Aprilia Tuareg 660 revealed
Aprilia's efforts to take a share in the ADV market in the last two decades haven't met much success. The V-twin Caponord - offered in two distinct generations between 2001 and 2017 - singly failed to steal sales from BMW's GS models, but the company's new Tuareg 660 digs further back into the company's history to target the more extreme end of the adventure market.
Coming as a 2022 model, the Tuareg 660 revives a title that Aprilia used on a range of adventure models from 125 cc to 600 cc during the 1980s and early 1990s and borrows the new 659 cc parallel twin engine from the RS660 and Tuono 660 to become a serious rival to Yamaha's Ténéré 700.
Despite slightly lower displacement than the Yamaha, the Tuareg is a more powerful beast, with a claimed 80 hp compared to 72 hp for Yamaha's MT-07-based adventure model. More surprisingly, it is also ahead of the Ténéré in torque, with 52 lb/ft, giving it a 2 lb/ft advantage despite a smaller engine capacity. The Tuareg's version of the engine - itself effectively the front two cylinders from Aprilia's RSV4 superbike motor - is detuned compared to the 98 hp RS660, targeting more mid-range thrust at the expense of top-end power.
It's slotted into a new chassis that's largely made of steel tubes, although the engine itself is also a structural part and there's a cast alloy section around the swingarm pivot. The swingarm is also aluminium, supported by a rising rate monoshock with 240 mm of travel. The forks are inverted 43 mm units, with Brembo brakes front and rear.
According to Aprilia, the DOHC Tuareg weighs in at just 187 kg dry; when fuelled and oiled it will likely be close to the Ténéré's 204 kg.
It's a slightly longer bike than the Yamaha with a 1,500 mm wheelbase - 45 mm more than the Ténéré - the Aprilia's seat is 15 mm lower at 860 mm, suggesting it might be a slightly less hardcore offering.
Electronics include four riding modes including a dedicated off-road setting, traction control, cruise control and engine brake control, with a 5 in colour TFT screen to convey information to the rider. The Tuareg is expected to reach dealers in early 2022.
