Fully loaded: A2-ready Aprilia RS660 will have same high spec as standard bike

[R e i]

Aprilia have confirmed that their incoming RS660 will be available in an A2 licence compliant version. The claimed 95bhp iteration will be electronically restricted via the ECU and will still feature all the bells and whistles of the full fat bike. That means owners will get a TFT dash, KYB suspension, cruise control, two-way quickshifter, five rider modes and traction and wheelie control courtesy of a six-axis IMU. A2 licence holders can ride a bike up to around 47bhp or restrict a bike with around 94bhp. Since the standard version of the Aprilia is going to put out 100bhp, it wouldn’t qualify. The restrictable RS660 will face competition from bikes like the Honda CBR650R or Kawasaki Ninja 650 neither of which match the impressive spec of the Aprilia. Aprilia say the bike will be available at the same time as the standard RS660 towards the end of 2020, we're still waiting on a confirmation of price.At long last! Aprilia's RS660 to make May debut at Mugello First published 31 January 2020 by Dan Sutherland The much-anticipated Aprilia RS660 middleweight sportsbike will be seen in action for the first time at Mugello race circuit in May. The parallel-twin pocket rocket, which was first unveiled to the public at the Eicma tradeshow, in Milan, last year, will appear at the iconic Italian track on Saturday, May 9 as part of the free-to-attend Aprilia Festival. Now in its second year, event goers will be able to get up close with the new bike, as well as hear it running. There is also the potential for a number of demo laps ridden by either the current crop of Aprilia MotoGP stars, or a famous racer from Aprilia’s past; such as former 250GP and World Superbike champion, Max Biaggi. Also on show: Aprilia RS250SP.

Alongside the new RS660, fans will also get the chance to witness the inaugural outing of the new RS250SP - a lightweight race bike developed in conjunction with Aprilia Racing and Ohvale to help nurture the next generation of Italian racing talent. Featuring components from Brembo, Öhlins, SC Project and Marchesini, the new machine weighs 35kg less than a road-going four-stroke Aprilia RS125. It will compete in a new one-make series called the Italian FMI Aprilia Sport Production Championship. MCN first caught a first proper glimpse of the RS660 in early June 2019. Having first appeared as a concept at Eicma the previous year, new patent images appeared to reveal a lower-capacity fully-faired sportster, based on the firm’s V4-powered RSV4 superbike. There were then a number of teaser trailers, before the cover was lifted off the finished article last November. Powered by an eight-valve, parallel-twin engine, based on the front cylinder bank of the 1078cc V4 from the RSV4 1100, the 660 uses a 270˚ firing interval for V-twin-like sound and feel, like Yamaha’s MT-07, and makes 100bhp. MCN will be amongst the first in the world to sample the new machine, so keep an eye out for a full Aprilia RS660 review in the coming months. Aprilia RS660 rivals Producing 100bhp from its two-cylinder engine, the Aprilia sits in a sort of sportsbike no man's land - producing too much grunt to be A2 licence compliant and not enough punch to be considered a true supersport screamer. That means rivals are few and far between, with Honda's four-cylinder CBR650R posing the biggest threat. Producing a claimed 94bhp and taking styling cues from the now outgoing CBR1000RR Fireblade, like the Aprilia it offers a premium design with usable power and ergonomics. Which one will be top dog remains to be seen...

The 2020 Aprilia RS660 is the first of a new family of middleweights. These will be based on a fresh parallel-twin engine, and this is the first bike… Though clearly a sportsbike and designed with performance in mind, this isn’t a super-serious track tool like the RSV4. Instead, the RS660 is designed to ‘rediscover the pleasure and joy of everyday riding’ and be as much fun on the road as it will be on the occasional trackday. Its eight-valve, parallel-twin engine is based on the front cylinder bank of the 1078cc V4 from the RSV4 1100. It uses a 270˚ firing interval for V-twin-like sound and feel, like Yamaha’s MT-07, and makes 100bhp. The engine is a load-bearing part of the chassis and has the asymmetric aluminium swingarm hanging from its cases – the aluminium frame has no pivot plates. Forks are adjustable 41mm KYB, and the rear shock has a progressive action despite no linkage. Aprilia claim 169kg dry (11 less than an RSV4 RR). So far, so sporty. However, Aprilia stress that the RS is a road bike. There’s plenty of steering lock, the seat is described as ‘spacious’, and, unlike the prototype shown this time last year, the clip-on ’bars are mounted above the top yoke. Imagine a riding position closer to Honda’s usable CBR650R than Yamaha’s focused R6. Aprilia produced the first bike with full ride-by-wire control (2007’s Shiver) and aren’t shy when it comes to electronics. So, the RS660 features a six-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU) and all the RSV4’s fancy bits, including traction and wheelie control, cruise, two-way quickshifter, five riding modes and cornering ABS. There’s a colour TFT dash with Road and Track display options, and Aprilia’s MIA interface lets it connect to your phone. With a headset you can take calls and use the dash to display direction info from your phone’s navigation. High-tech features continue with its LED headlights, surrounded by funky daytime running lights that also contain the indicators. The RS has cornering lights, too. Colours are stealthy black or a purple and red scheme inspired by the 1994 RS250 Reggiani Replica. Aprilia are tight-lipped on price and availability but with its spec the RS660 won’t be cheap – expect at least £12,000. They’ve come clean about another model that’ll use this new twin-cylinder platform, though, by showing the Tuono 660 concept. Given they claim the mechanics are ‘very versatile, adapting well to different types of bike,’ maybe it’ll be joined by a Caponord 660 in 2021 as well. Tell me about Aprilia’s new parallel-twin 660 motor Aprilia hadn’t revealed the 660’s engine geometry as we went to press, though one line in the info does say ‘660cc’. The RSV4 1100 engine it’s based on has an 81 x 52.3mm bore x stroke, making a 539cc twin. So, despite saying it uses V4 dimensions they must have altered bore, stroke, or both. For 660cc, stroke needs to increase by 11.7mm to 64mm. That’s quite a leap but would make sense of Aprilia’s claim of ‘high torque value’. Parts like the cylinder head could be shared, too. Stretching displacement with larger pistons is unlikely. The 1100 engine’s 81mm pistons are already sizeable. They’d need to be 89.65mm for 660cc, making the RS ridiculously oversquare with a bore/stroke ratio even greater than Ducati’s loopy V4 R. Hardly likely on a bike for ‘the joy of riding everyday’. Best guess? They’ve altered bore and stroke to engineer the characteristics they want. Interesting aside: using the bore and stroke from the 999.6cc RSV4 RR engine would make a 499.8cc parallel twin. Maybe we’ll see some A2-legal Aprilia 500s as well…