The current crop of hypernaked motorcycles like the Ducati Streetfighter V4 and the Kawasaki Z H2 might be making all the headlines nowadays but we can never keep the Aprilia Tuono V4 out of the picture when we talk about mad naked machines. It’s the ‘OG’ of hyper naked streetfighters. Its rivals are pumping out more than 200hp and it was about time that the Tuono V4 stood up to them to show who’s the boss and how things are done. Enter Aprilia Tuono V4 X.
How ‘limited’ is it?
It is a limited-edition, track-only version of the standard Tuono and based on RSV4 X which was unveiled last year. The only thing which puts us off is that it is going to be limited to only 10 units. Only 10 units of this Italian awesomeness? It’s a shame.
Aprilia is renowned for blessing the Tuono series of motorcycles from the same ingredients which make the RSV4 a formidable player in its segment. And they have done it again by wedging the 1,077cc version of its V4 engine found on the RSV4 1100 Factory into the frame of the Tuono.
It has shed around 18 kg from its street-legal counterpart and now weighs a measly 166 kg. If that doesn’t make you jump from your seats, the power output definitely will. This carbon-fibre clad piece of art puts out 221 horsepower at the shaft—up from the 217 horsepower of the standard unit.
List of performance upgrades
The weight saving can be attributed to the full-titanium exhaust from Akrapovic, tipped with a carbon fibre muffler and carbon-fibre front fairing with its large biplane winglet design. It looks even meaner than the standard Tuono, all thanks to the MotoGP inspired winglets.
A few weeks ago, a track-prepped Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 with wings and camouflage was spied testing. And now we know what it was. The cycle parts used to develop this machine are obviously, top-of-the-line. Anchoring this beast comes from the combined braking force of a set of Brembo GP4-MS calipers, mated to Brembo T-Drive discs and a 19x16mm Brembo master cylinder. The Noale team also fitted Marchesini forged magnesium rims to the Tuono V4 X, clad in track-ready slick tires, of course.
The standard switchgear has made way for a pod of racing buttons on each handlebar. The controls too, are billet aluminium pieces. Other performance bits include the Öhlins semi-active electronic suspension and an up/down quickshifter.
Also read: Aprilia Tuono 660 Patent Image Filed: What Can We Expect From the Italian Middleweight?
Aprilia has also introduced a track configuration of the Tuono V4’s electronics (including a new dash layout). How have we not talked about that gorgeous paint job yet? Aprilia has gone retro with the colour scheme, using the famous “Bol d’Or” livery that was used in the 2006 endurance race on the Aprilia RSV1000R Factory. The Tuono V4 X is priced at 41,500 dollars, roughly translating to INR 30 Lakh.