Aprilia Tuono 457 first ride review: The new naked king?

“P.S. I CANNOT wait for a Tuono based on this. Aprilia, are you listening?” This is how I ended the review of the RS457. I am not a religious person, but Aprilia seems to have answered my prayers and launched the Tuono 457. The ‘lightning’, what Tuono means in Italian, has been launched in India at an ex-showroom price of ₹3.95 lakh, making it ₹25,000 more affordable than the RS457 for effectively the same kit. If it wasn’t obvious already from the hundreds of reels you would’ve probably seen on Instagram, the Tuono 457 is essentially the naked sibling of the RS457, a bike that we all adore. But is it just an RS without the fairing and taller ’bars or does it have a character of its own? We headed out to the fabled Nandi Hills in Bangalore to find out.

Aprilia Tuono 457 design

The design of the Tuono 457 is quite the polarising topic for debate ever since its unveil at the 2024 EICMA show in Milan. The primary reason for this is courtesy of the use of a more traditional headlight unit unlike the iconic, larger Tuonos that get a semi-fairing. I was among the larger group of people who were not convinced by the look of the Tuono 457. I had very strong emotions about it along the lines of “if it doesn’t have that front-end, it should not be called a Tuono”. But credit where it is due, upon seeing the bike in the flesh, the design started to grow on me. The single-pod unit with the distinctly Aprilia centre headlight flanked by the boomerang style DRLs does lend it a quintessentially Aprilia look but just of a different kind. Above the new headlight sits the same 5-inch colour TFT screen behind which rests the brand new single-piece handlebar. 

Looking at the bike from the side, the eagle-eyed amongst you will realise the tank has been re-profiled ever so slightly. In the process the fuel tank capacity has gone down from 13 litres to 12.7 litres. Below that where you would see well sculpted fairing, you see the thumping heart of the motorcycle with the only body work present in the vicinity being the two cowls on either side of the radiator. These panels bear the Tuono badging and are colour matched to the rest of the bike. Speaking of colours, the Tuono 457 will be available in two dual-tone colours the first being the iconic black and red Aprilia colour scheme and the second, the one that we rode, is garnished in white and accented by red in various places. Both colours look stellar and I’d really be splitting hairs in telling you which one I prefer more. The rest of the bike is identical to the RS457 with the same sharp and sculpted rear section. While I am still a little bummed out that the 457 doesn’t bear the same face as the Tuono 660 and V4, the design has really started to appeal to me, primarily because it is a very well-proportioned machine and as they say ‘new is always better’.

Aprilia Tuono 457 chassis, ride and handling 

The Tuono 457 continues to be underpinned by the mighty capable and first-in-class aluminium dual-beam frame that is derived from Aprilia’s flagship machines. In terms of the chassis and cycle parts the Tuono 457 is more or less identical to the RS457 with the only major difference being the use of a single piece handlebar instead of the clip-ons that you find on the RS457. The handlebar is tall and wide and this means that your upper body is sat upright. The lower half of the body interacts with the bike in the same manner as before with the positioning of the foot-pegs in the same position as on the RS457. Which means that your feet reach to a fairly rear-set set of pegs that are placed higher than you’d find on a commuter. The taller you are the more apparent this would be. At 5-foot 10-inches, I quite enjoyed the riding position of the Tuono 457 with the only complaint being the shape of the recesses on the tank. If they were a little higher, locking my knees on the tank would have been a little easier. But this is something I can easily look past, given the handling package that this bike has to offer. Like the RS457, the Tuono’s chassis feels almost telepathic with the dual-beam frame keeping things taut. With the added leverage from the taller and wider ’bar the bike feels more agile and responsive with lesser steering effort. 

The suspension setup is the same, with a 41mm USD fork adjustable for preload and with 120mm of travel. The rear monoshock which is also preload adjustable offers 130mm of travel. The suspension setup feels very sophisticated in the way it deals with undulations and the damping characteristics feel far more premium than a motorcycle of this price bracket. That coupled with the stellar frame endows the bike with very impressive handling. The kind that is predictable, stable and really confidence inspiring. You always know what the bike is doing under you and it won’t throw any surprises your way. The higher foot-pegs also means that you have more cornering clearance and you will barely ever scrape the pegs unless the lean angles get too severe. The handlebar is a perfect width and it takes an already great bike and makes it that much more fun for the streets. With the upright riding position, you’re also poised to deal with bad roads better. Considering you aren’t hunched over like Gollum, you can anticipate bumps or undulations better and brace yourself better than you would be able to on the RS457. You’re also putting more weight over the monoshock, allowing it to absorb bumps a tad bit better. Make no mistake, the suspension is running a sporty tune and is on the stiffer side, but it does take most of what our roads have to throw at it with great composure and now even more so with the new ergonomics. 

