Aprilia

Aprilia Tuono 457 departs from tradition

By Ben Purvis

In prime position to capitalise on the growing sales of sub-500 cc bikes Aprilia's new Tuono 457 could be the most important new model added to the brand's 2025 range - and what's more, it's better-looking than anything to carry the Tuono badge in the past.

While the addition of a Tuono model based on the RS457 sports bike doesn't come as a surprise - Aprilia always tends to offer naked versions of its sports bike models - the formula has now been changed. 

Every previous Tuono, regardless of capacity and going right back to the first, RSV Mille-based machine more than 20 years ago, has used a fixed front fairing and the same rear bodywork as the sports bike it's based on, often resulting in a slightly awkward look. It's a traditional 'streetfighter' formula, but the combination of high, wide bars and a fixed headlight in a cut-down nose means other Tuonos have often looked unconvincing, with too much front overhang.

For the Tuono 457, that problem is gone as Aprilia has given the bike entirely bespoke bodywork rather than borrowing as much as possible from the RS457. There's a new tail and seat unit, a new fuel tank, new radiator cowl panels and most importantly a headlight and front cowl that's mounted on the forks to turn with the bars. The result is a much more balanced, attractive style than other Tuonos, even though the triple headlight setup with a spoiler underneath them intentionally draws parallels to the 2006 Tuono 1000 R.

Under the all-new skin lie the same mechanical parts as the RS457, with an identical 35kW parallel twin engine, aluminium half-chassis and 41mm inverted forks, single front brake disc with ByBre caliper, and alloy swingarm and monoshock rear. Max power comes at 9,400 rpm and maximum torque of 43.5 Nm at 6,700 rpm, while the bike weighs an impressive 159 kg dry - likely putting it right on the 175 kg minimum weight allowed with the 35 kW power under A2 licence rules when weighed wet with all fluids and a full tank of fuel.

Aprilia 660 twins updated

The bikes powered by Aprilia's 660cc parallel twin engine - the RS660, Tuono 660 and Tuareg 660 - have all been updated for 2025 with engine changes to meet the latest Euro5+ regulations. 

On the RS660 and Tuono 660, there's a power increase from 100 hp to 105 hp, thanks to larger 52 mm throttle bodies that replace the previous 48 mm versions. The Tuareg 660, which is joined for 2025 by a more extreme Tuareg 660 Rally variant, also gets the bigger throttles but retains the same 80 hp as previous models.

The RS660 gets additional updates including a new fairing with redesigned side panels and a nose that now incorporates a front spoiler and winglets, and Aprilia has added an RS660 Factory model to the range that includes Ohlins NIX30 forks and an Ohlins STX36 shock.

The Tuono 660 Factory is revised for 2025 to get the same Ohlins components, superseding the Kayaba forks and Sachs shock of the previous generation, and all the RS and Tuono 660 models get a new 5-inch TFT dashboard and launch control added to the rider assists.

More power for RSV4

Aprilia claims that the 2025 RSV4 and RSV4 Factory are the most powerful standard production bikes the world has ever seen thanks to revisions that see their outputs hiked to a remarkable 220 hp in showroom form.

Like the related 660 cc twins in the Tuono, RS and Tuareg 660 models, the RSV4's 1,099 cc V4 gets 52mm throttles instead of the previous 48mm units, as well as a revised exhaust and repositioned catalytic converter to meet Euro5+ rules around emissions monitoring.

Visually, the 2025 RSV4 models get revised bodywork with MotoGP-style winglets on the front, new side panels, and a redesigned tail, claiming 6% less drag than before and an 8% reduction in the tendency to wheelie. The higher-spec RSV4 Factory, with its Ohlins semi-active electronic suspension, also gets the ability to set traction control and wheelie control modes corner-by-corner for track use, harnessing GPS to monitor where the bike is on the circuit. 

Tuono V4 uprated with 1099cc V44

For 2025 the naked Aprilia Tuono V4 drops the previous 1,077 cc version of the V4 engine in favour of the same 1,099 cc capacity of the faired RSV4. 

That comes with a power increase to 180 hp, plus revisions to the styling that once again add dual-layer winglets that one claimed to add 2.5k g of downforce at 250 km/h, plus new side panels and radiator cowls. Meanwhile the bellypan of the previous model has been removed, giving the updated Tuonos a more genuinely naked style for 2025.