More details of Aprilia RS660 emerge through new spy shots
The Aprilia RS660 sports motorcycle has been spotted testing again raising more interesting questions
THE latest mid-weight sports motorcycle from Aprilia has been spotted undergoing testing again, and now we have more questions about the RS660 than we did before.
The Aprilia RS660 seems to be Aprilia’s worst-kept new bike secret. Either that or they actually aren’t that bother about us seeing how the development process is coming along!
Either way, the pint-sized RSV has been spotted undergoing testing again, although this time the pictures are clearer and show us details about the bike we hadn’t seen or noticed before.
To start with, the bike on the left in the picture above is wearing an unusual cyclops headlight, mounted dead centre in the middle of the fairing. As the small (possibly LED) unit hasn’t been spotted on any of the other pre-production machines, it isn’t clear if it for regulatory purposes or as a genuine inclusion on the bike that will carry over onto production machines.
The most likely answer is that the bike being tested is for a market outside Italy, the UK perhaps. With the RS660’s headlights being set for a market where people ride on the left, the little light could be there to correct this and make it legal for use on Italian roads.
Next up are the indicators of the machine, which are again different across the two models we can see. The bike on the left has them mounted in the rear-view mirrors, a mounting point that’s become de rigueur over the last decade or so. The bike on the left though doesn’t seem to share the same mounting position – either that or they are blanked off out of view for some reason. Again, it could be a regulatory thing, or it could be that there is a base version and a premium model of the bike - with the premium featuring the in-indicator blinkers.
The picture is also the first time the bike has been spotted in two-seater form, with the rest of pictures of the bike being in monoposto guise. With both the seat and pegs in place, the RS660 looks to have a fairly secure and comfortable pillion perch, with a wide and contoured seat. The footpegs too look nicely positioned and should keep the pillions knees out of the face while hanging on!
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
