Aprilia RS 457

• Aprilia launched the RS 457, a bike designed with inspiration from the bigger Aprilias. It has been on sale in India for sometime now and promises its buyer a lot of power and advancements. Can the European find its place in the Indian market? 

• The RS 457 has a modern and stylish appearance, with Aprilia’s iconic design elements such as the twin DRLs at the front and a sleek-looking tail section.

• It gets three colour schemes with aggressive styling and graphic elements that will appeal to a wide range of potential buyers.

Safety

• The Aprilia RS 457 is very well-equipped in safety features and gets dual-channel ABS, traction control, cornering ABS, ride-by-wire system along with riding modes too.

Convenience

•  It gets a 5-inch TFT instrument console with smartphone connectivity, an all-LED lighting setup and backlit switches for increased convenience.

Rider comfort

• The bike gets an accommodating seat with enough space for taller riders although the riding position is committed.

• The tank design is sleek and it was easy to place my knees to grip the tank while riding spiritedly.

• Due to the stiff suspension setup, it is not the most comfortable while riding through broken roads.

Pillion comfort

• The seat is a bit smaller for a pillion without room to move around. The seat provides decent cushioning for the pillion though.

• The grab rails are hidden in the bike’s design and are set at a good position and are very easy to grab for support.

• The bike gets a 457cc, liquid-cooled, parallel twin engine producing 48PS and 44Nm, and comes paired to a 6-speed gearbox. Here are the performance figures of the bike from our real-world tests:

City Performance

• The Aprilia RS 457 with its tractable engine, is very easy to ride in the city. You will have to make very few gear changes due to the sheer amount of torque it produces. 

Highway Performance

• The bike can cruise on the highway at 100-120kmph without breaking a sweat.

• RS 457 does handle highways well and has enough grunt available for quick overtakes throughout its rev range.

• The bike has very good agility, cornering composure, and stability. It feels very stable when riding enthusiastically.

• It gets 320mm front disc and 220mm rear disc brake with dual-channel ABS as standard but we experienced that the brakes fade when ridden hard for some time.

• The RS 457 gets an inverted telescopic fork and a monoshock with preload adjustability that absorbs smaller bumps on the road well but can be a bit of an issue when larger bumps appear.

• The suspension setup is tuned towards the stiffer side and will feel very good as long as the roads are smooth.

• The bike is a perfect pick, if you are looking for a powerful machine without spending an outrageous amount of money. 

• If you are looking for a bike with excellent dynamics, character, and ease of riding, the RS 457 is the perfect pick

• We do recommend you to get the accessory quickshifter for increased performance and convenience but if you are on a tight budget you can still enjoy the bike with standard equipment too.

Yamaha R3

Reasons to consider

• Excellent riding dynamics 

• Japanese reliability

Reasons to ignore

• Expensively priced for the equipment it offers

• Basic features

KTM RC 390

Reasons to consider

• Sporty looks

• Much affordable price

Reasons to ignore

• RC’s single-cylinder is not as refined as the parallel-twin from the RS 457

• Build quality could have been a bit better