Aprilia Tuareg 660 Review | We like it, quite a lot…

Aprilia Tuareg 660 Review

Aprilia Tuareg review by Wayne Vickers – Images Dean Walters

Unfortunately I couldn’t get my butt up to the Murray River to join the crew on the Aussie launch of Aprilia’s new Tuareg 660, but I did get to nab a bike for a couple of weeks straight afterwards.  So I reckon I probably came out well ahead when it comes to seat time…

Now 2022 has seen the introduction of some pretty ace bikes for us mortals. The Husky Norden and the Speed triple RR stand out for me as bikes I’d certainly make room for in my shed, for very different reasons obviously.

And just when I thought I’d settled on my favourite bike of the year, Aprilia set the Tuareg 660 loose on the world and reset the bar. I put it up there with the launch of the first iteration of the BMW S 1000 RR in the sense of a new entrant to the market moving the goal-posts so effectively.

I’ll get straight to it, the Tuareg is nothing short of sublime to ride. Admittedly it’s right up my alley, as I’ve long argued for better options at the smaller end of the Adventure bike segment. And to be fair, I’m not Robinson Crusoe there. Plenty of others love the smaller capacity Adventure offerings – hence the consistent demand that’s been seen for the Tenere 700.

It’s the obvious comparison. Where the T7 tips the scales at 204 kilos and churns out a decent 74 ponies, the Tuareg 660 come in at the same 204 kilos and belts out 82 ponies. While they both share a 240 mm ground clearance figure, the Tuareg has another ~30mm of travel either end over the T7. So right off the bat, it’s putting the bLUcRu on notice. But those numbers only tell half the story. The real strength of the new Aprilia isn’t that it shades the Tenere by eight horsepower, but the way it rides.

It is just so incredibly well balanced, so light and agile. And that front end is playful in a way that the Tenere can only dream about. All while not giving the slightest hint of head-shake. The handling is mint. There is no need for revalving or any of that nonsense, the suspension spec’ delivers from the factory. Both ends are epically, awesomely good. Wonderful feel and plushness yet tremendous reluctance to bottom out.

If it’s not obvious by the pics, I fairly put it through its paces on my local loop… this thing’s not only capable, but mad fun. Hard pack clay? Soft loamy dirt? Deep sand? Rocky rubble? Berms? Drifts? Wheelies? Jumps? You bet. On the go it feels like anything is possible. That’s my kinda bike! It feels orders of magnitude lighter and more flickable on the trail than the Tenere and is utterly confidence inspiring. I’ll give you an example – I’m still a relative sand novice, but the sandy stretches on my loop can be attacked with complete confidence on this little gem.

Part of the recipe for such playful manners is no doubt stemming from the clever tank and air-box design. It actually runs right back down under the seat, for a similar low weight concept to the KTM 890 Adventure R, but it’s packaged much more centrally in this case. This then puts the air box and filter location right up the top, accessible by removing the panel forward of the fuel cap. And while it’s a paper filter from the factory, foam options are in the works for those with that preference. The 18 L tank capacity is good for 350-400ks depending on how spirited you are with your right wrist. So big distances won’t be an issue.

The front end is amazing, flickability and tip in are both top notch, but the surprise was just how well it corners both on the tar and in the dirt. On tarmac it rolls through turns with a willingness that surprised the hell out of me. It positively rails. And in the dirt it is a planted, surefooted thing. Regardless of whether you’re standing and drifting through some of your favourite trails or seated, elbows out in full charge mode. It’s a bike that just encourages you to get rowdy. Check out that seat shape and length for an indication of intent. You can shift your weight well forward and back with ease.

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In fact the whole shape of the bike between your legs is near perfect. I didn’t need to adjust anything. Nothing! Ergonomics are bang on. Like. A Glove. Nice and slim, plenty of room without being bulky. Thinner than I remember the T7 being. Ride position is super natural and has a ‘big dirt bike’ feel. Nice wide pegs with removable rubber pad for getting your dirt on. And even though the seat might look flat and a bit racey? It’s actually bloody comfy. No complaints there on my 200+ km commute.

Speaking of commute, it’s a nice thing in traffic too. Completely different story to my experience of the Tuono which shares the same 659 cc parallel twin (although its tune punches out a more aggressive 100 hp). The fuelling on the Tuareg is near perfect, in all modes. It’s a lovely thing. Smooth and grunty, happy to rev. It even has a pretty decent exhaust note for a stocker.

