twin Archives - Asphalt & Rubber

Bikes

The Aprilia Tuono 660 Is Finally Here – $10,499 in the USA

By Jensen Beeler 01/07/2021 25 Comments

When we first saw the Aprilia RS 660, we knew that the parallel-twin platform would be used on a variety of bikes, one of which being a “naked” Tuono 660 model (as well as an ADV-styled Tuareg 660).

While the RS 660 took a little longer than expected to go into production, thanks largely to the coronavirus outbreak, the Italians in Noale have caught back up with things, and today we see the Aprilia Tuono 660 debuting as a 2021 model – ready in dealerships in just a couple months.

Announcing deliveries of the bike for the “end of Q1 2021”, the Aprilia Tuono 660 is a model that we have been eagerly awaiting for this year.

Pricing starts at $10,499 in the USA ($12,795 for our Canadian readers), and you can tack on another $200 if you want it in the “Acid Gold” color scheme (Canadians are looking at $13,095 for this Mountain Dew green livery).

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Bikes

Minor Updates Come to the 2021 Yamaha MT-07

By Jensen Beeler 11/03/2020 12 Comments

If the riding public wanted a shiny and new Yamaha MT-07 for the 2021 model year, then the tuning fork brand wasn’t listening.

For all the hype and chatter that there was online for a “new” Yamaha MT-07, for next year we see a bike that gets primarily Euro5 homologation and some basic refinements, which is probably what should have been expected.

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Bikes

Mega Gallery: Over 120 High-Res Photos of the Aprilia RS 660

By Jensen Beeler 10/16/2020 4 Comments

Next week, we will be in Santa Barbara, riding the new Aprilia RS 660 on the street.

We have been waiting a long time to ride this Italian middleweight twin, as it promises to bring a great deal of sophistication to a segment of motorcycling that has primarily been stagnant.

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Racing

World Superbike Favoring Four Cylinders Over Two?

By Jensen Beeler 04/26/2010 28 Comments

If you take a look through our coverage of World Superbike’s stop in Assen this weekend, you’ll notice a trend in the standings on how riders finished in relation to what type of equipment they ran in the race. The trend seems to suggest an advantage for the inline-four cylinder bikes, and didn’t go unnoticed by Carlos Checa, who found himself struggling to compete with the four cylindered machines this weekend on his twin cylindered Ducati.

As one of the privateer Ducati’s on the grid, Checa and the Althea Ducati team believe the current WSBK rules hinder the twins in being competitive with the focus in both acceleration and top speed. You make the call after the jump.

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