The RS acronym represents Aprilia’s sporting vision. These bikes are designed to surprise, with innovations derived from a long and successful racing history that has shaped Aprilia’s unique motorcycle culture. Thus, Aprilia has become the dream object of entire generations, satisfying the passion of young riders with extraordinary motorcycles.
At the same time, it has been a major player in the racing world, dominating the 2-stroke categories. After reaffirming its technological supremacy by winning the SBK competitions, Aprilia has also excelled in MotoGP.
The Aprilia RS 457 aims to become the new technological and stylistic benchmark for young motorcyclists around the world, the new key to Aprilia’s version of the sporting world.The RS 457 is a historic step for Aprilia, and not just in technological terms. In fact, Aprilia’s new twin-cylinder sports bike appeals to new targets and markets to meet the growing worldwide demand for easy but fun, technologically and stylistically innovative motorcycles aimed at broad market segments.
Now, Aprilia is returning to its founding mission with a project for a new generation of motorcyclists, bringing together the knowledge accumulated on tracks around the world.Since 2020, the huge success of the Aprilia RS 660 (the best-selling sports bike in Europe) has revolutionized the world of mid-range sports bikes, creating a new segment.
The same winning formula is repeated with the Aprilia RS 457, which began as a completely new project, conceived and developed where all Aprilias are created, including MotoGP bikes.The new Aprilia is the ideal link between the first 125 engines and the RS 660. It completes the RS family that includes the powerful V4 superbikes and, in its most technologically advanced state, the MotoGP-winning RS-GP.The Aprilia RS 457 speaks the language of young riders, of people who want to start riding motorcycles with tires, exploiting all the company’s experience to design and build a true sports bike.
The strengths of this bike are its lightness, with the highest possible power-to-weight ratio for a bike that can be ridden with an A2 license, ease of handling and technological equipment. The RS 457 is designed to accompany the rider on the road and on the track. Ergonomics are characterized by a clip-on handlebar mounted above the upper steering plate, a sporty road solution that offers the best compromise between sportiness and riding comfort.
The styling of the new RS 457 follows the legendary RS range, the supersport bikes that made motorcycling history, starting with the double front fairing to the lower silencer, with a 2-in-1 exhaust.
The Aprilia RS 457 is powered by a state-of-the-art liquid-cooled parallel twin-cylinder engine with double overhead camshaft and four valves per cylinder, which delivers 35 kW of power, the maximum possible for a motorcycle with an A2 license. As well as pure power, there’s also the bike’s weight: 159 kg dry, rising to 175 in the wet. The Aprilia RS 457’s power-to-weight ratio is simply unbeatable because Noale’s designers sought the maximum possible and achieved it. This value was translated into pure performance during road development at Aprilia’s headquarters in Noale.
The new engine is paired with a rigid frame. The aluminum frame makes the RS 457 a unique bike in its segment. All of Aprilia’s design experience, honed over decades of victories on every racetrack in the world, is applied to this solution. The crankcase acts as a load-bearing element, a solution borrowed from the RS 660, which ensures the low weight, dynamic qualities and riding pleasure that have made Aprilia famous.The ø41 mm fork has 120 mm of travel and preload adjustment. The same goes for the monoshock, which works on a steel swingarm, adjustable in preload, for 130 mm of travel. The braking system includes a 320 mm front disc with a ByBre 4-piston radial caliper. At the rear, the ByBre caliper brakes a 220 mm steel disc.
All this is assisted by a two-channel ABS system with dual mapping, on both wheels or just the front.
The 17-inch sports wheels mount 110/70 tires at the front and 150/60 at the rear, perfect sizes for excellent grip while maintaining agility, the real strength of the new Aprilia. The electronic equipment of the Aprilia RS 457 is that of a true sports bike, designed for a wide range of riders and totally faithful to the Aprilia tradition. The Ride by Wire system – which Aprilia was the first to introduce both in MotoGP with the futuristic RS Cube and in production – manages the engine with three riding modes that intervene in the delivery of power and torque and in traction control, adjustable in three levels and which can also be deactivated. The quickshifter is an accessory.