Aprilia RS 457 which was unveiled in India two months ago as a sub-500cc bike with the RS tag has its price revealed for the US markets along with the Ninja 400, which also lets us guess the price tag the RS 457 will sport once it goes on sale in India.
Will the Aprilia RS 457 be overpriced in India?
US pricing for the RS 457 starts at $6799 (Rs 5.66 lakh) for Opalescent Light Color and Prismatic Dark schemes, while the Racing Stripes variant comes in at $6899 (Rs 5.75 lakh). Now these numbers may seem expensive for a sub-500cc parallel-twin sportbike, even for a premium brand like Aprilia. But don’t worry because this won’t be the case in India.
The RS 457 is being manufactured in India itself at Aprilia’s Baramati Plant and as a result, it will cost considerably less than it is in the US market. Moreover, the situation is very similar to KTM RC 390, which is built in Bajaj in the Chakan plant and is exported all over the world.
Now, when we compare both bikes, the RC 390 costs $6474 (Rs 5.39 lakh) in the US while it is available at a more affordable rate in India at Rs 3.18 lakh. This also means that the Aprilia is just $325 (Rs 27,000) more expensive than the KTM despite having a higher displacement, an extra-cylinder and a better market reputation (debatable).
But don’t jump up and down from happiness since the RS 457 will certainly carry a premium over the RC 390 for the reasons mentioned above but the difference won’t be large and you could expect it to be around Rs 3.5 lakh, for which it’s well worth the price above the RC 390.
Aprilia RS 457 – A Quick Recap
Design-wise The RS 457 gives more of a “cute but deadly” vibe rather than straight-up aggressive and uses an aluminium perimeter frame similar to its bigger 660 sibling. The bike will weigh 175 kg when fully fueled up and will roll out with the TVS Eurogrip Protorq tyres which are a pretty solid match with the bike. Also, the clip-on handlebars are positioned above the fork clamp in such a way, that it demands a sporty posture but not too extreme so that’s some good news for the riders.
Coming to the powertrain, the RS 457 is powered by a 4-valve per cylinder, liquid-cooled, DOHC engine that uses a 270-degree crank which will ensure good refinement and a powerful exhaust note. Talking about power, the bike’s unit produces 48 hp which should be enough to leave behind most of your peers, considering they aren’t riding a bigger bike.
