Marketplace Find of the Month: 2016 Aprilia RSV4 RF Factory
All motorcycles are fast. Even the slow ones. And when it comes to sportbikes, even a commonplace (and uncommonly good) Honda CBR600RR will bend the horizon to a blur. With the exception of racers, who simply want the fastest of the fast and who are notoriously brand‑fickle, the rest of us are left with a conundrum if we’re in the market for a sporting machine—how do we choose one bike over another, especially if you’re looking for something a little different? Something special.
What if you wanted a motorcycle that rewarded a twisted wrist with more than merely an overkill of forward motion? A motorcycle that accelerated with the pitch‑perfect wail of a Lamborghini V12 and that burbled on the overrun like a rude American V‑8? Well, then at the very top of your shortlist would be the Aprilia’s RSV4. More special still, is the Factory edition.
The Aprilia RSV4: A homologated V4 missile
As the name suggests, Aprilia’s RSV4, introduced in 2009, has a 1,000 cc V4 engine that was designed specifically for World Superbike competition. And compete it did. In a series dominated by fellow Italian brand Ducati, Aprilia won a pair of titles with the mercurial Max Biaggi and a third championship with Sylvain Guintoli before the brand quit production‑based racing to try its luck in MotoGP.
Despite its racing pedigree, what’s most remarkable about the RSV4 isn’t its outright power but rather its sophistication. Power delivery is smooth and linear and the bike does a commendable job of flattering the rider. None of the above is news to our feature bike’s owner, Gregory Parker. With just over 4,000 miles on his 2016 RSV4 Factory, it would be understandable to think Parker a rider who hardly rides at all. This is not the case.
Owner Profile: A Rider’s Rider
Since his retirement from the financial services world, Parker, with homes in Austin, Texas, and Park City, Utah, lives out the dual dream of an obsessed motorcyclist and skier. (Note that the Aprilia up for sale is in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the home of family.) With multiple machines at his disposal, and with the time and means to fly off to Europe and ride the Alps on rental machines when the urge strikes him, Parker knows his motorcycles. In this short life Parker has owned a laundry list of desirable machines, from BMWs to Ducatis to MV Agustas. But the five Aprilias he’s owned have been the most reliable, and he says “nothing has ever gone wrong on any of them.” Even though his RSV4 is up for sale, an Aprilia Tuono—the upright‑handlebar, nearly‑naked version of the RSV4—maintains a place in his stable.
A Gentle Life in Storage
Although he’s ridden a handful of US racetracks—Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama and Willow Springs in California are just a couple—Parker has never ridden the one in his own backyard, Austin’s Circuit of the Americas. Nor has our find‑of‑the‑month RSV4 ever seen track duty, or, indeed, much stress or struggle at all in its short, pampered life. It’s never been crashed or dropped during any of its 4,257 miles and has lived under a cover in a garage linked to a battery tender. In other words, it’s a find. And Parker is the kind of enthusiast to buy a motorcycle from, as is Cycle Trader the place to sell them, he says. His Aprilia is his third machine listed on the site. “It’s never just about going fast,” Parker says about motorcycling. “The skill comes with learning how to turn them.” True words from a man who’s ridden the tastiest machinery on some of the best motorcycle roads in the world.
Marketplace Inventory
Neil Graham
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