FIRST RIDE: APRILIA RS660
Every inch a mini superbike, and comfy too.
The more we heard about Aprilia’s new RS 660 the more we hoped for an Italian Kawasaki Ninja 650 and £8000-9000 rung out at the till. However… At £10,150 Aprilia’s new
RS 660 straddles the ten grand marker, and that puts people off – £9999 is always better than £10,001. But when you look at what you get for your money and start totting it up the RS 660 starts to look like a good thing. Especially when you consider that it is less than half the price of an RSV4 1100 V4 Factory, but it does exactly the same job on the road and it is comfier, and it is easy to manage. So, that’s a half-price superbike then…
Well it’s certainly equipped like a superbike costing double the money with its full spread of Aprilia’s powerful newgeneration electronic rider aids, an up/down quickshifter, cruise control, colour dash, light-sensitive LED headlights, self-cancelling indicators, Brembos, fully adjustable suspension and Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa II rubber. It’s also built with the same handling know how the Noale factory used to make the RSV4 and Tuono such demons in corners. And then there’s the look. Racy scoops, curvy doubleskinned fairing lowers that help draw out engine heat to keep the rider cool and tasty paint jobs including a racy blue and red (like the old Reggiani-replica RS250 and RSV Mille) and ‘acid gold’, which is like a high-viz Guzzi green. Powered by a new 659cc, 99bhp, twin cylinder engine the RS 660 is Aprilia’s first proper new bike in years and it plugs a huge gap in their mid-range that would make an EXUP valve proud. It’s also unique in the sportsbike world by being a performance bike you can comfortably spend time with away from a racetrack.
This is because it is both fast and light with a spacious riding position that’s more soft-middleweight than supersport. Just like Kawasaki’s Ninja 650, Honda’s CBR650R and Ducati’s Supersport. But the RS 660 is way more exciting than these three – a motorcycle that is all about bends and accelerating up to the ton. And it does it without willywaving dyno figures and meaningless top speed.
That riding position is the thing that makes you go ‘ooh’ when you first jump on. No-one has ever really done the bleedin’ obvious and made a sportsbike for normal-sized people, least ways one that doesn’t have watered-down performance. But they do now. The RS 660 is no sit-up-andbegger, but the pegs are low for a sportsbike (but not to the detriment of ground clearance), the seat is nicely padded and wrists and arms will appreciate the wide, roomy bars. Life is made easier still by decent mirrors, a light throttle and clutch, slick gearbox, a screen that’s high enough to keep the wind off taller riders and a seat that’s low enough for more modest statures.
Speed heads may be underwhelmed by the RS’S claimed 99bhp. However, it has a higher power-to-weight ratio than the original RSV Mille superbike, based on Aprilia’s figures. So the reality is that it never feels lacking on the road. And while you may have to work it harder and maintain momentum to hang with more powerful modern bikes, this makes the whole experience more engaging anyway. Because the Aprilia isn’t spilling over with power it is less tiring to spend time with and the perfect choice for new sportsbike fans who might be put off by a savage superbike. Low-speed manners are peachy with perfect throttle response and enough grunt to accelerate cleanly from 4000rpm in top. At low revs the RS 660 sounds like a droney Moto3 bike, but its exhaust note and airbox growl sharpen into the hard-edged raw of a big V-twin when you pile on the revs. In brain-out mode the Aprilia hits hard enough to really make you sit up and take notice and flat out we wouldn’t be surprised if it trotted past 140mph.
Despite being fast when it wants to be engine performance doesn’t dominate the handling, so there’s never the fear of
‘No-one has ever done the obvious and made a sportsbike for normal-sized people’
‘There’s nothing the RS 660 loves more than pinballing through corners and feeling every inch the mini-rsv4’
it turning itself inside out under hard acceleration. There’s nothing the RS 660 loves more than pinballing through corners and feeling every inch the mini-rsv4, but it’s so enjoyable because it’s easier, more forgiving and flattering than an uber-powerful, ultra-stiff framed superbike.
At the pointy end there’s lots of feel, a nice balance and sweet steering. It’s always stable and grip is never in question thanks to quality Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa II tyres. Then there are the brakes which provide both incredible power and feel without being overly brutal. And there’s never a hint of unwanted ABS intrusion either, a trick some of the Japanese sportsbike manufacturers still haven’t mastered. Over in the cynical marketing corner Aprilia will need somewhere to go with an inevitable Öhlins-clad Factory version so the suspension isn’t top drawer or the last word in plushness, but it is fully adjustable. The rear shock is particularly softly sprung but it’s what gives the RS 660 its friendly feel and comfortable ride.
Friendlier still are the new electronics, which are smoother and more adjustable than the RSV4’S and Tuono’s. Whether you actually need them on a modestly powered bike like this with lots of grip is debatable. On the one hand the first thing just about all the testers did here at the launch was to dive into the menu settings to turn the power up, traction down, wheelie control off and set the ABS to its minimum. Skids and wheelies followed soon after. But you can bet your bottom dollar everyone would be secretly changing everything back again if the heavens opened.
For the less experienced having traction control, antiwheelie and the ability to take the edge off the power is no bad thing and cornering ABS can be a life-saver for everyone. None of the RS 660’s rider aids ever get in the way of your riding pleasure or rob you of control, they’re simply waiting in the background. Just. In. Case.
‘Perfect for those who don’t want to be crunched-up on a race rep’
Some of its electronics are useful, though. The quickshifter and auto-blipping throttle work beautifully short-shifting or banging through the gears and cruise control is never a bad thing when average speed cameras lurk. Then there’s the light sensitive, Bluetooth-enabled colour TFT display with Road and Track displays and the fuel gauge Aprilia fans have been crying out for. Everything about the RS 660 is pretty much bang-on, but its left switchgear block is an eyesore in a sea of elegance and it’s too easy to knock the high/low beam switch with your left hand. During the launch some of the pre-production test bikes had starting problems, causing engine warning lights to come on, but Aprilia say they were software glitches that’ll be sorted by the time bikes hit dealers.
Aprilia have produced a full range of performance, touring and cosmetic accessories from a full Akrapovic exhaust system (the growing anti noisy-motorcycle lobby will be pleased), single seat cowl, aluminium levers, carbon number plate holder, wheel stickers, luggage and the software to activate a pitlane limiter and a race pattern gear shift. When you consider the RS 660 is fast, exciting, handles like a superbike, isn’t short on tech and looks the part, its £10k price tag doesn’t seem all that unreasonable. It’s a sportsbike you can actually live with and get the most out of on the road, which is the rarest thing. It’s the perfect go-to for new riders stepping up and for those who still pine for the thrill of a sportsbike who don’t want to be crunched-up, half-scared on a full-on race rep. Aprilia have got the RS 660 very right.