Want and Need — the two voices that keep tugging at your brain every time you decide to put your money on a motorcycle — have never really been good friends. Want will lure you with the desire for sharp fairing that makes the bike look fast even while parked, the crouched racer-boy riding posture that will turn your life exciting and handling so sharp that you can dodge all of your life’s problems. But Need? It’ll remind you that roads have potholes, traffic exists and backs eventually complain.
Somewhere between the two sits the Aprilia Tuono 457. It has the same mischievous heart as the RS 457, but wraps it in a package that asks rather less of its rider. Now, as the Tuono 457 Special Edition, it gets a handful of seemingly small changes — the sort that won’t make for dramatic headlines, but might matter rather more once you’re in the saddle. And that makes this an interesting question — when a motorcycle is already good at what it does, how much difference can a few small changes really make?
I have always liked the Tuono 457. There was very little about the motorcycle itself that I thought needed fixing. But after a few longer rides on the original, two things consistently got under my skin: the firm suspension and the distance between the seat and footpegs. Neither was enough to stop me from enjoying the bike, but both eventually made themselves known. After an hour or so, I’d find myself stretching my legs or shifting around on the seat before getting back to exploiting that wonderful 457cc engine and sharp chassis.
The Special Edition made me realise just how much those little irritations had been holding me back. It didn’t happen immediately. For the first few kilometres, the SE simply felt familiar. The 10mm taller handlebar and better-padded seat didn’t announce themselves as some great ergonomic revelation. But an hour later, I realised I hadn’t once needed to stretch my legs or rearrange myself on the bike. I was still sitting comfortably, still alert and, more importantly, still interested in finding another corner. That’s a fairly significant improvement disguised as a fairly insignificant spec-sheet change.
I also found the new riding position surprisingly easy to adapt to. The Tuono now feels considerably more accommodating for taller riders, but Aprilia hasn’t turned it into a motorcycle that smaller riders will struggle with. What I particularly like is that the extra room hasn’t diluted the connection with the chassis. When I started pushing harder and hanging off through corners, it still felt natural. The bike continued to encourage me to ride it like the hooligan it clearly wants to be.
Then I hit some bad tarmac. The roads around Baramati and its outskirts are, rather surprisingly, brilliant, so I didn’t get a huge opportunity to properly abuse the suspension. But the rough patches I did encounter were enough to show just how much work Aprilia has done. The revised spring rate in the USD fork gives the front end a much more composed response, while the updated monoshock no longer feels like it’s forwarding every sharp edge directly to my spine. On the old bike, a nasty bump could interrupt the flow of a fast ride. On the SE, I found myself riding through those imperfections rather than preparing for them.
That does come with a slight compromise, though. Having ridden the original Tuono, I could feel that some of its edge has been softened. The taller handlebar combined with the softer suspension makes the front feel a little floatier on fast straights beyond 160 kph. When I really leaned into a corner, there was also slightly less feedback coming through the front than I remember from the older bike. It isn’t a problem unless you’re deliberately chasing the limits, but I could feel the difference. The original had a slightly more focussed, almost aggressive feel; the SE is happier to work with you. And honestly, I prefer the latter, because when I wasn’t trying to find the absolute limit, the SE was an absolute riot.
The 457cc parallel-twin remains one of the finest performance engines to come out of an Indian factory. I’ve always loved it, but riding it here reminded me why. It is perfectly happy sitting a gear or two higher when you aren’t in a hurry, yet the moment I cracked open the throttle, it woke up with the sort of urgency that makes you question why you were ever riding slowly. The torque band is thick enough to make overtaking almost effortless, triple-digit speeds arrive in what feels like a few seconds, and then it just keeps going.
I could sit at those speeds all day, although the new flyscreen can only do so much. It adds some welcome protection and makes the Tuono look even more purposeful, but wind-blast eventually reminds you that this is still a naked motorcycle. Personally, I think that’s part of the charm. If you wanted to sit behind a fairing and make the wind disappear, there’s another 457 in the showroom.
What I did wish Aprilia had addressed was the vibration through the footpegs. It’s still there, and the Special Edition seemed like the perfect opportunity to iron that out. Similarly, the sintered brake pads and quickshifter would have been cherry on this Italian cake. The former costs Rs 8,620 and the latter ₹18,898 as accessories, so neither is exactly an impulse purchase. But then I look at what Aprilia has actually added to the SE — revised suspension, taller handlebar, better seat, adjustable brake lever, flyscreen and those new colours — and the ₹4,000 increase over the standard bike looks rather sensible.
That’s what surprised me most about the Tuono 457 Special Edition. I went into this expecting to find a slightly tweaked version of a motorcycle I already liked. Instead, I found that the things Aprilia changed were precisely the things that had stopped me from fully exploiting everything I liked about it. I still want the sharp handling. that engine and the head-turning looks. But now I can enjoy them without having to negotiate with my legs, my back or a large pothole. The old Tuono 457 satisfied the Want. The Special Edition makes a much stronger case for the Need. Perhaps the best thing I can say about it is that, after handing back the keys, I was already looking for an excuse to go riding again.
