Remember the good old days? No, we’re not talking the swinging sixties, or anything like that, but 2019 – you know, those heady days when you could go down the pub with your mates, hug your nan and not get funny looks when you have a casual cough down the local supermarket.
If you can remember 2019 (for it seems a long time ago) then you can possibly also recall how excited we got when Aprilia pulled the covers off their RS660 prototype at the Milan motorcycle show last October. Aprilia and small race replicas go together like fish and chips, and the RS660 evokes memories of the legendary RS250 two-stroke of the late Nineties. Now Aprilia are doing their bit to cheer up our miserable 2020 by confirming that production of their latest pocket rocket will start in the next few weeks. Could the RS660 be tonic that puts the fizz into 2021?
Whether the RS660 invents a new class of motorcycle or simply takes an existing one to a new level is a matter of perspective. Sporty middleweight twins are fairly commonplace. Whether its Suzuki’s SV650, the Kawasaki Z650 or Yamaha MT-07, there are plenty of great naked bikes out there and, as the Isle of Man TT’s Lightweight race proves, there is plenty of performance to be squeezed out of these little machines. For something a bit more racy looking Kawasaki also have the faired Ninja 650, but all of these bikes are built a price and sport basic suspension and steel frames. The Aprilia is different as it is a full on sportsbike with a track developed engine, frame and electronics. It’s bit like a Norton Superlight SS, but real.
If you can cast your mind back to those heady days of 2019, the SV660’s motor is based on that of the RSV1100 superbike – essentially using the front bank of the V4’s cylinders to create a 660cc parallel twin that’s good for 98bhp. By comparison, the MT-07 has a power output of 74bhp. Aprilia have also confirmed that a 95bhp version will also be available, which will allow it to be further restricted for use by A2 licence holders.
The twin spar aluminium frame uses the engine as a stressed member and comes with suspension components that are far ahead of those fitted to the Japanese middleweights. The electronics package is also derived from the range topping V4s, using Aprilia’s APRC system to offer five riding modes to suit the rider’s individual taste and riding conditions. An unfaired Tuono version has also been announced, which will feature a lightly detuned version of the parallel twin unit in a slightly lower specification package.
Ahead of the start of volume production, Aprilia sent its MotoGP racers and testers out for some laps of Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli (or just Misano, as we used to know it in the old days) for pictures and to say some encouraging words.
After spinning some laps, the trio had some encouraging words to say. Aleix Espargarό commented: “It's extremely stable and the engine really pushes hard. I really liked the quickshift feature.” British team-mate Bradley Smith added: “After the first two corners, you have total confidence. It's incredible how you can push hard straight away,” while test rider Lorenzo Savadori chimed in: “More than anything, I was astonished at the comfort. I discovered a sport bike that was unexpectedly comfortable.”
Of course, as Aprilia employees we wouldn’t have expected them to have been anything less than complementary about their employer’s new baby, but somehow we believe them on this one – the Aprilia RS660 is giving us a reason to get excited about 2021.