The Aprilia RS 660 is now officially available in Europe, after much teasing, hype, and waiting.
And because of that long wait, and bevy of information reveals, there isn’t too much that we don’t already know about this midsized twin-cylinder sport bike. But, we have long been waiting to hear what the machine would cost.
Today, that answer is finally here, and in Europe the 2021 Aprilia RS 660 will cost €11,050, while in the United Kingdom, pricing in pounds of sterling will be set at £10,149.
One of the most anticipated motorcycles for the 2019 EICMA show, we have been waiting for the 2020 Aprilia RS 660 to set the middleweight twins category on its head, and now that we have the spec sheet, we know that it will.
Try this on for size: 100hp from the 660cc parallel-twin engine, in a package that weighs 372 lbs (dry). Even with the fuzzy math the comes from dry to wet weight conversions, it is clear that the Aprilia RS 660 is going to lead its class on power-to-weight ratios.
But the Italian aren’t stopping there with their twin-cylinder assault. The 2020 Aprilia RS 660 also comes with the brand’s robust APRC electronics suite, which means IMU-powered traction control, wheelie control, and cornering ABS, along with an up/down quickshifter, cruise control, and switchable power modes.
One of the most anticipated motorcycles set to debut at this year’s EICMA show is the Aprilia RS 660.
A sport bike twins offering from the Noale brand, the 2020 Aprilia RS 660 is set to flip the middleweight twin-cylinder segment on its head, with rumors of a 100hp and sub-400 lbs weight measurements.
Now, we have our first glimpse of this potent bike, in its production form, thanks to the fact that Aprilia has begun teasing the launch of the RS 660 on social media.
I wasn’t going to double-dip on stories for the Aprilia RS 660 concept this week, but well…these photos were too good not to share ASAP. If you haven’t read our report that the Aprilia RS 660 will be showing up for the 2020 model year, well then…started getting excited party-people.
Ahead of our ride time on the new Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory, the folks from Noale invited us to their “Aprilia All Stars” event at the Mugello circuit last week, which is where we spotted the RS 660 on display.
The bike hasn’t changed from its debut in Milan late last year, which is fine by us, as it looks like it could roll right onto the showroom floor already…and apparently from yesterday’s news, that is the point.
Still, spending some time up-close with the Aprilia RS 660 concept provides us with some interesting insights to this machine.
When the Aprilia RS 660 concept was debuted at last year’s EICMA show, what we saw was actually three thing. One was a new engine platform, based around a parallel-twin engine that is basically an RSV4 motor cut in half. Another was a middleweight supersport model based on that new twin-cylinder engine, and the third was an active aerodynamics concept.
Our Bothan spies tell us that the active aerodynamics package is destined for the next generation of the Aprilia RSV4 superbike, which we expect to see in 2021 when the Euro5 regulations first come into affect. They also told us that the Aprilia RS 660 was the first model of a new platform, which we would see debut for the 2020 model year.
Now with Aprilia talking to our colleagues at Moto-Station in France, we get confirmation that the Aprilia RS 660 will debut as a production model later this year, at the EICMA show in Milan, which is held in November.
As we predicted in our EICMA round-up on the Noale brand, it looks like we won’t have to wait long to see the production version of the Aprilia RS 660 sport bike, as photos on Facebook show that the Italians have been caught testing the machine at the track.
With two bikes spotted, one in street trim and one in race trim, the Aprilia RS 660 looks surprisingly production-ready, which tips a debut at next year’s EICMA show, and the bike being a 2020 model year machine.
Sometimes, I wonder why brands debut their machines at the EICMA, or any trade show for that matter, but especially the one in Milan.
Asphalt & Rubber published close to 50 new bike stories from Milan, and we still have a few more minor announcements to get out the door, so imagine for a minute that you are the marketing manager for a brand which is trying to stand out in that crowd.
This EICMA marked the first year where we really saw some brands abandoning the rat race of EICMA, choosing to release their new models ahead of the show, in order to generate some buzz, and dominate the headlines for a day or two.
And, no one executed this strategy better than Aprilia.
We first broke the news about the Aprilia RS 660 a few months ago, tipping that the 600cc class parallel-twin would debut soon, but even we didn’t know what we were in for until the Noale brand took the covers off this amazing machine at EICMA today.
True to rumor, the bike is basically powered by half of an Tuono 1100 / RSV4 1100 engine, with the forward bank of cylinders making the engine platform. Building from there, Aprilia has begun to play with an active aerodynamic system as well, taking the current trend in the two-wheeled space to the next level.
Called Aprilia Active Aerodynamics (A3), the name pretty much tells the story. As such, the Aprilia RS 660 concept explores using aerodynamic forces in new ways, which sees the machine capable of changing its front aerodynamic profile, as well as how much downforce it creates.