2022 Aprilia RS 660 review

Fours are falling by the wayside in the middleweight sports sector, and twins are in. We ride the most sophisticated of the lot, Aprilia’s RS 660.

Changes have been afoot for some time in the middleweight sector. Supersport machines, i.e., four-cylinder 600cc sports style road bikes, are on the wane. These tricked-out track-oriented machines have become almost as expensive to produce as superbikes so most pony up for the big dogs. Or not bother with either, and buy a more comfy adventure bike instead!

But that’s not the only reason for the demise of the supersport class. 

There’s now much more choice down below (400cc and 500cc twins) and there’s a maze of 750-900cc machines, twins and triples. Moreover, the introduction of cheaper middleweight twins around the 660cc mark, such as the wildly successful MT-07 from Yamaha, has further dented supersport fortunes.  The nail in the coffin is the GP racing class. Moto2, the MotoGP feeder class, stopped using the Honda 600cc four-pot engine and moved to Triumph’s 765cc three-cylinder donk. So the Japanese bike manufacturers could see the writing on the wall. 

Fear not lovers of middle-sized sports machinery, however, for Aprilia and Yamaha have new models that would seem to be the vanguard of the modern supersport generation. 

Aprilia got the jump on everyone else by producing a full-sports 660cc parallel twin that comes with all of the safety items you’d expect on something exotic like its big sib, the RSV4. Of note, the RS 660 essentially uses half of the RSV4’s 1100 engine, with bore the same and stroke stretched. Which makes a fair amount of sense in that modular, cost-cutting way.

Tricked out 

Where most of the machinery available in the 660cc sector comes primarily with LAMS legal output, the RS 660 is a full-fat version, although a learner variant is evidently in the wings. There’s also a naked Tuono version of the 660, just like there’s a supernaked version of the 1100 superbike. This baby Tuono also has the full Aprilia safety suite so isn’t that much less expensive; the RS 660 costs a gourmet burger less than $20k, while the Tuono variant is closer to $19k. 

It’s notable that this is an RS model, because we’d just hopped off Triumph’s Speed Triple 1200 RS and kind of wondered how this might compare, even though that’s an upright supernaked, the Aprilia a sportier, faired machine. 

But both feature state-of-the-art engines, all the safety shizzle and lightweighting for added performance. Where the Triumph just undercuts the 200kg mark, the RS660 is lighter, Aprilia claiming a ready-to-ride weight of 185kg and it certainly feels that way when you first jump aboard. Insert key, thumb starter and it’s not as big or lairy sounding as the 1200cc RS, but then it’s a twin innit? However, this thing inhales air like it’s devouring dinner on a wide open throttle and in Dynamic ride mode it sounds rabid, feral. 

From go to whoa

The engine manages 75kW or 100 horses in old change, with 66Nm of torque delivered at 8500rpm. It feels uncorked by the time it sweeps past the 4000rpm mark, and fizzing by 6000rpm. From there it goes rollicking to the redline at 11,500rpm. 

But like all good modern parallel twins, this has muscular midrange, pulling well in top from about 80km/h, even up quite steep hills and it just doesn’t care, which benefits fuel use too. Achieving as low as 4L/100km is easy and even ridden with verve around 5L/100km is possible. The RS 1200 certainly imbibes more deeply than this, like you’d expect. 

This is stupid quick for a 660 twin. Fact is, there’s not a parallel twin below 1L that can run with it. Think supersport 600 acceleration levels. Try 0-100 in 3.5sec. Only a few 800 twins scrape under 4sec for this test. 

It’s the same story with the overtake, its best of 1.56sec being in 600cc four-cylinder territory. Bear in mind also that both of these tests require an upshift, whereas the bigger, revvier four-cylinder bikes get it all done in one gear alone. 

This bike then is in new territory for there’s not really any opposition. The Yamaha R7 hasn’t come to market yet. The closest real world rival is Yamaha’s MT-07 HO, a full half second adrift of the RS660 on both of our performance criteria.

Fully loaded

The RS is not just quick but also loaded with kit. There are three ride modes, Individual which you can mess with easily enough, Dynamic which is quite abrupt but appropriately so, and a Rain one for days you’d rather forget. There’s the APRC safety nets too, meaning cornering ABS and cornering TC, along with engine brake control, and wheelie control. Rear wheel lift mitigation would be handy because it is prone to the odd rise under heavy braking, which makes emergency stops sometimes lairy affairs. The radial discs are Brembos but a level down from the Stylemas. They’re still good and have an adjustable lever. We ended up with a 40m best stoppie. It would have been even better had not the rear wheel kept waving around in the wind. 

All of these figures, by the by, just saying, are only a whisker behind those of the Speed Triple RS, which just goes to show the importance of power to weight and grounding that power effectively (the 1200 RS waves the other end around in the air). 

Compared with the Triumph you get almost as much kit, for there’s cruise control, a TFT dash, and quickshifter up and down. No Ohlins for the 660 but the fully adjustable Kayaba forks and shock adjustable for preload and rebound do a most effective job. They also produce a cushier ride which you’d not necessarily expect of an Italian sportbike offering. In dips and over bumps you can sense the suspension rising and falling as it should, where the Ohlins is a bit sterner. However, the riding position is less comfortable as this has clip-ons compared with the Triumph’s higher bars. However, it’s not extreme, for there’s a slight rise above the triple clamp, and the pegs aren’t set too high.

Turn it up 

What’s especially fun about this is how it carves up corners, its Diablo Rosso Corsa rubber keeping everything on line, on track. There’s not the bar leverage of the Speed but it’s every bit as effective in the twisty stuff, more so because it flicks from one side to the other more easily. This would be super fun on track where it had clearly been before I rode it. It’s amongst the coolest, safest handlers I’ve been on this year and you keep underestimating just how competent it is.

If I had to make a choice between this and the Triumph RS, we’d go for neither. Instead, we’d opt for the Tuono version of the 660 which has just gone on sale here. That’s a naked (but still modestly faired) and more upright version of the RS 660, with the same kit otherwise. It’s better then for a mix of commuting and weekend riding. Not as ornery as the Speed Triple, and sure it’s ‘only’ a twin but at $11k less, it’s a compromise worth considering. 

Lest we forget, Yamaha has its incoming R7 rival. They’re similar in theory, but the Yamaha gets 27hp less and, ABS aside, no safety electronics. However, it will also sell much closer to $15k than $20k. By all accounts it’s a bit softer in its suspension set-up too, though the riding position is a bit more prone. We can’t wait to check this one out either.