Aprilia RS660 Reviews

I can offer my .02 on racing a few Apes back in the day. A solid relationship with a dealer is a must. They can level with you when the part you need is across the pond. The warehouse for all Piaggio parts used to be located in Metro Atlanta and was managed by a third party company. Not sure if it’s still set up that way but after being sent a few car parts while working at a BMW moto dealer I must say that the Aprilia parts operation was very efficient and great at rushing orders if your part was already stateside. However, certain items just are not stored on this side of the ocean and so you might find yourself up at midnight using the oven to refit a spacer on a bent foot peg etc.

A few years ago they changed the manufacturer requirements for the labeling of Italian made products. That means that while the brand new bike I bought back in 2009 came with a radiator with a “Made in China” sticker on the side of it, this type of disclosure is no longer required, so just like the KTM’s out of Asia, keep an eye on the external components for weaknesses.

Aprilia North America reps have always been more positive towards racing even at the club level than other European brands but I wouldn’t expect much contingency or help beyond expediting parts or getting them closer to cost. I can’t wait to see how these things perform next year. Kudos to those who already plan to run them!

 

We got 3 of them on the way.

 

If everyone who has told me they have X bikes on the way gets them, the grid is going to be full of them next year!

 

There's not a ton of technical info available yet for the RS660, but if we base some assumptions on the RSV/Tuono 1100 we can draw some comparisons to the SV650. This info is from quick searching online, I'm not an expert in either machine.

SV650 // RS660
81x62.6 // 81x63.5mm (bore and stroke)
11.5:1 CR // 13.5:1 CR
31mm // 33mm Intake valve diameter
25.5 // 26mm Exhaust valve diameter
30 degrees // 22degrees Included valve angle - this means the 660 would have a considerably flatter combustion chamber=more efficient and powerful

I wasn't able to find things like airbox volume, exhaust diameter or collector length, throttle body size etc. Either way, pretty easy to see that 15years and a different design philosphy lends itself to a considerably more powerful 660 than SV650 out of the box.

 

What dealer did you get yours from?

 

Hold on... so you condone manufactures making new modern bikes within existing rules and being able to go faster?! Outrageous, you truly are trying to kill racing

 

I Just took 2 more orders.

As of now, the only one not technically available (itll come later date) is the acid yellow.

 

Both of these reviews suck. Why would they compare it to 4 cyl bikes??

 

LOL I mean, you want them to compare it to stock FZ/SV/EX?

 

Because most people want to know how fast they go for their money. So if the price is closer to an I-4 than an SV, then people will compare it based on price, not based on engine configuration.

 

Well then they're stupid. Doesnt a 40k Duc V4R compete against a 16k GSXR1000?

 

Yes.

 

One has to wonder how many race/track enthusiasts are interested in this bike, vs general street riders. 1:5? 2:1?

 

about the same as any other sport bike...

 

Not sure. I haven't been interested in a new sportbike in ages and I already called Z and asked if he'd set the thing up. He told me nothing to do: buy it and ride it out of the box.

(Mike -- you interested in a well-sorted 1st gen endurance bike sitting in my sister's garage in GA? )

 

No, carbs blow... But everything has a price....!

 

I was racing my F1 750 Duc in twins, clubman, v6 against Hawks, RZ's, Vision's, Ascots, and many specials when the SV came out. My friend came back from the dealer show in Vegas after seeing it, we had just heard of it, he said the whole worlds changed and then SV's ruled 20 years. He said the Suzuki guys weren't even thinking about how it would do in club racing. 660's gonna rip