Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report

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Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report

17th photos

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

1/17
The new Aprilia RS 660 generated a lot of enthusiasm when it was first presented. Now we were allowed to drive it for the first time.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

2/17
The Aprilia RS 660 presents itself as compact and yet extremely grown-up when you first drive.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

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A worthy successor to the super athletes of the 1990s.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

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The tuning of the row win is very successful, the sound sounds like V.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

5/17
The cast aluminum swing arm and the silencer, which sits under sheet aluminum, look high-quality.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

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The riding modes can be customized using the switches on the left side of the handlebar.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

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MOTORRAD was able to test two pre-production models exclusively in Italy.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

8/17
The TFT display provides an overview of everyday data, but also of lap times.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

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The Kayaba shock absorber is directly hinged but works well.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

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The beautifully drawn rear should also be available as a single seat in the accessories program.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

11/17
The model name can be seen in several places on the bike.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

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The stub handlebars, which are slightly upwards, offer enough comfort for everyday use if you have sporty ambitions.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

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According to Aprilia, the RS 660 should weigh 169 kilograms dry.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

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16 liters fit into the tank.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

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The engine develops 100 hp at 10,500 rpm.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

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Aprilia did not officially comment on the exact price during the driving presentation.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report
Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

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However, it should level off between 11,000 and 12,000 euros.

Aprilia RS 660 in the driving report

First ride with the new super sports car

Compact, light, lively and enough steam for sporty country road turns. Sounds like the good old 600s from the 1990s? That’s right, but that can also be done modernly. Aprilia has reinvented this with the RS 660.

The truck queues northeast of Noale have finally cleared. We poked around for almost an hour in the heavy rush hour here in the Veneto region, fighting our way through countless towns with red lights and overcrowded roundabouts. But that too is part of everyday motorcycle life and is insightful for testers in the saddle of a new machine. Especially with the RS 660. After all, the engineers and product managers at A.prilia her youngest baby as a mixture of everyday life, a sporty country road sweeper and now and then a trackday bike. Everyday life on two wheels also means traffic jams, slow mode, a lot of coupling, shifting, braking, accelerating, accelerating. Superbikes and power nakeds hate that. They want to be let off the leash and like to acknowledge commuting with rough responsiveness at low revs, rough engine running, enormous heat radiation from the drive and so on – in other words: It sucks.

Motor deserves great recognition

The Aprilia 660, on the other hand, passed this test with flying colors. The completely redesigned two-cylinder in-line purrs along, swims with the column even in fourth gear at just over 2,000 rpm and takes on the gas with noticeably gentle gas. A lot of the nominal maximum torque of 67 Nm seems to be available in the lower speed regions. Every turn of the throttle brings immediate propulsion. The engine has character, suggests something of the Aprilia V4 DNA through the crank pin offset of 270 degrees and sounds grown-up without being in the foreground. Even motorcycle haters with built-in noise level sensors should be able to deal with it. The engine deserves great recognition and one looks in vain for comparison possibilities.


Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

The price of the Aprilia RS 660 should settle between 11,000 and 12,000 euros.

So everything relaxed. Which is what the handlebar stubs, which are pulled upwards, take care of. Paired with the footrests and the bench, the result is a driver’s position that is definitely sporty, but does not subdue the wrists or knees in gliding mode. That then reminds of the Ducati Supersport. So everyday test mastered surprisingly confidently, but now the mountains beckon. All of a sudden the strolling file turns into a fun rocket. To do this, step the blipper down a gear, raise the speed above 6,000 rpm and enjoy. The twin loves speed. Indeed, he’s very athletic. Up to well over 10,500 / min it keeps on increasing, only at 11,500 / min does the limiter put an end to the matter.

100 hp ensure a lot of driving pleasure

The RS 660 impressively underlines that 100 HP of peak power is completely sufficient even for the sharp pace on the country road. Especially when they are served by the drive and are then also stuck in such a chassis. With all the experience from 54 world championship titles and with the certainty of being at the forefront of the chassis when it comes to the big sports models, the Aprilia developers have provided the RS 660 with a wonderfully agile and at the same time neutral and stable chassis. Up the serpentines, the RS underlines every aspect: stable on the superbly adjustable Brembo brakes before the curve, then turn in playfully, precisely on the targeted line and out again powerfully with a stable hindquarters – country road sport in the best sense of the word. What a sweeper!


Aprilia (Alberto Cervetti).

The new RS 660 masters the balancing act between everyday motorcycle and athlete with flying colors.

The damper set-up also seems to be well done. Kayaba components are characterized by the balancing act of sufficient comfort and sporty toughness. Despite the directly hinged strut, the RS mastered bumpy alpine asphalt without kicking the driver. The vote of the USD fork also fit into the picture. However, the test bike was not yet in production status. Individual plastic parts were custom-made, molds for the production phase that was now starting were still in the making. The electronics were also still in pre-production. Except the driving mode "Dynamic", which we only used and which will stay that way for homologation. That is reassuring, because from the throttle response to the provision of power through the rev range, the performance was simply perfect for every purpose.

Production model gets updates

Another four modes are supposed to "Dynamic" until they are ready for series production, including one for trips to the racetrack and also freely programmable in individual parameters. Then everything can be individually coordinated, from wheelie control to a modular ABS to traction control. None of this was yet available to us. But in series production, the RS 660 will get an electronics package that is even more modern than the one in the current Aprilia Superbike. But is that even necessary with a 100 hp bike? We asked the Aprilians. "As a sales argument, especially for those who have climbed up from the 125s to superbikes, for example", replied product manager Diego Arioli. When we warned that such a complex technology would also drive up the total price, they just shook their heads in Noale. The electronics accounted for a maximum of ten percent of the total development costs for the RS 660, as Aprilia had long since had the know-how about racing in-house. So you can keep the price for the RS 660 correspondingly low. The target is between 11,000 and 12,000 euros.

Conclusion

The RS 660 has become a very good motorcycle. The people at Aprilia deserve a thank you for how they managed the balancing act between everyday motorcycle and athlete. Once upon a time, there was the 600 class with the almost 100 hp four-cylinder from Japan for motorcyclists who are enthusiastic about sports on country roads. Since these mutated into barrel organs for the racetrack, such contemporaries only had the step to the superbikes with mega performance or naked bikes of the upper middle class. With the RS 660, the fun-loving country road athletes are back – that’s a good thing!

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