2025-on Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1100 Review: World’s friendliest, most powerful production road bike!

For 2025 fork offset increases by 2mm, the engine is mounted 5mm higher in the chassis and the swingarm pivot raised 2.5mm. It improves stability and agility, but we can’t fully exploit its new handling traits in the wet, although the ultra-grippy Michelin Power Rain tyres fitted for our test (Pirelli’s Diablo Super Corsa SP is standard) still let us have fun.

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The Aprilia rolls through corners with total accuracy, changes direction like a pinball through Mugello’s flip-flops and sits on beautifully plush and controlled electronic Öhlins suspension. It’s still cramped for tall riders, but wider clip-ons provide more room to move around. New Brembo Hypure calipers, first seen on the latest Ducati Panigale V4 S, hiss with industrial-strength power and feel.

Aprilia’s RSV4 became the first road bike to get MotoGP-inspired wings back in 2019, at the same time it went from being a 1000 to an 1100. Its aero has grown over the years and for 2025 the tail unit has sprouted stegosaurus-type fins and its new curved wings reduce straight line drag by 6% and side-to-side resistance by 8%.

They also help direct hot air away from the rider, along with more powerful radiator fans and a repositioned exhaust cat (with a new sump to accommodate it). It's tricky to say how the new aero affects the RSV4 in isolation, because it’s part of the overall chassis and electronics set up, but it's perfectly planted in Mugello’s hard acceleration and braking zones.

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With larger new 52mm throttle bodies (up from 48mm) for 2025, a new Euro5+ exhaust and increased fuel pressure, power from the 1099cc V4 climbs from 214bhp to 217bhp. That trumps superbike royalty, like Ducati’s latest 213bhp Panigale V4 S, the 209bhp BMW M1000RR and 215bhp Honda CBR1000RR-RR SP Fireblade.

Mugello’s start/finish straight is one of the few places where you can fully use 200bhp-plus in top gear and at the end of it you take a blind rise at over 180mph. It gets your attention in the dry, let alone here in the rain, but the RSV4 is never scary. Instead, it wraps you in cotton wool and keeps you safe with its smoother power delivery and unruffled rider aids. There’s more grunt below 6000rpm, too.

Mapping, traction and engine brake control are refined for 2025 and there’s a new slide control system. They all combine seamlessly to make this fire-breathing superbike far easier to manage than it has any right to be. Its new predictive anti-wheelie system uses rider weight information as part of its algorithm and stops the front wheel leaving the tarmac before it happens, calming the RSV4 significantly under acceleration.

Its delicious up/down quickshifter is almost seamless coming down from 6th to 2nd gear, at the end of Mugello’s front straight, too. A GPS datalogger is standard and lets you adjust traction, wheelie, engine brake and suspension damping control corner by corner, via a laptop or app, which is a road bike first.

It's too soon to tell for this 2025 RSV4 but our owners’ reviews are generally good for the previous RSV4 with a lot of love for that engine, and love for the naked Tuono version. However, there are reports of the odd mechanical, electronic and quality control problems, specifically the bike's oil consumption. It shouldn’t put you off buying the new version, but it’s something to keep in mind.

It has all the goody boxes ticked and like its rivals, it has cutting edge rider aids, a lithium battery and a top drawer up/down quickshifter/autoblipper. Only the well-heeled need apply for a fully loaded slice of superbike exotica like the Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1100. It’s pricier than the BMW S1000RR Sport and around on par with the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, but comfortably undercuts the Ducati Panigale V4 S and BMW M1000RR.

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The 2025 RSV4 Factory 1100 gets just about every conceivable bell and whistle included in the price: semi-active suspension, racy brakes, lightweight forged aluminium wheels and a full armoury of rider modes, lean sensitive rider aids, a pitlane speed limiter, launch control, cornering LEDs and cruise control.

The bodywork is new, apart from the tank. Rear indicators now incorporate the stop and taillights, BMW-style. They’re easy to remove, along with the number plate holder, for track action. It also has revised dash graphics, new backlit switchgear and a lighter aluminium top yoke, but overall weight is up 2kg. Accessories include carbon and billet ali goodies, tyre pressure sensors and an SC Project slip-on can. You can have any colour as long as it’s black.