's up. The gentleman I was just speaking to, his name is Shane

01:45 Puccio. He is the Piaggio Group press liaison here for the North American

01:55 market. He works at that company so obviously he's gonna say that bike is

02:01 the best. But to be fair, these Aprilia Tuonos do have a special place in my

02:08 heart. These bikes kick butt. They always are at the top of the naked sport bike

02:18 spectrum in the leader and above class. Right now we are on an official press

02:29 riding event for the North American introduction of this model. Now Aprilia

02:36 has given this vehicle a similar batch of improvements as it's given its 2021

02:46 RSV4 and RSV4 factory. We produced multiple forms of content on these

02:55 aforementioned vehicles. So hop on to MotorcyclistOnline.com to read the

03:02 articles and check out the playlist and the videos on the Aprilia RSV4 2021 MY

03:14 machines to get up to speed on those changes. Now curiously enough, Aprilia

03:21 did not fit the larger capacity engine in this particular vehicle. This

03:31 motorcycle continues to be powered by Aprilia's 1077 cc 65 degree water-cooled

03:41 v4 engine. So it does not benefit from that one millimeter of added piston

03:47 stroke that the RSV4 and RSV4 factory do. But that is okay. I love this engine. It

03:57 produces a whopping spread of torque and horsepower. And not only does it have a

04:04 whopping spread of power, but just the character and the charisma of this

04:10 engine. Just listen to this thing. Listen to this thing. It sounds so sick. I love this

04:17 engine. I could do this all day and night. Very, very pleasing sounding engine. This

04:26 is probably one of the most charismatic powertrains in motorcycling today. So

04:34 good job Aprilia. So the engine is the same. What is different is the fuel tank,

04:42 the bodywork. We finally have LED headlamps. Yes! LED headlamps, LED tail

04:52 light. And the cool thing about this LED tail light is that it has a function in

05:01 it where if you, if the vehicle decelerates at a certain parameter, aka

05:08 suddenly or an emergency stop, the rear taillight will automatically flash to

05:15 help alert riders and drivers behind you that you are slowing down quickly. You

05:21 have to remember, these liter and above size naked bikes have tremendous

05:29 stopping force. These things shed speed extremely quickly and most people in

05:37 automobiles can't even comprehend how quickly these vehicles can slow down.

05:42 Thankfully, Aprilia thought of some of the details and has put that flashing

05:51 tail light on this motorcycle. I think we're doing a photo stop here, a video

05:56 stop here folks. So like I said, when we are doing these official press

06:02 introductions, we aren't leading this ride. We can't just do whatever we

06:07 want. We have to stick with the pack and do what they say. So we're probably going

06:13 to be doing a video stop or a photo stop, but that's fine because it'll give us

06:17 more time to talk about this vehicle. LED lights, look at those things. For the

06:23 longest time this motorcycle didn't have LEDs. That is a tremendous upgrade. Now

06:31 this factory specification Aprilia Tuono comes with this nice fly screen. The

06:40 handlebar on this motorcycle is a little bit lower than it would be on the Tuono

06:49 standard. So for 2021, Aprilia has taken its Tuono standard and made that almost

06:57 like a sport terrain bike. The handlebar is a little bit taller than this. It has

07:02 an even larger windscreen and it has better passenger accommodations. There is

07:12 actually a real passenger seat on like this little seat cover that comes

07:20 equipped on the Tuono V4 factory. On a side note, Tuono means thunder in

07:26 Italian. That is what they went with for the naming convention back in 2002 and

07:33 that's a great name because this thing has a lot of thunder. Other changes on

07:41 this motorcycle besides the fuel tank and the slight ergonomic tweaks are that

07:47 swing arm. Just like the RSV4 and RSV4 factory, this thing gets the WORX

07:57 alloy swing arm. I love that. It looks like a piece that was taken off from

08:04 Aprilia's World Superbike racing effort. Aprilia always knocks it out of the park

08:10 with its frames and swing arms. There's one thing Aprilia knows how to

08:16 do really well. That is chassis design and making chassis that look

08:23 aesthetically pleasing. Look at this polished frame spar. Very, very nice. This

08:30 cast piece on the frame, maybe not quite as aesthetically pleasing as this

08:36 polished piece, but still very nice. Alright folks, I think we're getting

08:43 ready to go here. Let's talk about this 5-inch color TFT. Look at how pretty this

08:52 thing is. The previous display on the 2020 Tuono V4 and RSV4 was just... I

09:01 dislike looking at the display so much. This thing is way better. It is fully

09:08 functional. You can set up the various features of this motorcycle very easily.

