With the Special Edition, Aprilia has addressed almost all the major complaints with the Tuono 457 but what exactly are the changes? At first glance, both motorcycles look the same and they largely are the same as well. This is a case of small changes adding up to a markedly different (and better) final product.
Aprilia Tuono 457 vs Tuono 457 Special Edition: Design
Slightly different, with a new colour
The most obvious change is the updated decals and the brand-new Mamba Black colour. The new colourway, which is exclusive to the Special Edition at the moment, gets a blacked out chassis and swingarm which wasn’t the case earlier. Even on the Puma Gray colour (carried over from earlier), Aprilia has updated the decals so the India-specific Special Edition does look different compared to the international version of the Tuono 457.
Aprilia Tuono 457 vs Tuono 457 Special Edition: Comfort
Seat, handlebar, and suspension all see upgrades
Starting off with changes that are visible, Aprilia has updated the Tuono 457’s seat to be slightly different now from the RS 457. Although the main difference is the extra padding, the seat profile has been slightly changed too to make sure longer stints are more comfortable. It results in the Special Edition having a 10mm taller seat height at 810mm, but we don’t expect anyone to complain about that. The next change is to the handlebar that now gets a 10mm taller riser even though the bar itself is unchanged. Lastly, there’s a standard flyscreen above the headlight, but we’d chalk that as strictly an aesthetical improvement. Finally, the brake lever is now adjustable though the clutch lever remains non-adjustable.
The changes that won’t be visible are to the suspension. At launch, the Tuono appeared to share the exact same suspension setup as the RS 457, which was jostling to most, literally and figuratively. On the Special Edition, Aprilia has made the front suspension softer on both damping and spring preload. While the rear has a softer compression damping and spring preload; rebound damping remains where it was earlier.
Aprilia Tuono 457 vs Tuono 457 Special Edition: Price
Costs Rs 2,000 extra now
With all the upgrades, Aprilia has priced the Tuono 457 Special Edition at Rs 3.99 lakh (ex-showroom), a Rs 2,000 increase from before. Despite the name, this is the only Tuono you can buy in India now so if you were a fan of the earlier Tuono, tough luck.
Aprilia Tuono 457 vs Tuono 457 Special Edition: What did not change
Engine, chassis, and most features
The Tuono 457’s engine immediately became a favourite at launch so Aprilia has not changed that in any way. The Special Edition retains the 457cc twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine with a parallel twin configuration. No changes to the performance figures either with the power (47.6hp) and (43.5Nm) torque remaining exactly the same.
Like we mentioned at the beginning, the list of upgrades on the Tuono 457 Special Edition isn’t long. However, most of them make a meaningful difference to how the motorcycle is to ride which is what Aprilia seems to have wanted. It remains to be seen whether these changes will help make the Tuono any more popular than before.
Vishal Venugopal
Autocar India News Desk
Rishaad Mody
Dinshaw Magol
