In Baramati, a brand-new Aprilia sports bike has been seen in action. The new motorcycle is camouflaged to the gills. It has testing equipment strapped to its back that monitors various parameters. The design language is consistent with what this Italian brand offers in its RS lineup. In effect, it appears to be a scaled-down version of the RS 660, which is not a bad thing.
Despite the camouflage, the front fascia is like that of a RS 660. It has twin headlights with a pilot light in the centre. These are most likely LEDs, as LEDs are standard on every other bike in this segment. Taillights and blinkers will almost be LED as well.
The seating posture appears to be committed. There is some lean to reach the handlebars, and the rider's footpegs are set back. This provides the rider with a lot of leverage when turning the motorcycle into a corner. The front wind deflector appears to be angled a little lower, and the chunky fuel tank appears to provide enough grip for the rider.
Componentry is likely to change until series production begins. Nonetheless, this test mule has USD forks up front and a mono-shock unit in the rear.
The swingarm appears to be an aluminium unit rather than a box-section unit. Front disc brakes are skinny, like those found on the current generation KTM RC 390.
Engine specifications are not yet available. It is expected to displace between 300cc and 400cc with a single-cylinder architecture. It may produce 35 to 40 bhp of max power and 35 Nm of peak torque.
Despite its global presence, Aprilia is not well-known in India when it comes to motorcycles. The RS and Tuono lineups are available in both middleweight and litre class configurations. This new motorcycle would have been much simpler to introduce in the market if Aprilia had established a brand identity and introduced the RS 150 and Tuono 150 to India.