09:14 The switch gear is finally intuitive and easy to use. I like that this thing has

09:22 all the bells and whistles. You can customize each of the program modes. We

09:31 have power mode, we have engine brake control, we have traction control, we have

09:36 wheelie control, launch control, ABS, and we have Aprilia's ASC, which stands for

09:45 its suspension control. That's right. This Tuono V4 factory comes with

09:52 semi-active suspension from Ohlins. This is the Gen 2 system, so similar in

10:00 programming to the current model from the Borgo Panigale factory and the

10:09 Tuning Fork brand. Of course, all of the programming is proprietary. It depends on

10:16 how the manufacturer wants it and their relationship with Ohlins.

10:23 Some companies have it figured out better than others. Yamaha. But this setup

10:33 works very good. Probably the most crazy thing on this bike is when you think

10:41 about it, the semi-active suspension option on the Aprilia RSV4 factory is a

10:50 $7,000 upcharge. $7,000 upcharge versus the base model. On this motorcycle, the

10:59 upcharge between the $16,000 base model and this vehicle, which costs $19,500, is

11:08 only $3,500. So for half the cost, you get semi-active suspension. To be fair, the

11:19 RSV4 factory also comes with forged alloy wheels and this motorcycle just

11:29 uses cast alloy wheels. But we're okay with it. Alright, it's time for us to go.

11:35 Guys, we are going to do our photo and video pass so you can see us on the

11:40 interwebs and then we are going to check in with you in a little bit. We will see

11:45 you later.

11:47 [Motorcycle engine]

11:59 Alright folks, finally we are done with the photos and the videos and all of the

12:05 things. And now we get to enjoy the vehicle. Now as we said before, this

12:15 motorcycle is powered by the existing 1077cc 65-degree e4 engine. Aprilia

12:26 engineers say that they didn't have to modify the bore and stroke measurements

12:31 like they had to do on the RSV4 sport bike and super bike, which they did have

12:41 to make a modification in an effort to meet Euro 5 homologation requirements.

12:50 It's the same engine with different fuel tuning and a different exhaust. But geez,

12:58 this engine is just awesome. It just has so much character. It sounds so awesome

13:06 and it has so much power everywhere. It is a very exhilarating engine to run up

13:17 and down the gearbox. This motorcycle is manipulated via a ride by wire throttle.

13:28 Aprilia was an early leader in ride by wire throttle technology and they continue

13:37 to evolve the way the twist grip and engine interact. And this, the throttle

13:47 response on this motorcycle is very, very good. What I like is you can actually

13:55 adjust the throttle response. The AEM, the Aprilia engine management acronym,

14:04 you're not actually managing the engine per se, you're managing the throttle

14:09 response. Right now we are riding in throttle response AEM mode 1, which is

14:17 the most aggressive, most direct throttle response. If you want a slightly softer

14:24 throttle response, move it to mode 2. If you want even softer throttle response,

14:30 move it to mode 3. It's worth mentioning that this setting does not affect the

14:37 power output of the engine. The engine is still going to make maximum power in any

14:44 of those three operating modes. The electronic quick shifter does a

14:55 magnificent job of keeping this engine right where it needs to be. I love the

15:04 way it adds stability when you downshift. That little bit of moment where the rear

15:11 tire is unloaded, the auto blip down shifter completely mitigates that and it

15:17 allows you to have more vehicle stability during corner entry. It's

15:22 awesome technology and it works really well on this Tuono V4 factory. Now, there

15:35 is some engine vibration through the controls, but it is very muted. It isn't

15:44 overwhelming and honestly I like the way this engine vibrates because it really

15:50 adds to the character of the powertrain. This engine is just so

15:56 rambunctious, so fun, and when you're riding this bike you really are riding

16:02 something special. Now, the engine continues to drink out of a 4.7 gallon

16:10 fuel tank. This fuel tank has been reshaped. I really like how it fits me

16:15 between my legs. It's easy to squeeze. I have good ability to

16:22 maneuver the bike from side to side through these twisty corners and I

16:27 really like it. Fuel economy wise, we have averaged 36.2 mpg, which is pretty good.

