We all knew it was coming, but that doesn’t make the arrival of the Aprilia Tuono 660 any less of a big-time event.
Photography by Larry Chen
You could get all romantic and say the name “Tuono” is Italian for pure naked-bike performance (it actually means “Thunder” in Italian), but the fact is, the Tuono 1100 V4 has been somewhat of a lonely figure of late.
The Tuono V4, as mentally deranged and downright lovable as it is, has needed a backup player to help bolster its rider numbers for some time now. If you wanted a Tuono, you needed to walk right on up and grab it from a dealer—there was no way for new riders to get into the fold and decide (predictably) that they loved Aprilia and the Tuono V4 and everything it stood for. A junior Tuono was needed. Enter the RS 660.
The RS 660’s release halfway through last year was more than just a new sport bike for Aprilia. It signaled the start of a change in the way Aprilia would market to new, sporty riders. And like the RSV4 does for the Tuono V4 1100, the RS 660 has done for the Tuono 660.
It’s essentially an RS 660 without its clothes on.
2021 Aprilia Tuono 660 Review | Getting Naked
I’ve been saying for as long as I can remember that sports naked bikes are the best bikes on the road (in my humble opinion). You get pretty much every performance aspect of a sport bike with a far broader range of use, a fact certainly not lost on the Noale manufacturer.
The naked-bike segment is undergoing a similar transformation to that of the adventure bike in that smaller and lighter is, for the most part, better. As much as we love 200-horsepower firebreathers, they are pretty impractical. Higher buying, insurance and running costs, not to mention the lethality they pose to your license, have given rise to bikes like the KTM 790/890 Duke range, the Yamaha MT-07/MT-09, and long-time believers Triumph with their stupendous Street Triple.
There was a huge slice of market share Aprilia was missing out on that the Tuono 660 aims to fill. Starting at $10,499 for the silver and black models with a $200 premium on top for the Acid Gold color scheme, the Aprilia squares up nicely against the $11,999 KTM and $12,850 Triumph (although it’s a fair bit pricier than the $7599 Yamaha MT-07), and for an extra $400 you can purchase the Aprilia Quick Shift for clutchless up-and-down shifting, and the Continental IMU that unlocks Cornering ABS and bending Cornering lights.
Interestingly, if you option either the red or silver Tuono 660 up to the same level as what the RS 660 comes with, the Tuono will still come in $400 cheaper at the dealer. Nice.
Like the RS 660, you get cruise control, three options for throttle map, engine brake control, ABS and wheelie control, and there are eight stages of traction control, plus off, at your disposal. There’s some added hooligan built into the Tuono, as you can switch off traction control, which also switches off wheelie control and allows you to send it in sideways on the brakes if you’re that way inclined.
There are subtle differences between the Tuono and the RS aside from the obvious riding position. The latter comes with a lithium-ion battery compared to the conventional unit found on the Tuono, which will add about eight pounds. And while the suspension has the same adjustability in preload and rebound damping for the Kayaba 41mm fork and shock between both bikes, all the adjustments are done on the right fork leg for the Tuono compared to both for the RS. The RS also gets 0.4 inches more front wheel travel at 4.7 inches.
Other than that, and the bodywork changes, the two bikes are virtually identical. The same 659cc parallel-twin four-stroke sits inside the same twin-spar aluminum chassis, with weight a claimed 403 pounds ready to rock with a full 3.96-gallon tank of gas.
Aprilia is claiming 100 horsepower on the nose for the Tuono 660, which is 10 horsepower up on the same bike in European spec (it’s nice to get one with more ponies, rather than the other way around), with 49 lb-ft of torque on tap.
2021 Aprilia Tuono 660 Review | On Road
The ride position is splendidly comfortable on the Tuono. Although the RS 660 has raised handlebars that almost mimic that of a naked bike, the Tuono’s ride position puts you in the perfect spot for comfortable cruising just as well as attacking the coming apex.
It feels quite wide thanks to the raised tank and bikini-style bodywork, although it’s probably a little fatter than it needs to be. The side panels of the Tuono incorporate ducts that direct air down the side of the motor, which, in turn, help draw out hot air, keeping everything nice and cool.
As such, the Tuono 660 has the feel of a bigger bike than it really is. Whether this will put off new riders who want a slimmer bike remains to be seen, but the extra width from the body panels does give the bike a feeling of solidity others in the class don’t have.
