Aprilia卢比57 (2024) - Technical Review

Price: £TBA | Power: 47bhp | Weight: 175kg | Overall BikeSocial Rating: TBA

Coming less than a week after the company’s first ever 1-2 finish in the top MotoGP class the launch of Aprilia’s all-new RS457 A2-legal sports bike couldn’t be better timed – with the unveiling taking place at the Misano circuit in the run-up to the Italian brand’s home Grand Prix.

Despite a family look that could fool you into thinking it’s nothing more than a sleeved-down version of the RS660, the RS457 is actually a completely different bike, with its own engine, chassis and bodywork, designed to compete in a burgeoning class for 47hp sports bikes that can be ridden by restricted A2 licence holders. And it absolutely maximizes its potential under those rules, hitting both the 35kW (47hp) power limit and the 0.2kW-per-kilogramme maximum power-to-weight that’s allowed under those regulations.

Review – In Detail

2024 APRILIA RS457 Price

So far Aprilia hasn’t come clean on the RS457’s price but it’s expected to be fighting against machines like the £6405 Yamaha R3 and the £6599 Honda CBR500R. In Italy there’s speculation about a €7000 tag, which would be in line with those models. That makes it a substantial slice cheaper than the next rung in Aprilia’s sports bike ladder, the 99hp RS660 – although that bike’s £10,300 RRP is widely discounted, with several dealers offering them at nearer the £9k mark. Three colour options are coming: Aprilia’s usual race-replica scheme is one of them, with black wheels and red graphics, or you can opt for a black and grey version or a white/black model, each with red highlight and red wheels.

2024 APRILIA RS457 Engine & Performance

While it might have been an easy option to simply sleeve-down the RS660’s parallel twin to reduce its capacity and power, that’s not the route Aprilia has taken – it probably would have resulted in a bike with too high a price tag, since the 660’s engine is essentially one cylinder bank of the firm’s V4 superbike motor. Instead the company has developed a new parallel twin for the RS457. It hasn’t announce in-depth technical information yet, but the motor is liquid-cooled and peaks at exactly 35kW/47hp to meet the limit imposed by the A2 licence class. Some rivals in the class, like Kawasaki’s Ninja 400, opt for less power (45hp) to be able to take advantage of a reduced weight – in the Kawasaki’s case, 168kg ready-to-ride, which again puts it exactly on the limit of the A2 power-to-weight ratio. As has become the norm, the Aprilia’s throttle is a ride-by-wire setup, allowing three riding modes as well as traction control with three levels of intervention as well as an ‘off’ setting if you’re feeling brave. A quickshifter for the six-speed box can be added as an official accessory.

2024 APRILIA RS457 Handling & Suspension (inc. Weight & Brakes)

The other element of the A2 category’s performance restriction is its strict power-to-weight limit of 0.2kW/kg, which means a 35kW bike can’t weigh less than 175kg. To ensure the most possible performance, the RS457 tips the scales at 159kg dry, which means it just nudges that 175kg mark when all liquids are added – absolutely maximising both the allowed power and the allowed power-to-weight. The chassis is very similar to the design used on the RS660. It’s an aluminium half-frame, arching over the engine but stopping short of the swingarm pivot point. The engine itself acts as the final part of the structure to bridge that gap, with the swingarm pivot cast into the engine cases themselves. At the front you’ll find 41mm upside-down forks, adjustable for preload only and offering 120mm of travel. At the back there’s a monoshock, again preload-adjustable, with 130mm of wheel movement. The brakes come from Brembo’s lower-cost ByBre brand, with dual 320mm discs at the front gripped by four-pot radial calipers, aided by a small 220mm disc at the back. There’s two-channel ABS as standard but the rear wheel’s anti-lock can be turned off for sliding heroics. The wheels are lightweight alloys, 17-inches in diameter, of course, with a 150/60 tyre at the rear and 110/70 at the front.

2024 APRILIA RS457 Comfort & Economy

Despite the aggressive looks, the clip-on bars are mounted above the top yoke to make sure the riding position isn’t too extreme – after all, most buyers will, by definition of their A2 licences, be relatively inexperienced and the RS457 will almost certainly be their only bike, used for day-to-day chores rather than on trackdays. Aprilia has yet to announce economy figures, but as a 47hp, lightweight twin, you can be sure it’s not going to be a gas-guzzler.

2024 APRILIA RS457 Equipment

Standard kit on the RS457 includes a 5-inch colour TFT dash, controlled via backlit bar pods and giving access to the traction control, riding modes and ABS settings. There’s also LED lighting, with the indicators integrated into the headlights rather than sprouting on stalks from the fairing sides, but more in-depth details of the bike’s standard kit have yet to be announced.

2024 APRILIA RS457 Rivals

The A2 class is understandably competitive, with a strict limit on power and power-to-weight, but the clearest rivals to the RS457 being the Kawasaki Ninja 400, Yamaha’s R3 and Honda’s CBR500R. However, the relatively new CFMoto 450SR is also a potential rival, with a particularly attractive price.

Kawasaki Ninja 400 | Price: £6099

Power/Torque: 45bhp/27lb-ft | Weight: 168kg

Yamaha R3 | Price: £6405

Power/Torque: 42bhp/22lb-ft | Weight: 169kg

CFMoto 450SR | Price: £5599

Power/Torque: 46bhp/29lb-ft | Weight: 179kg

2024 APRILIA RS457 Verdict

We’ll let you know as soon as we’ve ridden it!

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2024 APRILIA RS457 Technical Specification

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