The Aprilia RS 660 is the Italian brand’s newest product in the highly popular and competitive middleweight supersport segment. The production-ready model of the motorbike was showcased at the EICMA 2019 and quickly gained the interests of many enthusiasts.
The RS 660 was expected to be launched at the ‘Aprilia All-Stars Event’ that was scheduled to take place on May 9, 2020, in Mugello. However, the COVID-19 global situation forced the Italian brand to cancel the event.
While the launch of the RS 660 has been indefinitely delayed, Aprilia has listed the new motorcycle on its website revealing a few key details which were sufficient to keep the dices rolling. So does all the hype actually worth it and would the Aprilia RS 660 be a tough contender in the middleweight supersport segment? In short, yes. Here’s why.
Design
There are no two ways about the fact that the Italians make some of the finest looking motorcycles in the world. And the RS 660 is no exception. It looks achingly beautiful and menacing at the same time. Some of its key design features include the triple LED headlamp assembly with perimeter LED DRLs, muscular and sculpted fuel tank, banana-shaped swingarm and, of course, the aerodynamic bodywork. So, while we do have some head-turners in the middleweight supersport segment like the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R and Yamaha R6, the Aprilia RS 660 brings a fresh design to the table. And who wouldn’t like a fresh piece of meat?
Engine
The RS 660’s rivals like the Ninja ZX-6R and R6 feature in-line 4-cylinder engines. However, Aprilia decided to play around a bit and decided to go ahead with a parallel-twin powerhouse. Now, the first question that arises here is, ‘What about the power, then?’ Well, the 660cc mill of the RS 660, derived from the RSV4 1100, churns out 100 horsepower. In comparison, the ZX-6R and R6 have 130 PS and 119 PS respectively. Yes, these are higher outputs but Aprilia has something interesting up its sleeves. Read on.
Performance
By ditching two cylinders, Aprilia did lose out on some extra ponies, however, we think, it (somewhat) compensated for that loss by keeping the weight of the RS 660 as low as possible. The RS 660’s parallel-twin engine has a forward-facing configuration. Aprilia has said that doing so helped it to reduce the engine’s dimensions and also allowed its engineers to use the available space and come up with a slim and lightweight chassis. The result of all this sorcery? The Aprilia RS 660 weighs just 169 kg (dry)! This means that the motorcycle would have phenomenal handling characteristics. It would be able to change directions like a cat chasing a mouse. And thanks to its superb power-to-weight ratio, the RS 660 should be quick off the line, too.
So, the Aprilia RS 660 would definitely be a tough contender to beat in the middleweight supersport segment. However, at this point, things are theoretical. And since the motorcycle in question here is yet to be launched, we don’t really have any practical results. But the launch will happen eventually and we hope Society Motors, the sole distributor of Aprilia products in the United Arab Emirates, brings the RS 660 at the earliest so that we can put the bike to test against its rivals and find out the practical outcomes ourselves.