16:36 We haven't really been wailing on this motorcycle because it is a structured

16:42 press introduction. Our pace is a lot slower. If I was riding this motorcycle

16:48 on my own time, we would probably be getting 28 mpg. So, 36.2 mpg is

16:56 possible if you short shift the engine and keep it off of the pipe. Now, right

17:05 now we're riding in the Tour setting. With this button on the right switch

17:10 gear, we can easily switch between the Sport and Tour and User mode. The User

17:17 mode we have set up to our liking with max throttle response, least amount of

17:24 engine braking, low settings of traction control and wheelie control. Of course, we

17:32 can adjust traction control on the fly with this paddle style button here on

17:38 the left cliff on. I love it. Level 8 is the maximum amount of traction control

17:44 and 1 is the least. We can also manually disable the wheelie control and traction

17:52 control by holding down on the negative button. I really like that. That lets us

17:58 be able to do wheelies. Yes! Yes! Look, nice wheelies too. That was fun. Yes!

18:08 So, all you have to do to do those wheelies is manually disable the

18:13 electronics. We want the safety of traction control back on our backs. Let's

18:19 enable it by pushing the positive. Now we're back on traction control. That is

18:24 totally awesome. Good job, Aprilia. Now, right now in the menu we have this

18:32 motorcycle set up to have cruise control be cruise control, but you can go in the

18:40 menu and set this button to be wheelie control adjustment. I think Aprilia calls

18:46 this button the L2 button, but right now we have it as cruise control. Let's put

18:52 it in cruise control. Cruise control is engaged by this green insignia. We have

18:58 cruise control at 53 miles per hour. I love cruise control. All motorcycles

19:04 should have cruise control. I'm a big fan. It just makes it easy to hold your speed

19:11 at a constant speed. If you want the cruise control to disengage, operate the

19:17 brakes or the clutch or just turn it off.

19:22 There are no heated grips on this model. If this thing had heated grips, I would

19:29 be really sold. Now, this 5-inch color TFT is a big improvement from its

19:40 predecessor. It is crisp. It is easy to read. I like that you can see the average

19:49 fuel mileage. You can see your odometer. You can see all of the settings, which

19:55 engine brake, which controls, which modes you're riding on very easily. This display

20:01 also has a dedicated track setting, which you can set up within the menu system. We

20:08 can't do it now because the vehicle is moving. You can put in a dedicated track

20:13 display. Aprilia says that this display also offers Bluetooth compatibility

20:22 with your iOS-enabled smartphone, but you have to purchase an auxiliary module for

20:30 around $400. The Motorrad company has Bluetooth integration right as a

20:37 standard feature in its model with a very slick iOS app. I wish Aprilia would

20:44 have that standard. That feature should be standard and the app should be free.

20:49 Aprilia, pay attention. Now, this display is also awesome because you can have it

20:58 in daylight setting or with the white background and black numbers or you can

21:04 go to the night mode just like your smartphone where you have white numbers

21:11 on a black background. I'm a big dark mode guy. I like dark mode day or night,

21:16 but we're using it in auto mode because on the video camera it shows up better

21:24 with the white background and black numbers. And if you notice when we rode

21:30 through the tunnel, there's a light sensor that automatically puts the

21:35 display in dark mode when you are in conditions where the ambient light is

21:43 low. Now, because this is an official press introduction, we will not have the

21:49 opportunity to ride this vehicle after dark, so we can't speak on how effective

