Dirt an Trail July 2022

FOGLIO BIANCO
The Aprilia Tuareg 660
About a year ago, we did a story on the Aprilia RS 660 road bike in RideFast
Magazine. Back then we said that it would be quite something if Aprilia were
to fit that engine into an adventure bike. They have the tech and expertise,
you might remember the 1000 Capornord and before that, the Aprilia 650
Pegaso that was built in the same factory as BMW’s GS650, albeit on a
separate production line. Well, they listened.
It’s been a long time since Aprilia dabbled in this market, they must have a trend
department, because as the more traditional superbike market dwindles, the ADV
segment has remained quite solid. If the Tuareg is a sign of things to come, then
hopefully the motorcycle world is in for a few treats from this brand. Locally, stock
is very limited. Chatting to their marketing guys, lots were ordered and only a few
arrived. This is a theme with most importers at the moment. But… Luckily they did
turn one of the bikes into a demo so that customers can go and ride. If you are
interested in a mid-sized ADV then you absolutely should get down there for a
spin.
Amazingly, we were given the bike for four full days. We say amazingly, because
these days we are lucky to get a bike for anything longer than a day. Over those
four days, we racked up four hundred kilometers of tar and dirt. And by dirt, we
don’t mean just gravel roads. The secret to this bike is undoubtedly that sweet
parallel twin engine. It’s only a 660, but it produces torque and speed of a much
bigger machine. It’s a modified version of the engine in the RS 660 and Tuono
660 sportsbikes, and that engine is derived from the front cylinder bank of
the 1,099cc RSV4 superbike. The engine is tuned to supply a flatter, wider
powerband. It shares the 81mm bore from the RSV4 as well as the heads and
pistons from Aprilia’s proven World Superbike Championship engine. You need
to feel it to understand. They have given that mill four very simply actuated
rider modes, so you can make it as aggressive or as smooth as you like.
The electronic rider aids, which include cruise control as well as multiple
modes for throttle response, engine braking, ABS, and traction control.