Coming to the braking performance, yet again, you have the same braking components with a 320mm disc and a four-piston calliper with sintered pads at the front and a 220mm disc with a single-piston calliper at the rear. But sadly, as was the case with the RS457, as you start pushing and riding faster and braking harder, the brake lever starts coming closer to the grip and a severe fade starts to set in. This is the only damper in an otherwise near-perfect chassis setup. Because this bike can really haul ass, but when you can’t rely on the anchors to shed speed in time, it’s quite a bummer. This is something the engineers at Aprilia need to rectify, and soon. In terms of weight, despite losing a chunk of the bodywork, the bike still tips the scale at 175kg with all fluids topped and 90 per cent of fuel. 

Aprilia Tuono 457 engine and performance

Powering the Tuono 457 is the same dreamy engine that does duties on the RS457. A quick recap for the nerds – a 457cc, liquid-cooled, parallel-twin engine with a 270-degree crank and an exhaust note that is addictive to say the least. In terms of performance, the engine is good for 46.9bhp at 9400rpm and 43.5Nm of torque at 6700rpm. If you remember the review of the RS457, I’ve said that a supersport of this caliber has no business being as tractable as it is, with a very potent low-end and mid-range and a top-end that isn’t as explosive as competition but still plenty nonetheless. I also said that I would be completely fine if Aprilia plonks the engine in the Tuono as is and that is what the engineers have done. Well almost. 

To make the engine better suit the characteristics of a naked bike, the boffins have gone up one tooth on the rear sprocket and have left the rest of the engine, including the gear ratios, untouched. Great decision, this. Because now, the low-end and the mid-range of the rev-range is that much more pronounced and feels that much stronger. The Tuono 457 is more than happy to power wheelie in first and second without having to touch the clutch at all. Tractability has gone way up and you can comfortably drop speeds to as low as 35-40kmph in fifth gear and just gently roll on the throttle and the bike will move forward with zero resistance. This makes the bike that much easier to live with and you need to mess around with the clutch and gear lever that much less. Not to say that both of those aren’t great to use but the wave of torque you’re riding means you spend less time with it. Spec the quickshifter and the need reduces further. Thankfully, the extra tooth in the sprocket doesn’t come at the cost of refinement and the Tuono 457 continues to be very refined and smooth, as a parallel-twin should be. 

Aprilia Tuono 457 features 

In terms of features, the Tuono 457 comes with the same feature set as the RS457. LED lighting at both ends with boomerang style DRLs at the front. At the centre of all the electronics is a 5-inch colour TFT screen. You have backlit switch cubes which allow you to change the riding modes of which there are three – Rain, Road and Sport. You also have traction control with three levels and it can be switched off as well. Then you have dual-channel ABS and the ability to turn it off at the rear. Aside from that you also have connectivity features that enable call and music controls, turn-by-turn navigations and other phone controls that work with a companion app on your smartphone. All in all, a well-equipped motorcycle. 

Aprilia Tuono 457 verdict

The Aprilia Tuono 457 has been launched at an ex-showroom price of ₹3.95 lakh. Making it a fair bit more affordable than its fully-faired sibling. This is a great thing considering all of the kit is the same across the board. Despite sharing nearly everything with the RS457, the small changes that Aprilia have made to the Tuono 457 also give it an identity of its own. The bike takes on the already stellar RS and makes it that much more usable for everyday use. In terms of competition, the only parallel-twin rival is the Yamaha MT-03 while the other obvious rival is the KTM 390 Duke, both of which have gotten significant price cuts in the recent past. While the Tuono is the dearest of them all it also brings more than enough to the table to put up more than a valiant fight. While the bike isn’t as manic or naughty as the Duke, it’s a lot more sophisticated and will appeal to a wider audience. By how much? That will be answered in a comparison test that will happen soon.