Aprilia RS 457 in the 2026 1000PS Bestzeit Test

When exactly did I become arrogant enough to simply call a bike like the Aprilia RS 457 small? Spend long enough in this job and your benchmarks apparently start to shift. Yet the very first corner is enough to slam that mental drawer shut again. You sit on top, feel the front and stop thinking about the displacement class. You feel an Aprilia. At the 1000PS Bestzeit test in Bad Fischau, the 2026 model gave me exactly that genuine supersports feeling. The truth: my biggest problem wasn't a lack of trust in the bike, but the space I need to move around as a tall rider. This test plays out between those two impressions.

I'd recognise this Aprilia even if nobody told me the name beforehand. By the third corner at the latest, it would be obvious to me. I know this connection to the front from the RS 660 and the RSV4: you feel precisely where the bike wants to go, you get stability and still don't have to sacrifice good handling. For me, that's a strength Aprilia carries through very different displacement classes. Ever since Max Biaggi was racing in the 250cc World Championship, I've associated the brand with this feel for chassis and geometry. On the RS 457, that familiar balance comes through again. On a tight track in particular, it helps you build trust quickly and ride the corners deliberately.

Sadly, I'm no longer a supple cat in the saddle. More like an old, lazy lion in a zoo enclosure who'd rather just lie around. When shifting my body from left to right, the compact Aprilia shows me my limits pretty clearly. At times I'm wedged awkwardly into the bike and can't make the movement as fluid as I'd like. Why less displacement automatically has to mean less space for so many manufacturers is beyond me. For me, this restricted freedom of movement was the bottleneck for the lap time. You can see it in the YouTube video on the 1000PS channel. Bestzeit videos sometimes go live weeks after the report. So if you're tall too, check the room to shift your body when you test-sit the bike.

The RS 457 flicks through the corners differently from its bigger siblings. The compact vehicle and the narrow rear tyre deliver a playful feel without tipping into unpleasant nervousness. That's exactly the combination I liked here: light through the direction changes, but with the stability I look for at the front. The fitted Eurogrip Protorq tyres were a new experience for me. I knew the brand but had never ridden on their tyres before. On this Aprilia they worked well. After ten laps, around two millimetres of chicken strips were left. I won't quote a specific lean angle; for that I'm waiting for the analysis with the Ridelink Wingman in the YouTube video. Either way, in the saddle I felt satisfied and happy, and that's what counts here.

The 2026 Aprilia RS 457 sits in the table with a 1:07.897 on Eurogrip Protorq at 34 °C track temperature. Sport model references are the 2024 Honda CBR500R with 1:11.2 on Michelin Road 6 at 38 °C, the 2021 Kawasaki Ninja 650 A2 with 1:10.1 on Bridgestone S22 at 21 °C, the 2025 QJMotor SRK 600 RS with 1:09.391 on CST Ride Migra S3N at 30 °C and the 2025 QJMotor SRK 921 RR with 1:07.580 on Pirelli Diablo Rosso IV at 30 °C. Close by in terms of time, there's also the 2025 Yamaha MT-07 Y-AMT with 1:07.760 on Dunlop Sportmax Q5A at 39 °C. For direct comparisons, always factor in tyres and track temperature, because both shift the result noticeably.

How quickly do you trust a bike you're only just getting to know? That exact question is what makes 1000PS Bestzeit interesting for me. The Motorsportarena Bad Fischau offers tight hairpins, direction changes and short straights. What counts here is how accessible a bike feels, not what top speed is printed on the spec sheet. The format prescribes exactly ten warm-up laps. Then comes the timed lap, with a standing start just 20 metres before the timing line. This short run-up means clutch modulation and traction help determine the speed entering the timed section. The lap time is part of it, but the experience behind it is at least as relevant for tight mountain roads: how quickly do you find a clear connection to the bike and its front?

How much bike is behind this compact supersports feeling? The supplied specifications list a liquid-cooled parallel twin with 457 cc, 35 kW or 47.6 hp at 9,400 rpm and 43.5 Nm at 6,700 rpm. Add to that a six-speed gearbox, 175 kg wet weight, 797.5 mm seat height and a 12.9-litre tank. Tyre sizes are given as 110/70-17 at the front and 150/60-17 at the rear. These figures describe the starting point; my verdict on the front-end feel is formed in the saddle. There, I experience the RS 457 as a modern product with up-to-date rider assistance systems and accessible pricing.

I genuinely enjoyed riding the RS 457. With this bike, Aprilia has created an addition below the RS 660 that, for me, enriches the supersports segment. The smaller displacement doesn't rob the ride of the precision I value in the bigger models. On one side are the playful handling, the communicative front and the well-judged balance and stability. On the other is my limited freedom of movement as a tall rider. My verdict remains clear: the supersports feeling is there, and I got off the bike satisfied. That's why fit matters most for your decision. If you find enough room on the compact Aprilia, you can match its sporty character with your own movements.

• Check out the Ridelink Wingman as a data recording tool.
• SP Connect motorcycle mounts at a glance.
• Onboard footage shot with the Insta360 Ace Pro 2.
• NastyNils riding gear at Louis.
• All videos in the 1000PS Bestzeit series. The lap time is shown at the end of the video; videos sometimes go live weeks after the report.
• Ride the track yourself: book the Motorsportarena Bad Fischau.
• About the author NastyNils.

Photos: NastyNils.