Rough around the edges
The Aprilia RS660 is great to ride – but some finishes could be better
I am mechanically inept. I can use hammers and spanners, but feel a sense of pride when I operate an Allen key without rounding anything off. You can imagine my delight then, that after a year with the Aprilia RS660 in the garage, the only times I had to pick up a tool was to adjust the chain a fraction twice in 6000 miles of riding.
I’d been told plenty of horror stories about Aprilia reliability in the past and was slightly nervous that I’d be spending 2021 waiting for breakdown vans and cursing faults in the garage. But I needn’t have worried. Our time together was near faultless.
It started on the button every time and all the electronic gizmos worked all year long. In fact, it’s been one of the most reliable long-term test bikes I’ve been fortunate enough to run.
Other 660 machines were subject to engine recalls for issues like faulty conrods, but this particular bike soldiered on good as gold. I genuinely loved it (and I still do...) but I’d be lying if I said all the trim lived up to its £10,150 price.
The main area of concern surrounds the rear of the petrol tank, where the purple plastic finish meets the saddle. The finish is very thin and scratches easily against the zip of your jacket and rucksack straps.
It’s not the end of the world, but once it’s there, you can’t help but notice it. What’s more, the optional Aprilia tank pad won’t fix it either – leaving a large gap in the centre of the design that’s open to scuffs.
And then there’s the swingarm. Rather than heel plates as standard, the RS gets a clear plastic strip stuck onto the swingarm to deal with your boot rubbing. It does an OK job of this but wears away over time.
By the time the Devitt MCN Festival rolled around in September, the plastic strip was starting to break up on the right-hand-side and by the time visitors had stopped getting on and off the bike at the end of the two-day celebration, there was a big hole right through the middle. Annoying.
Sadly, this isn’t the end of my criticism and after spending a year telling anyone who would listen just how mechanically sound it was, the parallel-twin engine developed a slight oil weep two days before it was to be returned to Aprilia.
Once returned, it was given a service, with the firm saying it would be a very easy fix in a local garage or Aprilia dealership.
LIKES
● Full electronic suite
DISLIKES
● Finish could be better
‘The optional tank pad can’t stop the scuffs’