little ‘ lumpy ’ and it seems to run a smidgeon rough . But this is a heads up to the fact that this is not a sewing machine engine . That raw feel is advanced notice of the nature of this motor . It ’ s warning that this is a purposeful engine and you need to be intentional with the throttle , not ham-fisted . Below 3000rpm the power is wonderfully smooth and strongly progressive . 121Nm of torque at 9000rpm will do that , with plenty of that torque is available at lower revs . This is a grunty motor . The Tuono eats up , spits out and absolutely annihilates any straight , long or short , and drive from turns can be eye-watering and mindfocusing with enough throttle . Then , within an instant those great brakes bring peace of mind and joy . To be honest the power is such for road work that power modes are academic . I rode in Touring mode and the 1100 would still loft the front regularly from turns with enthusiastic throttle , so I felt no need to explore the limits of Sport or Race mode ( ultra-quick for Sport and a tad mental for Race ). Actually , there are six modes , three for the track with two rider configurable and three for the road with one rider configurable . There are a plethora of electronic control options , that are wide-ranging in their effects . There is Pit Lane Control , Launch Control , Anti Wheelie Control , APRC ( Aprilia Performance Ride Control ) with a six-axis inertial control platform for TC and the Bosch ABS offers Rear Lift Mitigation ( anti-nose wheelie ). To top it off there ’ s Cruise Control for keeping your licence on those long boring straights where cops like to stalk their prey . Adjustments are made on the bar-mounted switch gear and monitored on the 5-inch TFT screen . The six-speed Aprilia gearbox is slick shifting when used manually with the clutch , and the quick-shift makes it even better on the up shift , but not quite as slick on the down shift . I tend to mainly use the clutch on down shifts through habit and the pursuit of smoothness , although the slipper clutch makes that unnecessary . Yes , the engine is cleverly controlled , but without doubt Aprilia ’ s Be A Racer mantra and its RSV4 lineage shines through .
KIWI RIDER 59