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The KTM 790 Duke is coming back as a 2022 model year machine, so says the Austrian brand. That might come as a bit of surprise, since the KTM 890 Duke R replaced its smaller sibling in late-2019.

This curious move seems to come for the benefit of the European market, where a 95hp version of the KTM 790 Duke will be made available for A2 license holders, with a price tag of €8,999.

The rest of the world’s markets will get the 2022 KTM 790 Duke with its full pop of 105hp, though it’s not clear if the 790 will come to North American soil.

From day one, Aprilia has been coy about the Tuareg 660. While we knew from the get-go that the Aprilia’s 660cc parallel-twin motor would foster a whole range of motorcycles, our introduction to the Tuareg 660 started with obfuscation.

Our first glimpse of the Aprilia Tuareg 660 was behind a glass box full of fake plants, at the 2019 EICMA show, and while we could glean some info from that display, much about the new middleweight ADV bike remained a mystery.

Now it seems, Aprilia is willing to speak more about its latest creation – though there is still much we don’t know.

Earlier this year, we broke the news that Yamaha was going to release a full-fairing version of its popular MT-07 street bike, to take on bikes like the Aprilia RS 660 and cater to the rising lightweight racing class.

The news was vetted by our Bothan spies, but it also passed the sniff test as we have seen the trend growing in the amateur and professional racing circles when it comes to Yamaha’s parallel-twin platform.

Things got a bit interesting though when we saw that Yamaha had used the “R7” name for a twin-cylinder sport bike in filings with the California Air Resources Board.

The Yamaha YZF-R7 is coming back as a 2022 model, according to filings made with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), but before you get too excited about the news of this iconic motorcycle name, you should understand it’s not what you think.

Spotted by the eagle eyes at Motorcycle.com, the CARB filing tips that the 689cc motorcycle will use the parallel-twin engine found in the Yamaha MT-07.

As such, today’s news would seem to confirm the rumor that we were first to publish, that Yamaha is working on a full-fairing version of the MT-07, to compete in the growing middleweight twins segment.

Later this year, we will see the Aprilia Tuareg 660 officially unveiled, but that hasn’t stopped the excitement of seeing this twin-cylinder adventure bike ahead of its proper debut.

Spotted on the road by spy photographers, we get out first real glimpse of the details onboard the Aprilia Tuareg 660, including a good look at the bike’s face – you can see all the shots on the British site Visordown.

Almost two-and-a-half years ago, Asphalt & Rubber broke the story that Aprilia was working on a twin-cylinder sport bike, which would be a more affordable and approachable option than the company’s flagship RSV4 superbike offering.

After teasing us at EICMA with the prototype in 2018, and then with the production model a year later, we were set for the Aprilia RS 660 to debut as a 2020 model…but then, the coronavirus outbreak changed all that.

With Italy no longer under lockdown, this bike is finally ready to take the stage, and of course the 2021 Aprilia RS 660 is headed stateside, with the first examples of it landing at dealerships in time for Christmas (and what a present that would be under the tree).

It has been a long wait for this eagerly anticipated motorcycle, and last week the American motorcycle press got their first miles on this middleweight-twin.

Riding the canyon roads near Santa Barbara, we put the Aprilia RS 660 through its paces on some of the best roads California has to offer (in this author’s opinion, at least), to see how this unique creation from Noale stacked up.

Would it live up to the hype? Is this the new twins class killer? Does Aprilia have another opus on its hands? That is what we aim to explain to you in this review.

Another bike on our list of “must-rides” for 2020, we are about to swing a leg over the Aprilia RS 660. This middleweight-twin has been a long time coming, especially in its full-fairing aesthetic.

On the spec sheet, the Aprilia RS 660 looks set to upend the segment, but of course the proof is in the pudding on how this parallel-twin motor runs, how its twin-spar aluminum chassis handles, and how refined its APRC electronics package truly is on the open road.

Today’s test takes us to the curvy pavement near Santa Barbara, California, where our 200-mile route through canyons and highways promises to give us a glimpse at this bike’s potential.