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2021 Aprilia RSV4

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What do you say about the Aprilia RSV4? The past 13 years have seen a number of changes come to the RSV4 (and seen a number of letters come and go, as well), as Aprilia has been consistent in its effort to keep the RSV4 at the pointy end of the liter-bike spectrum.

The 65° V4 engine has grown from 999cc from its debut in 2009, now to 1,099cc in 2021. Similarly, the electronics package has gotten smarter and faster. And of course, the design has (debatably) improved with the latest trend of aerodynamic aids.

This constant unyielding iteration is unseen elsewhere in the motorcycle industry, which instead prefers to succumb to the ebbs and flows of more clearly defined model generations.

This unique approach has allowed Aprilia to constantly keep the RSV4 at the pointy end of the liter-bike segment, but has it paid off for the 2021 model year RSV4 and RSV4 Factory machines, though? That is the topic of today’s story.

To find the answer to whether the Aprilia RSV4 has gotten better with age, and remains at the top of the superbike pile, we took this motorcycle to one of the most iconic tracks in the United States: Laguna Seca. 

We were not disappointed in the result. Let me explain.

For the 2021 model year, the venerable Aprilia RSV4 gets another update to its 13-year-old platform.

The RSV4 has evolved considerably in that timeframe, and over that period, this production motorcycle lays claim to being the first with an IMU, the first with ride-by-wire, and the first with winglets.

While the differences between the model years of the RSV4 can be subtle at times, the 2021 model sees a revamp of the superbike’s aesthetic, especially in terms of how it handles aerodynamics.

When you are at the top of the superbike pile, it can be hard to justify change, and yet Aprilia has been constantly updating the RSV4 ever since it debuted in 2009.

For the 2021 model year, the Aprilia RSV4 and Aprilia RSV4 Factory models get another update, which is again more of an evolution of the existing machine, rather than a totally new design.

That being said, the changes that come to the 2021 Aprilia RSV4 are pretty big this time around, as you can see from the photo above.

Is this the new 2021 Aprilia RSV4 superbike? That is what the internet seems to think, after the eagle eyes at Motomaniaci spotted the machine testing on city roads.

The bike is a mixture of old and new, with the frame and engine appearing to be the same units from the current generation of the Aprilia RSV4.

However, we can see that Noale is using a new under-slung swingarm design, the exhaust can is a new design, and that the bodywork has gone through some serious changes.