The updated exhaust system...
The updated exhaust system now incorporates a butterfly valve and is lighter than the previous unit. The standard RSV4 R model will also receive the new exhaust and internal engine updates. The rear tire is a 200/55, an upgrade specific to the SE model that was developed in collaboration with Pirelli.
The APRC's exhaust system is new, restyled to look better and sound better (this is an Italian bike, after all!), while saving four pounds compared to before. It incorporates a new butterfly exhaust valve better adapted to the ride-by-wire throttle, and also offers improved breathing. Finally, Pirelli's sticky new 200/55-17 Diablo Supercorsa SP dual-compound rear tire is mounted on the same 6.0-inch forged aluminum OZ wheel as before. Although this is presented as being a product of World Superbike development, that's not strictly true, since none of the seven factory teams has opted to race with it, in spite of Pirelli pushing them quite hard to do so by constantly producing it for testing. So, instead, the Italian firm has imposed il gommone (literally, the BIG tire!) on the FIM Superstock series support class, where it was the mandated control tire everyone had to use all through 2010. While side grip is presumably improved with the fatter rear footprint, especially matched to a slightly taller profile and slightly wider front, there's little doubt that the bigger rear tire detracts from the ease in flicking the sweet-steering Aprilia from side to side in a chicane or esses. Even if the grip from the Pirellis is outstanding, the race-developed rubber proved a fine partner in showing the SBK-derived electronic software to best advantage.
The Mode switch and up/down...
The Mode switch and up/down buttons on the left clip-on are used to select from three engine power modes, eight levels of traction control, three settings of wheelie control and three settings of launch control. The traction control can be changed without stopping the bike or even closing the throttle.
For what the Aprilia has become in APRC mode is the single most intelligent motorcycle I've ever ridden, thanks to the electronic rider aids that have been developed so successfully on Biaggi's and teammate Leon Camier's superbikes. Aprilia demonstrated these various systems very effectively at Jerez, adding successive layers of electronic control so that you could really identify how each one worked and to what extent each of the programs interacted with one another. This happened with the AQS (Aprilia Quick Shift) powershifter permanently functioning, which operates by reducing spark advance for an instant and then restoring it when the next higher gear has gone in. Ditto the variable-idle-speed engine braking control, which in conjunction with the ramp-style slipper clutch worked better than those on most racebikes I've ridden. This allows you to brake hard on the superb radial Brembo brakes and just tap back two, three or even four gears in swift succession without any sign of instability or chatter, by just fanning the clutch lever and of course without ever blipping the throttle. Outstanding.
The APRC package uses what Aprilia labels an "automotive inertial sensor platform," complete with twin gyrometers and twin accelerometers, to communicate to the ECU the dynamic state of the bike, allowing it to adapt the engine management parameters accordingly. First up was the ATC (Aprilia Traction Control), offering a total of eight different levels (with 8 the most intrusive and 1 the least - that's if you don't switch it off altogether) accessed via the twin thumb buttons on the left clip-on. This sophisticated system offers two big improvements versus other TC packages, the first being that you can adjust it on the go without stopping and turning the engine off or even shutting the throttle, as many comparable systems require. Also, it incorporates an autocalibration setup that allows the ATC to recognize when you've installed a different make or size of rear tire.
An updated LCD panel features...
An updated LCD panel features road and race displays, with the pertinent information - including the various APRC selections - legibly shown in each.
The new shift linkage incorporates...
The new shift linkage incorporates the sensor for the AQS system and can be set for standard or reverse shift pattern.
The APRC SE model has all...
The APRC SE model has all the top-drawer components of the Factory, including the variable-length intakes, adjustable chassis, Ohlins suspension and steering damper and forged aluminum wheels. Note the sensor ring for the ATC system.
I started out on level 8 knowing it would be super-intrusive, except I then spent the first two laps trying everything I could to make it work, without success - or so I thought! There was no sign of any of the stutter you get from the engine on other TC programs as the ignition cuts out briefly once the rear wheel starts spinning. That's because, instead of cutting the spark as other bikes still fitted with throttle cables do, the Aprilia's ride-by-wire setup simply retards the ignition and closes the throttle-body butterflies as soon as it's told by the various sensors that the rear wheel is spinning. Then in restoring drive it does so in an equally smooth way that's completely stepless. Working through the various settings I got down to 2, which I think gave the best combination of control and acceleration - one downside is that if you can't hear the TC cutting out it's all a bit of guess work.
Next system up was the AWC (Aprilia Wheelie Control), and after scaring myself stiff at Mugello last year with two sixth-gear power wheelies on the Biaggi Superbike at a speed the telemetry said was 180 mph both times, I was ready to see how this system was going to work. There are three different settings from 1 to 3, with the latter the most intrusive and not really worth using. But 2 was just magnificent, allowing me back at that slow last turn to get the Aprilia lined up straight before pulling the trigger, then rocketing past the pits with the front wheel hovering about six inches above the ground. Going to 1 revealed this offered less control and so wasn't as effective - I'd still have to be standing on the footrests trying to force my body weight over the front wheel to make it stay down, whereas in 2 I could just stay in the seat and crouch down behind the screen.