Honda CBR500R, Kawasaki Ninja 400, CFMoto 450 SS—what do all these bikes have in common apart from being small-displacement sportbikes? Well, they all essentially gave birth to a wide selection of models based on their respective platforms.
Honda’s CB500 range of bikes comes in sport, naked, adventure, and even cruiser flavors, and so too does Kawasaki’s 400 (now 500) and CFMoto’s 450 line. All this is living proof that the small-displacement segment is where it’s at right now, and the growing number of new models from both big and emerging brands is clearly making it the fastest-growing segment, possibly in the entire motorcycle industry.
And while brands like Honda, Kawasaki, and CFMoto may be considered mainstream, they’re not the only ones with a keen eye on the 400cc to 500cc segment. Aprilia, a brand that many markets would consider premium, or even exotic, recently launched the RS 457. This compact sportbike seems to have flipped the beginner-friendly sportbike market on its head—something I got to experience firsthand when I ran the bike through its paces for the better part of two days.
And indeed, the RS 457 is clearly just the start for Aprilia, and there's a chance that the Noale company could be expanding its offerings featuring the potent new parallel-twin engine.
This might just be in the works as we speak, as our friends over at Italian motorcycling publication Motociclismo sat down with Diego Arioli, the Product Marketing head of Aprilia. Arioli explained how the RS 457 was the logical first step in penetrating the small-displacement segment, as it represents the very core of what Aprilia’s all about: performance and technology. In its segment, the RS 457 is well and truly the best-equipped, flaunting multiple customizable ride modes and fully adjustable suspension. And don’t even get me started with that engine.
In essence, it’s speculated that Aprilia’s RS 457 will give birth to a similar lineup of bikes as that of its 660 model range. It all started with the RS 660, and soon after, the Tuono 660 hit the market. And much more recently, Aprilia captured the attention of off-road adventurers with the Tuareg 660.
And should the RS 457 give birth to a similar lineup of bikes, I’m almost certain that in a few years, Aprilia will achieve a similar level of sales volumes as KTM—a brand which has become one of the biggest European manufacturers in the world.
Interestingly, Aprilia has quite the selection of bikes to choose from which it can revive through the 457 platform. Personally, if Aprilia went on to release a Dorsoduro 457, I wouldn’t think twice about snapping one up. Plus, an Aprilia Shiver 457 could be a worthy rival to the likes of the KTM 390 Duke and CFMoto 450 NK.
It goes without saying that the small-displacement segment could very well be Aprilia’s ticket to global success. Don’t get me wrong, Aprilia’s by no means a small company, but it’s still not quite up there with BMW, Ducati, and KTM in terms of establishing a dealer network all over the world.
But if Aprilia plays its cards right, the RS 457, as well as the rest of the models it might give birth to, just might change this.
