CarBrandLogos archive · Aprilia · 2002

ApriliaTuono

A superbike with the fairing removed and the bars raised - and it worked.

Photo: DesmoV4 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Aprilia history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Aprilia Tuono, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The Tuono began in 2002 as the obvious idea: take the RSV Mille, strip off the full fairing, fit wide handlebars, and sell it to riders who wanted the engine and the chassis without the riding position. Aprilia used the same BRP-Rotax V990, a 997.62 cc liquid-cooled 60-degree V-twin, with a six-speed gearbox and chain drive, and the result was more usable on the road than the bike it came from and no slower where it mattered.

Aprilia RSV Mille Tuono · Piero at Dutch Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

Two things kept it alive. Naked bikes became a major European segment during the 2000s, and the Tuono was there early with genuine superbike hardware rather than a softened commuter engine. And Aprilia kept developing it instead of letting it age: when the RSV4 arrived, the Tuono followed with the V4, and the Tuono V4 has since become one of the most highly regarded fast naked bikes made, with electronics and aerodynamic winglets taken directly from racing.

Hj-en-appie-2 · Hwithaar · CC BY 3.0