Panigale R and stablemates

007 said:

Just do what i do , buy whatever you want and tell her it's for her!


Oh you're not in 69 dodge chargers?
Ah well, guess i'll just drive it lol.


Sucks to hear she doesnt enjoy them. Ah well, cant have it all.
Hope you're keeping well boss.

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Very true indeed brother. She tolerates them. That's about the best I can hope for, but I will take it!!

Took the R out for a good thrashing today. This bike is pure insanity! Getting low on right hand corners you can audibly hear the dry clutch chatter which is pretty fantastic. Tank grips help a lot. Not sure the carbon brake ducts do, but they look cool!

KMY said:

Took the R out for a good thrashing today. This bike is pure insanity! Getting low on right hand corners you can audibly hear the dry clutch chatter which is pretty fantastic. Tank grips help a lot. Not sure the carbon brake ducts do, but they look cool!

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Getting your Bautista on

Twistedracer said:

Getting your Bautista on

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Haha! Twisted if only I could ride at 10% of his pace!

Couldn't resist.
Staying away from aprilia was too painful. This new machine is really impressive!!
Definitely looks much better in person than in pics and the SOUND!!!

KMY said:

Couldn't resist.
Staying away from aprilia was too painful. This new machine is really impressive!!
Definitely looks much better in person than in pics and the SOUND!!!

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It's a nice bike. Took one out for a ride a few weeks ago.

So several have inquired about my initial impressions of the RSV4 1100 and the V4. Have about 200 miles of spirited riding now on the Aprilia so for those interested here are some initial impressions...

The increased power of the Aprilia is definitely noticeable over the 2018 RF I sold a few months back. That being said there is an instant familiarity in almost everything from the ergos to the dash to the switchgear. The previous bike wasn't broke so why fix it!

Journalists have talked a lot about the increase in peak power, but what I notice more is the increase in torque - this is probably because I haven't been bouncing off the rev limiter given it's a new bike. There is so much usable power now below 10K RPM that honestly for street riding the additional top end HP is never needed. This wasn't the case with the 1000cc RF, were I felt I frequently needed to be up in the revs to keep up with the v4.

Riding around town and for normal everyday use, the throttle on the Aprilia is a bit twitchy. It has a much lighter feel and less weight than the Ducati throttle and the motor has a surge to it that can make it feel a bit twitchy at times if that makes any sense. Whereas the Ducati rolls on a off very nicely, which I prefer

The quickshifter on the aprilia is nice and smooth. It again is much lighter in feel than the ducati and in most instances nice and crisp. I think I prefer this over the feeling on the v4.

In terms of outright power I'm still exploring the Aprilia but I can't see it touching the outright pace of the ducati. maybe I'll feel different after break in and once I fit the bike with a proper Akra race system (coming soon).

Once the roads open up I think the Aprilia comes into its own. There is a stretch of road by my place which is freshly paved, has high speed corners with several switchbacks and great visibility and most importantly no traffic. The Aprilia not only feels more planted and confidence inspiring than the V4 on this stretch of road, it feels more planted than even the RF. I was consistently getting 52-53% lean angle and dragging the pucks, which I rarely did even at the track on the v4. (Mind you it was my first and only track day to date so I'm a total novice.) Also when the riding gets more spirited the issues with the throttle at low speeds fade away. I think this is partly due to being higher in the revs and smaller throttle inputs required once in attack mode.

The sound of the Aprilia is subjective but in my view it is far superior to the ducati's. It has a tone that is amazing. The new exhaust that comes with the bike is better than the previous one on the RF but it is still quiet until the valves open up and then the sound is just glorious. Second to none in my view (other than the D16rr!).

Looks are also subjective. When I first saw pics of the Aprilia I was underwhelmed, but in person it is really impressive. There are different tones of black and mixed with the carbon and wheels and frame it looks good. Still, I think the V4 is a stunner and wins in the looks department.

