#LAUNCHCONTROL FACTORY HOW TO#
#LAUNCHCONTROL FACTORY PLUS#

Level one can put you in a lot of wheelie trouble if the clutch is released too quickly. But you still have to modulate the clutch release and, Aprilia allows three levels of how aggressively you can launch. True, all you have to do is to keep the throttle fully open and release the clutch. It’s not for no reason racers practise launch control despite the fact they have done it a thousand times before. Launch control was another first for me (along with the wheelie control) and the one that’s quite difficult to get right the first time. In race mode there’s no speed indication and the space is used to show a variety of information related to the APRC instead.

The instrumentation is bi-polar with one race mode and one road mode. Aprilia has nearly 100% control of torque with the APRC system. Too little is dull and slow, while too much in the wrong place can be dangerous. Torque is the joy and the misery of motorcycling. Through the ride-by-wire system the ECU also knows the throttle position and based on pre-calculated algorithms based on a variety of conditions (you choose the levels, computer performs to that level). So when we stupid people do something wrong with the throttle in the wrong place the system saves us from ourselves. Anything a motorcycle can do whether it is vertically or horizontally the ECU is aware. How does it work? Two gyrometers and two accelerometers are at the ECU’s disposal for any data it may need for the various systems. You can bet there’s a big smile hidden behind that tinted visor as he whips this high-tech rocket around Jerez. There’s gyrometer wizardry involved here, and not only sensors between the two wheels. And landing it smoothly to avoid upsetting the front more than the steering damper can handle. A small wheelie is then accepted while you pin it and turn the bike over from side to side, landing it just in time to steer out of the next corner. What’s really good about this from a racer’s perspective is to keep that front down between really quick directional changes in low gears while keeping the throttle wide open. Some front wheel lift is always allowed because as long as the wheelie isn’t too high you can still be at maximum acceleration levels. The AWC has three levels to choose from, where I suspect level one is the only race one. Aprilia have with the AWC taken that physicality away, allowing the rider to concentrate on pinning the throttle. Riders have to use their upper bodies like athletes forcing weight forward while accelerating and withstanding G-forces and wind resistance. Don’t you tell me that’s not very clever! The physicality of trying to curb a wheelie while racing is immense.

#LAUNCHCONTROL FACTORY HOW TO#

That’s nearly two full hours of hardcore undiluted adrenaline pumping action.Īprilia’s wheelie control is highly sophisticated and not only stops wheelies from happening between low-gear corners but it knows how much it should allow and how to land them soft to avoid upsetting the handling. I worked my way all the way down to level one but I did a whole session using level four which suited me just fine.Įach of us had five sessions on the bike of which the first was to test traction control alone, second session to test wheelie control with traction control, third session to test launch control and the two last sessions to freely explore. The amount of rear wheelspin allowed is pre-determined depending on which TC level you choose. I could feel when the rear tire slipped but trusted the ATC instantly. There’s no sound or chugging or anything when the traction control kicks in.

#LAUNCHCONTROL FACTORY PLUS#

A rider’s left index finger toggles the minus button, and a left thumb for the plus button which is intuitive, all while on the move. After that I simply used the Mana (absolutely no reference whatsoever to anything else on that bike I promise) switch gear using the minus button to reach lower levels on the traction control or the plus button to go back up.

Without traction control such behaviour on your warm-up lap would end in tears guaranteed. I thought “how dull they are ruining my fun like this!” However they were right and I was wrong as this was the perfect way for me to ride the tightest Jerez corners using first gear, full throttle and just let the traction control automate me through the corners. On my very first lap the Aprilia technicians force-fed us level eight on the traction control.

Now, let me tell you how good this bike is. Aprilia and Ducati have done it on the World Superbike circuits and BMW on the sales charts. A combined (but competitive) effort from Aprilia, BMW and Ducati has bloodied the Japanese noses seriously in the last couple of years. The RSV4 Factory APRC can be called a motorcycling virtuoso in the technical area. Having followed this bike from the pre-concept stage to reality, I’m delighted to be able to give unconditional praise.

Launchcontrol factory