2020 Aprilia RS 660 Confirmed for EICMA
Aprilia confirmed it will present the RS 660 at EICMA, releasing an image of the sportbike cloaked in shadow over its social media channels. The production model 2020 Aprilia RS 660 has the potential to shake up the moribund supersport class that in recent years has consisted mostly of small updates like the Kawasaki ZX-6R and limited edition models like the Triumph Daytona 765.
(UPDATE: Aprilia has tweeted a second teaser, this one featuring MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone, offering more looks of the bike. You can also hear the engine revving, though we wish Aprilia didn’t mix the sound with a lion roaring.
RS 660: a new era begins. #Aprilia #RS660 #eicma2019 pic.twitter.com/tj1owDZJc1
— Aprilia (@ApriliaOfficial) October 29, 2019
From racing technology to thrill of riding the road.
Come discover the new RS 660 at #EICMA2019@andreaiannone29 #Aprilia #RS660 pic.twitter.com/rJ0hjVN2Wu
— Aprilia (@ApriliaOfficial) October 31, 2019
We’ve brightened the image a bit below, revealing more details like the RS660 logo and hint of the lower case Aprilia “a” on the fairing, and overlaid a shot of the concept shown off at last year’s EICMA show.
The comparison isn’t quite perfect, but even working with just the faintest of details, we can see some significant differences between the concept and the production model. The fuel tank has a slightly different, and the rake angle has changed while the tail rises up at a sharper angle. The swingarm looks similar, as does the frame (or at least, what little we can see of it).
Naturally, the production model has the necessary parts to be street-legal, with mirrors, turn signals and a license plate holder. We can’t see the exhaust from the teaser image, leaving us to assume an underslung silencer instead of the design we saw on the concept or even the production RSV4.
As for the engine, we know the RS 660 will use a parallel-Twin derived from the 1100cc engine used in the RSV4 and Tuono V4. Speaking of the Tuono, photos and video of an alleged Tuono 660 have started popping up online, undergoing track testing at Imola with the RS660. Aprilia hasn’t said anything official about a Tuono version, though the company did say at EICMA last year that “the RS 660 project is the development base for a wider range that intends to make Aprilia a key player in an extremely strategic market segment in Europe, but also in Asia and the American market.”
The 2019 EICMA show is just around the corner, so we’ll see whether the 2020 Aprilia RS660 will be joined by a Tuono 660 in Milan.
Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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UPDATE: Aprilia has released a second teaser.
Man, I was thinking "Yess, Middle weight V4.....!"
Instead we get an amalgam of the two worst traits of last gen Ninja 650 (Which actually had many good traits as well): P-twin and linkageless rear suspension....