Out of all the bikes at the EICMA show — including the Diavel, F3 and Triumph Tiger 800 — it’s the Aprilia Tuono V4R that really needs a closer look. Not because it’s a complicated bike — a “naked” version of the RSV4 with a little less power and the addition of Aprilia Tuono V4R — but because we think hiding behind those horrendously surprised headlights there’s actually a good looking motorcycle. Maybe these live shots will shed some light on things.

Photos: Dan Kastner!

The Tuono’s V4 drops maximum power from 180bhp on the RSV4 to 162bhp here while torque falls 4lb/ft, yet is delivered 1,000rpm lower. The Tuono weighs in identically to the RSV4 Factory at 179kg (dry). The Tuono’s brake discs remain at 320mm in diameter, however the radial Brembo brake calipers are no longer monoblocks. The Tuono’s unique 43mm USD Showa forks and remote-reservoir nitrogen Showa shock are both fully adjustable.

APRC is fitted as standard and includes programmable launch control, quick shift, three-position wheelie control and a traction control system that employs two gyroscopic sensors, accelerometers and wheel speed sensors to speed you up and allow for wheel spin while exiting corners as opposed to slowing you down like other, less sophisticated, systems. It uses eight modes, controlled through the Mana’s + and – shift buttons on the left handlebar, present so you can switch TC settings between each corner on a race track if you want to. Of course, Aprilia Traction Control is also intelligent, able to teach itself the best settings for the size, profile and compound of a new set of tires.

You can read more about APRC in this article and a review of the system, as fitted to the RSV4 Factory, here. After testing the system at Valencia, Kevin Ash said that APRC, “makes you look like a god yet remain a mortal.”

What we can see in these photos that wasn’t evident in the press shots is a neat LED running light mounted centrally in the bikini fairing and an overall look that has shifted away from slick and high-tech on the RSV4 to something more anthropomorphic and H.R. Geiger-esque here on the Tuono. Note the contour lines on the air ducts and on the new, larger pillion seat. Live, the fairing also appears to take less visual emphasis and the diminutive size of the overall package can be fully appreciated. Maybe it's not that the headlights are so large, it's that the bike they're fitted to is so small.

There’s 23 photos in this gallery.

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