Switching modes is a mere press of the right thumb away and is able to be done on the move, even while using cruise control. Nice. There are four modes – Explore, Urban, Off road and Individual which is fully customisable. And they’re also able to be fine tuned, while on the move. Including adjusting the TC on or off and through four stages of intervention. It’s exactly the system design I wanted on the Norden. You can cycle from setting 4, back to 1 and press again to turn it off completely. Simples.

I pretty much ended up staying in either Explore or Offroad. In Off road mode you get ABS active on the front but disabled on the rear by default (which is many preferred setting), but you can also override that and turn off ABS on the front too with one press and hold. Finally, someone is nailing electronic controls! Bravo.

The Brembo brakes are more than adequate both ends, 300 mm twin discs up front with a single 260 mm up the back. But it’s the rear brake that I love the most. At first, on the tarmac I wondered if it was going to be a bit soft and long throw in its action. But its hands down the best rear brake I’ve ever used in the dirt, with incredible feedback and feel. Magic.

Is it perfect? Riding and performance wise it’s genuinely bloody close. I can’t help but imagine what it would be like if it lost another 20 kilos because as it is it’s amazing. For what its worth Ive always had a figure of 175-180 kg in my head as what a hard core small capacity twin-cylinder adventure bike could be. But this also has impeccable road manners and stability built in. And to be fair, the only time you will notice the extra weight is if you forget that you’re in fact not on your dirt bike and go to do a lazy spin turn, mess it up and then have to muscle your way out of it… Hypothetically of course… ahem. Or if you happen to have to work your way over large rocks or fallen logs. Still. Its a long way away from the 250+ kilos of a full size Adventure bike. I know what I’d rather be on in that circumstance.

But there are some packaging things I’d still look to tweak. The front screen is a bit of a compromise in that it’s not adjustable. While it does a pretty decent job of deflecting wind at speed, I’d probably have preferred it a touch higher on the road and a bit lower in the dirt. For a bike this easy to loft the front, the top of that screen was heading towards my throat a few times. While it was never an issue as I didn’t have any sphincter puckering moments – I’d have felt more comfortable knowing I had a little more buffer.

I’d also point out that the high beam doesn’t really add any visible distance at night time. So I’d be ticking the spotlight accessory box given that I share my part of the world with plenty of kamikaze kangaroos.

The only other thing I can point my finger at would be that the tail unit design doesn’t look to have too many super accessible tie down points from the factory. That said, they do have a nice rear platform option as well as good looking rack and hard pannier option available. And there are a metric boat load of after market soft pannier options, which is the direction I’d go for sure. I’d probably opt for the front protection bars and a set of sturdier barkbusters as well.

Oh and full disclosure, I did manage to tag the stand spring mount on a little rock on a jump landing. It is potentially a little exposed, so if you’re going to go full hero mode to get some glamour shots, it’s probably worth having some cable ties with you. Thanks to snapper Dean for having some in his Perentie.

So, going full circle back to where I kicked this off, I think I now have a new front runner for #waynosbikeoftheyear. It really is that good. Far more inspiring, nimble and playful than the not much cheaper Tenere. With noticeably better suspension and electronics. While it might still have to prove itself from a longevity point of view, I reckon Yamaha should be concerned. Do yourself a favour and book in a slot at the come along and ride days Aprilia are running. You might wanna take your cheque book though. Just sayin. Twenty Two and a half big ones will have one in your garage. I prefer the black and orange…

Now I might just have to see if there’s a way I can keep this one in my shed permanently… The boys from Peter Stevens Imports said I’d want one, but I thought they were just adding some mayo, that being their job and all. Turns out they weren’t.

I like the Tuareg 660 Review because:

• Incredibly playful, superb chassis balance
• That engine tune and fuelling are near perfect
• Great electronics and switching ‘on the fly’ controls

I’d Iike the Tuareg 660 Review more if:

• I’d prefer an adjustable front screen please
• High beam doesn’t do much.. I’d suggest spotties
• That’s it, I’d add a slip on, ‘proper’ barkbusters and soft panniers and be done

Aprilia Tuareg 660 Specifications