And then there’ s the sound track... a gloriously heady mix of booming baritone and soaring falsetto. It is a fantastic engine note that changes as you flick through the gears on the speed-shifter, unmatched in motorcycling from my experience. Keeping this rather perky motor in check are a host of power / rider modes and even cruise control, all of which are selectable from the handle bar switch blocks via cutting edge Bosch electronics. The rider mode selection process has been tidied up and simplified immensely compared to previous iterations. Just follow the steps on the dash to adjust traction control, antiwheelie, ABS sensitivity and power – it’ s all very clever and most of the‘ Italian factor’ has been removed, so it’ s way more intuitive to operate than in the past – and almost as logical as the four button switch process KTM use – which in my view is the simplest of the lot. I was very taken with the Ohlins suspension at both ends. Obviously Ohlins is a wellrespected quality product and should perform well, but, as they say, its all in the set-up. And the set up is firm, quite firm, but never harsh and even when hitting some quite ugly bumps at speed the Aprilia always feels taut and very controlled. It is probably a step too far to say the RSV4 is‘ comfortable riding’ suspension-wise on our rough byways, but it isn’ t bad by any means, certainly for a thoroughbred sports bike. A superbike like this must be firm to cope with all the power and braking forces, so I’ d say Aprilia has walked a fine line between comfort and control quite brilliantly. Of course both ends are fully adjustable, so fine tuning to personal requirements is only a few clicks away.

KIWI RIDER 37