The new Aprilia RSV4 24. Without this kind of advance it would be impossible to get the most out of the stratospheric performance emanating from its 65° V-shaped four-cylinder engine.
To put ourselves in context and take into account the importance of the ground effect aerodynamics included in this RSV4 230 HP at 13,500 rpm (with a maximum speed at 13,900 rpm) and a maximum torque of 131 Nm at 11,000 rpm that the Italian mount can offer.
Ground effect aerodynamics in detail
As the Motorcycle News colleagues comment, the so-called ground effect has been used in competition since approximately the 1960s. Already at that time, the cars that participated in the F1 world championship made use of this aerodynamics to try to stick the cars that competed there like limpets to the track.
Many years later, in the 2015 season, it was Gigi Dall’Igna who devised the well-known front and side spoilers to incorporate them into Ducati frames within the MotoGP and WSBK world championships. In 2022 it was Aprilia who went one step further with the so-called ground effect in its RS-GP 22, “by using channels and shapes to alter the speed of airflow around a vehicle following Bernoulli’s principle.”
This technique creates a Venturi effect that is responsible for sucking the motorcycle downwards, improving grip in different circumstances. The complicated thing is achieving efficiency in this regard when a motorcycle is completely lying down. This is where the Aprilia RSV4
As Romano Albesiano, Technical Director of Aprilia Racing, explains: “The front wing is 550 mm wide and generates a load level five times greater than the previous version, the X Trenta, which already had more than the road version, allowing great acceleration.”
Likewise, the side fairing that allows you to take advantage of the air pressure between the ground and the fairing when the motorcycle is leaning in corners to increase grip on the ground.
In curves (approximately at 60º angle, close to maximum inclination), it triples the aerodynamic load, significantly improving grip. The entire fairing is made of PAN Compositi carbon with the same processes used for MotoGP. Compared to the already advanced X Trenta, it increases vertical air pressure in a straight line five times, improving stability and precision while reducing wheelies.
Without a doubt we are facing the most aerodynamic production motorcycle on the planet, thanks to taking advantage of the ground effect produced by its elaborate fairing and other elements attached to it. With only 30 examples manufactured, the new RSV4