Overall I'm really impressed with the Aprilia. In my hands it's better than the ducati in a number of critical areas and I'm confident I'd be faster around a circuit on this bike than the ducati. It's more forgiving and confidence inspiring, at least at my level of riding. It's also a huge bargain compared to the v4. A TON of bike for the money.
That being said if I could only have one it'd be the v4. It looks incredible and is so, so, so good in so many ways. Looking forward to seeing some more head to head comparisons from real journalists!

Ride safe guys!!

Cheers for the write up brother, laughed at you caving in and pulling the trigger on buying the aprillia haha!

That is one thing that stood out to me, for the price... Out of the "exotic" brands, its a very well sorted package thats hard to beat...

100cc does wonders for torque, all you have to do is look at the difference a 1199 rides
compared to a 1299...

Always look forward to your posts, ride safe and enjoy!

007 said:

Cheers for the write up brother, laughed at you caving in and pulling the trigger on buying the aprillia haha!

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You know me man. Such a sucker!!

It's an impressive piece of kit for sure, but then again the RF was as well. I'm sure the new S100RR will be amazing as well, but I prefer sticking to the Italian brands (at least for the newer stuff).

The only downside of Aprilia (and Ducati) ownership.

Got the belts changed and annual fluids this week so took the 888 out for a proper ride today. Such a great well balanced bike. So easy to ride and incredible sound. She's still a looker too after all these years. Can't tell if I prefer the new stuff or the older bikes!

Have a few interesting additions incoming over the next several months so will try and keep this thread current. Hope the riding season is in full swing for everyone!

Kevin

KMY said:

Got the belts changed and annual fluids this week so took the 888 out for a proper ride today. Such a great well balanced bike. So easy to ride and incredible sound. She's still a looker too after all these years. Can't tell if I prefer the new stuff or the older bikes!

Have a few interesting additions incoming over the next several months so will try and keep this thread current. Hope the riding season is in full swing for everyone!

Kevin

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Still my favorite of your collection Kevin.

Best thread on the forum, always looking forward to the updates..

I didnt even know the 888 existed! What a beautiful bike.

Twistedracer said:

Still my favorite of your collection Kevin.

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You gotta try one man! I think it would be a nice compliment to your other bikes. At the very least it would balance out some of the ferocity of the others

It's way down on power but is so smooth and controllable. Probably a much more appropriate amount of grunt for me if I'm being honest. Very exploitable levels of performance. And the sound is glorious!!

KMY said:

You gotta try one man! I think it would be a nice compliment to your other bikes. At the very least it would balance out some of the ferocity of the others

It's way down on power but is so smooth and controllable. Probably a much more appropriate amount of grunt for me if I'm being honest. Very exploitable levels of performance. And the sound is glorious!!

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Still waiting for the time I can afford to buy this one of yours lol.
This is the first Ducati that ever really made me lust after. Awesome memories of chasing one up the Crest mid week. Only the two of us up there all day.

Twistedracer said:

Still waiting for the time I can afford to buy this one of yours lol.
This is the first Ducati that ever really made me lust after. Awesome memories of chasing one up the Crest mid week. Only the two of us up there all day.

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I need to come up there and ride with you one of these days. maybe ship a bike to your favorite track. That is if you're ok towing a slow poke like me around!!

Warmed up a few of the bikes this evening that haven't been cycled in a while. Makes me want to go for a long ride!!!

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1299SL with her older sibling...

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Got the Aprilia out on track this weekend. Only my second track session ever but the bike made me feel like a pro. It's an insanely capable machine. Full system sounds amazing too. Seriously feeling like it's as good if not slightly better than the Speciale. Smooth on throttle, buttery shifts, rock solid stability mid corner and some serious grunt now with the additional displacement.

Next bike to try on circuit will be the V4R!

I might need a different suit for this bike. Don't think it was happy with my wardrobe!

Haha love it!

You should put a small sticker on the bike saying " it's ok, my other bike is a v4 R"

Looking forward to reading the track comparison between the two. I hear the 1100cc makes the new aprillia pull like a train now from the bottom. Awesome seeing you having a killer time out there brother.

The RSV4 has a great chassis. Great handling bike.
Don't worry about the leathers, always fun making people do double tales lol.