I’ll admit when I rode the RS 660 I didn’t notice this as much, but there’s an obvious dead spot in torque between 5-7000 rpm. This is right as the motor wants to build its midrange, and the little 660 falls pretty hard off a cliff at 5000 rpm before roaring back like a two-stroke at 7000 rpm, a feat it continues right to redline.
This comes down to the emissions regulations the Aprilia engineers need to abide by, and it’s not a unique problem to them (just ask Honda and BMW). And in fairness to Aprilia, it’s only really noticeable when you’re canning the Tuono. If you’re riding mellow and not hankering for revs, the motor’s behavior at this rpm window is fine—the issue arises when you’re chasing your buddies on the weekend’s canyon MotoGP.
Aprilia’s built in a huge amount of electronic adjustability to the Tuono, which is not massive news these days. However, what’s important here is how easy all the modes are to adjust. Just hit the button on the right handlebar switch block and you’re taken into the ride modes suite and you can adjust engine brake control, maps, TC and ABS, etc., far easier than on many bikes that cost twice as much.
Each map offers a distinctly different personality to the Tuono. After a bit of screwing around I settled on level two for the throttle map, which took out a little of the savagery of level one. This gave a near ideal amount of torque immediacy for canyon riding and highway cruising, but if I wanted more, the electronics had my back.
The 41mm Kayaba front suspension isn’t as high-spec as you’ll find in something like the Triumph Street Triple 765 R or the KTM 890 Duke R, but it does the job. If you go hammering the front under brakes, you’ll find the fork’s limit pretty quickly, but it’s compliant enough for 95 percent of the applications a Tuono 660 will be put through.
The shock can send a decent whack up your butt on the high-speed compression circuit when you hit sharp bumps, but overall performance is pretty good. However, not having full adjustability is a drawback.
2021 Aprilia Tuono 660 Review | Worth The Coin
Considering the bike you get for under $11,000, the Tuono 660 makes a pretty compelling argument. The best part about it is the performance is enough to keep any rider of any skill level interested, much like its faired RS 660 brother.
The Tuono 660 is the bike Aprilia needs almost more than the RS, simply because of the usability and the fact it will likely appeal to more riders than the RS. It’s an excellent little bike, which will likely pull riders into the Aprilia fold and keep them there. CN
VIDEO | 2021 Aprilia Tuono 660 Review
2021 Aprilia Tuono 660 Specifications
| MSRP: | $10,499 |
| Engine: | Aprilia parallel twin, 4-stroke |
| Valvetrain: | DOHC, 8-valve |
| Displacement: | 659cc |
| Cooling system: | Liquid |
| Bore x stroke: | 81 x 63.93mm |
| Compression ratio: | 13.5:1 |
| Max horsepower: | 95 CV (70kW) @ 10,500 rpm |
| Max torque: | 67.0 Nm (6.83 kgm) at 8500 rpm |
| Fuel system: | EFI, 48mm throttle body, ride-by-wire engine management |
| Lubrication: | Wet sump |
| Transmission: | 6-speed |
| Clutch: | Multi-plate w/ slipper system |
| Final drive: | Chain (17/43T) |
| Electronic Management: | Suite APRC w/ATC (traction control), AWC (wheelie control), AEB (engine brake), AEM (engine map), ACC (cruise control), 5 riding modes |
| Frame: | Aluminum dual beam with removable subframe |
| Front suspension: | Kayaba 41mm USD, fully adjustable |
| Rear suspension: | Single shock, fully adjustable |
| Front-wheel travel: | 4.3 in. |
| Rear-wheel travel: | 5.1 in. |
| Front brake: | 320mm dual disc Brembo radial calipers w/dual pistons; adj. ABS |
| Rear brake: | 220mm single disc, Brembo 2 piston; adj. ABS |
| Front wheel: | 3.5 x 17 in. |
| Rear wheel: | 5.5 x 17 in. |
| Front tire: | 120/70 ZR 17 in. |
| Rear tire: | 180/55 ZR 17 in. |
| Wheelbase: | 53.9 in. |
| Seat height: | 32.3 in. |
| Rake / trail: | 24.1° / 4.1 in. |
| Weight (curb, claimed): | 403 lbs. |
| Fuel capacity: | 3.96 gal. |
| Color options: | Concept black, Iridium grey, Acid gold |
Click here to read the 2021 Aprilia Tuono 660 Review in the Cycle News Digital Edition Magazine.
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