It's come up in conversation if you know me, but for those who don't: My partner is solidly an Aprilia person. He's loved them for a long time, and toured a bunch quite happily on his Futura (which he says is his forever bike). And he loves working on them, too, because the designs just make sense (mostly) for a home mechanic to access and service appropriately.
But I'm quite short. In fact, I'm a foot shorter than he is. And I have short legs and short arms, while he has long legs and long arms. There is nothing about us that is the same size, so it should come as no surprise that motorcycles do not tend to fit both of us the same way.
When I've tried to sit on the Futura, the dimensions just don't work for me. Even if I could reach the ground, the reach to the bars over that big, beautiful tank is way too much. Likewise with his Tuono V2. They might be great bikes, but they're simply not made for someone my size. And that's fine! Not every bike is meant for every rider, for any number of reasons. But still, despite a veritable fountain of Aprilia love from one side of my household for actual decades, I'd never ridden one of my own yet.
Until now.
A couple of weekends ago, I participated in my first-ever motorcycle track day weekend, and I did it on a beautiful Aprilia RS 457. While it's true that I couldn't flat-foot it, all the other dimensions worked quite well for a person of my size. For reference, I am 5'3" and have a 27-inch inside leg measurement. I really wasn't kidding about corgi legs.
Finding Balance
Remember what I said about not being able to flat-foot on the RS 457? I'm getting better at sliding my butt around and putting one foot down, though I haven't perfected it yet. But after gaining a bit more experience in short rider saddle acrobatics on that R 1300 GS a minute ago, the skills are slowly building, even though they are, of course, very different bikes (and much different scenarios).
While in motion, the RS 457 feels like a smooth, encouraging thing to ride. The one I was on, incidentally, was outfitted with a few nice extra bits that are particularly well-suited to track use. These included a quickshifter, adjustable levers on both the clutch and the brake, a brake lever guard, and axle sliders. Thankfully, I did not test either the sliders or the guard, but they're still great additions for peace of mind if you are, in fact, at a track!
For myself, coming to a stop was the only thing that was a little bit nerve-wracking, in much the same way that coming to a stop on any bike that's slightly too tall for me is. And I'll be honest, I did bobble it once or twice, the first couple of times I tried to come to a smooth stop.
Interestingly, the weight distribution on the RS 457 is remarkably forgiving here, and I found myself able to recover and safely come to a complete stop with no issue every single time. Some other bikes are more top-heavy and thus can be more difficult to wrangle if you don't nail it immediately, but not the RS 457.
That's a definite point in its favor, particularly if you are a shorter rider and you're looking to build confidence on a sportbike.
The Ergos and the Shape
The ergos on the RS 457 felt like they fit me quite well. From the reach to the clip-ons, to where I slid my knees into the tank and the tank wrapped back around them, to where the pegs, shifter, and rear brake were, it all just kind of made sense.
Whenever I get on a bike I haven't ridden before, one thing I always do is check where the foot pegs are going to hit in relation to my legs when I put them down. That way, I can—hopefully—avoid accidental dabbing if I have to come to an unexpected stop, as I'll know where to put my feet (something tall folks probably don't have to think about). Sportbikes tend to come with more rearset pegs and foot controls, even if they're not super aggressively so. In this case, they're far enough back that they aren't right where my legs want to be at a stop. It's a small (but important) thing to note!
As for riding, this is a bike that wants you to merge with it. You can sit on it, of course, but if you tuck down and grab the tank with your knees, it holds you there nicely. The clip-ons are the right level of aggressive, in my opinion; not overly so, but definitely helping you to hold yourself in a better position to concentrate on flying around the track and working on hitting those visual markers as you're learning them.
With the addition of adjustable levers, even those of us who are tiny of handspan (another issue of mine, personally speaking) can easily hover two fingers over both the clutch and the brake lever, ready to utilize and attenuate them as needed. The controls instantly felt natural and responded the way I expected every single time, and the bike sounds and feels great while doing it.
Brakes by ByBre?
Now, as a first-time track day rider, I want to once again reiterate that I was in no way riding this RS 457 anywhere near its limits. Instead, I was concentrating on getting my bearings on the track, getting comfortable with being out there in the first place, and just trying to go out and get into the flow of things. And I did! Is there room for growth? Absolutely, but that's the point of doing track days in the first place!
I say this to note that more experienced riders, especially track day riders, will use the brakes differently and harder than I did. I can't speak to those experiences, but I can tell you that the four-piston radial caliper and 320mm floating disc up front performed well, as did the single-pot caliper and 220mm disc in the rear (though admittedly, I didn't use the rear as much as I probably should have). I've ridden a bunch with ByBre brakes on the street, but never previously on a track, so it was good to learn!
Overall Impressions
I've ridden plenty of smaller-displacement bikes in the past, including some sportbikes. Sometimes, they can feel like the power delivery is lacking where you want it, or like the front end feel is vague and floaty. The RS 457 does not suffer from either of these problems. Handling feels strong, and even better (of course) if you tuck and try to get some of your body weight over the front wheel. Power delivery is smooth throughout the rev range, which makes it feel reassuring and predictable.
Overall, the Aprilia RS 457 package goes a long way toward settling the admittedly slightly (okay, more than slightly) jangled nerves of someone who's simultaneously very excited and also very nervous about embarking upon their first track day experience. And seeing what more experienced track day riders can do with this bike, as I also had the opportunity to do throughout the weekend, I can also see that it's got a lot more to give in this environment.
And that I've got a lot to learn. The RS 457 proves that being small displacement doesn't mean there isn't plenty of room to potentially grow your skills.