21:56 the LED headlamp is. But we did ride the RSV4 motorcycle, the RSV4 factory in MC

22:06 commute review to redo it after our questionable audio from our track review

22:13 on the RSV4 standard. And the LED headlamps work well on this bike. They

22:20 are not at the top of the class, but they are a big improvement from the halogen

22:27 setup on the previous model. Cruise control, yes. Now, the chassis on this

22:37 motorcycle. This motorcycle is exceptionally agile for a 430-some

22:45 pound motorcycle. It is very agile. I wouldn't say it's the most agile naked

22:52 bike, but it's certainly no slouch. This Ohlins Gen 2 semi-active suspension, it

23:01 is delivering a very nice ride quality right now. We are riding in the

23:09 Aprilia suspension control mode A1, which is the track suspension setting. So a

23:18 little bit more aggressive damping settings with this setup. But even at a

23:27 very moderate pace, which we're riding now, this motorcycle goes over the bumps

23:33 very well. It goes over the bumps very well and it's delivering a very pleasing

23:41 ride quality. Let's give this thing some juice and see how it handles with some

23:49 juice.

23:52 Handling is very, very good on this motorcycle. I love this upright handlebar

24:00 bend. Not only is it comfortable, but it gives me good vehicle control. It's not so relaxed that I

24:10 feel like I'm riding a cruiser. It's still a very engaged, almost sort of like a

24:17 supermoto-esque experience, sort of.

24:24 God, this thing is just a hoot to ride. Tons of power, tons of torque, tons of

24:32 character. Good road holding. The suspension, now that we're going a

24:39 little faster, is a tad bouncy. It would be interesting to go in the menu and set

24:48 our own fixed damping setting with a little bit more rebound. I would like to

24:56 see how that would do. Maybe on a subsequent review video we can do that.

25:05 Here is the legendary Newcombe's Ranch. This is a SoCal eatery off this

25:15 curvy stretch of road in Southern California.

25:22 Triple disc hydraulic disc brakes keep speed in check. The brakes on this

25:31 motorcycle are totally marvelous. We are riding an ABS level 2, which has

25:39 cornering ABS functionality with ABS active on the front discs and the rear

25:50 disc. That mitigates any slides we could have from the tires when we are using

25:59 the brakes. I love these brakes. Gosh, they have so much power. Do you see how the

26:07 hazard lights flashed real quick? That was the rear taillight that will start

26:16 flashing when the vehicle decelerates suddenly to help you get notice from

26:23 people behind you so you don't have an accident from someone rear-ending you.

26:34 Back to the brakes. These brakes have good power, good feel. I love how European

26:43 motorcycle manufacturers like Aprilia have very aggressive ABS mapping.

26:51 So if you are a rider who really leans on the brakes hard, the ABS programming

27:00 isn't going to hold you back. It's not going to come in aggressively even in

27:08 the higher ABS settings. So good job to Aprilia.

27:17 Yes! What an exhilarating naked bike to ride. I would totally have one of these

27:29 things in my garage. They are insanely fun. Yes! Comfort. We talked about this handlebar

27:42 how it feels sort of like a supermoto bike where it has good aggressiveness

27:50 without being too aggressive and nor is it too relaxed. The controls of

27:58 Aprilia did a very nice job with its RSV4 sport bike. They actually lowered

28:06 the foot controls on that motorcycle which makes for a more accommodating

28:14 riding position especially if you're a tall guy like me. I stand at 6 foot. This

28:21 Tuono has the rider foot controls at the same position. So more legroom than

28:30 before on this Tuono V4 and V4 factory which I like a lot. As I get a little bit

28:38 older and less flexible those meter and above class sport bikes just get so

28:45 demanding to ride and it's nice to have a naked sports bike with a more upright

28:51 handlebar bend and more relaxed foot controls. But to be fair like we said the

28:57 foot controls are identical to the RSV4 which is a far greater, much more

29:06 accommodating and comfortable motorcycle to ride for taller folks. I like the

29:13 ergonomics on this bike. I like the seat. This I feel like is a motorcycle I could

29:18 ride every day. I would want the taller windscreen that comes standard on the

29:25 standard Tuono V4 versus this fly screen but I would rather have this

29:33 Ohlins semi-active suspension. So it's kind of give or take. I wish you could

29:40 you probably actually could just get the windscreen as an accessory from Aprilia

29:47 and then have an all-a-cart style Tuono V4.

