Aprilia’s 660 series of sportbikes/naked bikes are its biggest news in the past couple of years, and for 2022, we’re seeing special editions of both the RS660 sportbike and Tuono 660 naked.
Tuono 660 Factory Edition
Aprilia’s hot new middleweight naked bike may be an entry into motorcycling’s “value menu,” but it’s still the tastiest treat available here, with plenty of ideas lifted off the Tuono V4 series.
The Factory Edition gets the same engine and frame as the standard model. The main difference is the fully-adjustable suspension (forks from Kayaba, and a Sachs shock).
Instead of trying to get more horsepower out of the engine, Tuono went down a tooth on the front sprocket, meaning the engine will feel like it has more low-end grunt. There’s a new lithium-ion battery, which cuts about 2 kg weight, and that means better power-to-weight ratio. There’s a single-seat setup (the rear cowling can be removed and replaced with a two-up seat arrangement, which is included, along with passenger pegs). And, the Factory Edition comes with Aprilia’s APRC electronics suite, including a multi-map cornering ABS system, which constantly adjusts the anti-lock function as the bike’s velocity changes through the corner.
We have not seen a Canadian MSRP or availability date for this machine, but we expect it sometime in 2022.
RS660 Limited Edition
Aprilia’s RS660 cleaned up in MotoAmerica’s Twins series last summer, and this bike celebrates that domination with a stars-and-stripes paint job. There’s also a race-style fairing, a single-seat tail (which can be re-configured to carry a pillion with included parts), and a limited-edition numbering, since only 1,500 will be made.
The gearbox can be electronically reconfigured to run either in standard road configuration, or reverse for track configuration. Very cool, but probably not a feature street riders are demanding, and since there’s currently no CSBK class for this machine, it’s hard to say how much demand there will be in Canada. Will it be here for 2022? It seems less likely than the Tuono 660 Factory Edition.
