THE middle-weight motorcycle sector looks set to get two very serious shots in the arm in the form of the new Aprilia RS660 and its naked sibling the Tuono 660.
While we’ve known about the mid-size naked for some time now, Aprilia wheeled the machine on stage at the EICMA show in November last year, further details and specs of the bike have remained sparse.
Now we are hearing reports that the bike will feature an engine only detuned by a few BHP when compared to it’s fully-faired stablemate, meaning the slinky looking naked will produce around 95hp – compared to the RS660’s 100hp.
From their the bike follows the Tuono tradition of keeping the chassis and running gear as closely related to the sports bike it is drawn from as possible. Same suspension, frame, brakes and swingarm are all used. With the new naked’s top fairing also aping that of the RS660 and its bigger brother the RSV4.
As the new details emerge regarding the power output of the bike, it’s also fairly safe to assume that the new bike will feature the same levels of electronics and modes as the RS660, surely making it one of the most advanced mid-weight nakeds currently available.
Aprilia Tuono 660 electronics
The RS660 is blessed with an electronics package that is normally the reserve of the £20k+ sports bikes, including cornering ABS, traction control, wheelie control, up and down quick-shifter, engine braking control, three road riding modes, two track riding modes and cruise control.
The Aprilia RS660 is slated to land in the final quarter of 2020, and if the COVID-19 situation changes it’s likely that this will still be the launch date of the new machine. With that in mind, we don’t expect to see the new Tuono until the spring 2020 and no pricing for this bike has yet been announced.
