For the time being, Aprilla has a gaping hole in its portfolio between its locally-manufactured scooters and the imported premium bikes which increase the cost of bikes for costumer. So, the retail of Aprilla is minimal numbers in India.
Now, Aprilla has plan to manufacture its motorcycles in India, as Harley Davidson and Triumph are doing.
No details were revealed about the engine but there are speculations that this bike will get a 300-400cc engine, a source informs us that it will in fact use a parallel-twin that displaces 440cc. Parallel-twin Engine in 4440 cc motorcycles is not common, The engine casing visible here is very similar to that of the bigger motor on the Aprilia RS 660 and Tuono 660, and we have learned that the engine on the RS 440 (and on future derivatives) will be a reworked, smaller-capacity parallel-twin unit that will displace roughly 440cc.
Its looks like siblings of Aprilla 660. Fairing is aggressive and we can see multiple cuts in it for airflow. It looks like it has a perimeter frame and it might get contrasting paint to accentuate. In this case, silver. The front fascia is likely to feature twin headlight design and there is an underbelly exhaust instead of a side-slung unit. All these attributes scream RS 660.
Aprilla price and expected launch
Now The Aprilia RS 440 will be manufactured in India at Piaggio’s plant in Baramati, outside Pune which will impact huge in reduction, no import duty. We are given to understand that the bike could be launched in India in the next 18 months. When it does, expect it to carry a significant premium over the Rs 3.16 lakh KTM RC 390 and in fact, its pricing will probably be closer to the Rs 5.14 lakh Kawasaki Ninja 400, but hopefully not too close.
In due course, the RS 440 is likely to be joined by a Tuono naked and perhaps even a Tuareg ADV, just as we’ve seen on the larger 660 platform.