Aprilia RS 660 to get A2 sibling
The long-awaited Aprilia RS 660 sportsbike is to be joined by an A2 licence friendly version when it launches this year
THE Aprilia RS 660 sportsbike broke onto the scene as a concept at the 2018 EICMA Motorcycle show in Milan. 12 months on we saw the full production version in all its glory at the 2019 show in November last year.
Now, as more details regarding the machine come to light, we can confirm there will be an A2 licence friendly version of the machine joining the range when it launches later this year.
At the heart of both machines is a parallel twin-cylinder engine that is derived from the RSV4 1100 engine, with the rear two cylinders removed. With a peak power output of around 100bhp, the baby RSV seemed ripe for plucking and placing in front of hoards of restricted licence holders, although confirmation of the fact was until now unconfirmed by the Noale factory.
Now it has been confirmed that a 95bhp version, which can legally be restricted to 47bhp, will indeed join the full power bike when it makes its debut later this year.
The RS 660 will be diving into a crowded pool of supersports metal, with bikes like the Honda CBR650R, KTM Duke 390, Kawasaki Ninja 400 and Yamaha R3 all circling and smelling blood in the water.
The RS 660 in standard trim comes with a plethora of tech, including wheelie control, IMU controlled ABS and traction control, riding modes, engine braking control and an up and down quickshifter. While that is tech that not many in the A2 licence crowd can match, it’s not yet confirmed is the A2 version will come so well equipped.
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
