Aprilia RS 457 First Ride Review: The BEST In Its Class!

The most affordable Aprilia bike also turned out to be a thoroughly impressive one! Here’s why

Riding an Aprilia bike at a race track is always exciting and especially more so if it’s the most affordable Aprilia bike on sale in India. So, now that we’ve FINALLY ridden the RS 457 at the Kari racetrack, we’ve a lot to talk about! Let’s get going:  

Looks Stunning, To Say The Least

If you thought the RS 457 looked gorgeous in pictures, trust us, it looks even better in person. The proportions are cohesive, lines are sharp and the overall look is hot! So much so that we think it’s the best looking motorcycle in its class and will even beat many motorcycles above its class. I mean yes, both the Kawasaki Ninja 400 and the Yamaha R3 are good looking motorcycles but nothing beats the RS 457’s sharp and angular lines. It looks like what modern day supersports should. 

Just look at the headlight when it’s switched to high beam. The lines are sharp and it can easily come off as a higher capacity motorcycle. Heck, see the RS 457 from a distance and you might even mistake it for the Aprilia RS 660. 

Go closer and even the fit and finish levels are top notch. Nothing feels cheap or flimsy and there are absolutely no unsightly panel gaps to be seen. Even with the fair amount of plastics, there was no rattling. What I particularly loved was the way Aprilia covered up the area beneath the engine. It not only looks hot but also cleanly hides the header pipes, which can be unsightly to look at if they start rusting. 

The RS 457 is available in three colours: Racing Stripes, Prismatic Dark and Opalescent Light, and in my opinion, the Opalescent Light looks stunning. The white colour scheme with the red alloys will turn heads, and reminds us of the Yamaha R15 V4 Intensity White colourway, which goes to show that supersports look extra hot in white colours and red alloys.  

Engine

The 457cc parallel-twin mill is a gem of an engine. What really impressed us was its sheer tractability. 20kmph in 4th gear? Will do! And by tractability, I don’t mean that the bike chugs along at a sedate pace… I mean it pulls, and pulls nicely. The mid-range grunt is such that we could enter all corners on a race track in a gear higher and the bike would still pull cleanly. Hence, we suspect the bike would be a joy in the city too and wouldn’t need frequent gear changes. 

And when you do rev it out, it’s still a treat. It has a proper top end whack and while the R3 and the Ninja 400 have a better top end pull, this one is definitely exciting in its own right. As for vibrations, the bike is smooth for the most part and gets a bit vibey only at the top end of the rev range. 

Handling

Forget what the spec sheet says. The RS 457 feels almost as nimble as the Yamaha R15 V4. It’s quick to change directions but not unnervingly so. And once you are leaned over, the TVS Eurogrip Protorq Extreme tyres provide fantastic grip. What these things combined to do was give a lot of confidence to even newbies like me to try going faster even on a technical race track like Kari. 

The slip-and-assist clutch was another thing that gave me a lot of confidence. Even the hardest of downshifting (I even went down from 6th gear to 2nd gear once before a corner entry) didn’t upset the bike and the bike’s rear tyre didn’t get nervous or threaten to lock up a bit even once. That said, the gearbox on the RS 457 is slightly clunky. Some of the shifts, especially downshifts, can be hard and I even had a couple of misshifts. 

Reasonably comfortable ergonomics

At 6’0 myself, the very first thing I look for in sportsbikes are the ergonomics. But as aggressive and sporty as the RS 457 looks, the ergonomics are actually pretty chilled out. The clip-ons are raised so it’s not painful to reach them. And while the footpegs are a bit high, it wasn’t uncomfortable for me in any way. Riders up to around 5’10 will find the ergonomics to be absolutely spot on as a sport tourer. 

But we have one major complaint…

The Aprilia RS 457 has subpar brakes and there’s no getting away from that. Aprilia’s decision to go with organic brake pads instead of sintered ones wasn’t the best one because we experienced major brake fade by the end of our 30 minutes session on the track. So much so that some bikes’ brake levers came all the way back to the handlebar before they could feel any braking. 

And talking about levers, it’s surprising to see that the RS 457 doesn’t have adjustable brake and clutch levers. Given that even the TVS Apache RTR 200 4V has them, I would’ve definitely wanted to see it on a bike I am paying Rs 5 lakh for. 

Price

Rs 4.10 lakh (ex-showroom) isn’t exactly cheap but we feel it’s quite reasonable for a bike like this. Special shoutout to Yamaha and Kawasaki, too, for they’ve both priced the R3 and Ninja 400 so outrageously, it only adds to the RS 457’s value-for-money tag. 

Should you buy the Aprilia RS 457?

The Aprilia RS 457 is a very likeable and versatile bike that could very well be your daily rider for the week and your track tool for the weekends. Sintered brake pads and adjustable clutch levers are major misses but they’re neither deal breakers nor very hard fixes. What stands in the RS 457’s way, then, is the brand itself. 

Aprilia’s dealership and service centre network is present in very few cities throughout India and that could hamper the overall ownership experience. That said, we would definitely recommend all of you to get a test ride of the RS 457. And if you’re smitten by it enough, like we are, you might just want to get the bike and then figure out a way around the service issues.