If any company was unlikely to create a race-winning off-road bike on their first try, you’d think it would be Aprilia. The Italian company has made a lot of high-performance roadracing machines over the years, but they are not known for their dirt prowess. But they have been winning races this year, a lot of them, thanks to their new Tuareg 660 adventure bike, and now that race experience is trickling down to the market, with a new Rally model.
Italian off-road ace Jacopo Cerutti has been running rally raids aboard the Tuareg 660 for the past couple of years, working with the GCORSE race team to dial in desert-winning performances. After winning the Africa Eco Race—which runs the same basic route the old, original Dakar Rally ran, through Africa—Cerutti was asked to apply what he’d learned, helping the Aprilia crew design an improved factory-available model with better performance.
“My experience has been particularly useful in providing feedback on the electronics, leading to the creation of a new engine map that delivers quicker and more decisive throttle response, and in the chassis adjustments, with a fork that offers better support and a shock absorber that absorbs potholes at speed more effectively, improving the bike’s overall stability,” Cerutti said at the new machine’s launch. The end result? A bike that is very close to an actual rally-raid racer, one that you can tackle the dunes with right out of the box. Well, maybe after a tire change.
Aprilia gave the bike a tall-mount front fender, a tough aluminum skidplate, metal-reinforced handguards, a taller seat and handlebar, a new chain guard, and new Ergal rims. The Kayaba suspension is re-worked to offer better control while off-roading and also increasing travel. There’s a new, large sidestand foot so your bike doesn’t sink into the ground; a new titanium muffler (from SC Project), with fueling adjusted to match; and of course, bold new graphics.
All the changes cut 5 kilos off the curb weight, down to 438 pounds.
We’re sure the new machine will eventually make it to Canada, but it usually takes a while for Piaggio Group’s bikes to cross the ocean. If you want one, you’ll probably have a chance to buy one, but you might have to be patient. It’s a machine that does appear to be worth the wait, though.