29:52 While we are on the topic of comfort now these liter and above size naked

30:04 bikes these motorcycles make so much power these days that heat management is

30:12 a big deal and I'm really happy to report that the Tuono V4, this motorcycle

30:21 doesn't throw off excessive heat onto the rider even on a warm day. It's

30:28 probably 90 degrees right now while we're riding and as long as you have

30:34 this vehicle moving the heat it throws off is not excessive. Obviously if you are

30:42 parked at a standstill it just idling yes this motorcycle is gonna get hot

30:49 quick but as long as you have a little bit of movement and air rushing over

30:55 that radiator it does a good job of dissipating heat and moving it away from

31:03 the cockpit. Alright folks to round out this test we're hopping on the

31:11 freeway this bike goes 0 to 100 real quick real quick. Here on the freeway we

31:23 are riding at 67 miles per hour in top gear. We're going to 80 now in top

31:31 gear the engines pulling just over 5,000 rpm. Now what I really like about this

31:40 motorcycle is its extreme versatility. Now usually a Prilia and a naked bike a

31:51 naked sports bike nonetheless versatility is the first thing you think

31:57 of when you think of these motorcycles but this bike really is. It can do a lot.

32:02 This motorcycle is very mild-mannered in the city. It is capable on the freeway

32:13 especially with the standard Tuono's taller windscreen and then of course

32:19 when you are in the canyons it is more than capable of getting some.

32:28 So these Aprilia Tuono V4's are certainly more than one trick ponies. One

32:39 thing we forgot to mention there is the standard Tuono V4. Do you see the taller

32:47 windscreen and the big passenger accommodations that big tall seat? This

32:55 is also fitted with Aprilia's accessory luggage that is soft luggage that is

33:04 hard-mounted via a racking system and it is very well made. I love how sturdy that

33:12 is. Aprilia has not announced the US pricing of that accessory luggage so we

33:21 don't know the price but think about it you can purchase that a symmetrical soft

33:31 luggage and now you have a functional touring bike sport touring naked sport

33:38 touring bike. Pretty neat. Pretty neat and another feather in the cap for Aprilia

33:46 and a would-be Aprilia Tuono V4 owner.

33:53 This motorcycle comes with a two-year unlimited mileage warranty. Now probably

34:02 the thing working against Aprilia the most here in the United States is its

34:07 limited dealer network. Aprilia has nowhere close to as many dealers as even

34:15 Ducati and that certainly hurts them not only in terms of sales but also parts.

34:22 These vehicles it's harder to get parts it's harder to get warranty work done

34:29 just because there isn't as many dealers and Aprilia doesn't do the type of sales

34:36 volume as some of the other European manufacturers here in the States but if

34:45 you have an Aprilia dealer close to your house and you are cool with that these

34:53 motorcycles are awesome. Well folks there is a probably as awesome 2021 Tuono V4

35:02 factory $19,500 for this vehicle. I really like this bike it checks a lot of

35:09 boxes for me. It's fun, it's fast, it's charismatic, it's comfortable, it looks

35:15 neat. I like the LED headlamps. This is a big improvement from the previous

35:22 Tuono V4. Would I spend my $19,500 for this vehicle? You bet you I like this

35:32 motorcycle. I think it's cool that you get that Gen 2 semi-active Ohlin

35:38 suspension for only a $3,500 upcharge. That is awesome. Alright folks make sure

35:45 to log on to MotorcyclistOnline.com that's where all of my written content

35:50 lives and we'll see you next time. Thanks for watching.

35:55 you

35:57 you

35:59 you

36:01 you

36:03 you

36:05 you

36:07 you

36:09 [BLANK_AUDIO]

2021 Aprilia Tuono V4 Factory Review | MC Commute

Category

Transcript

Recommended