FUTURE SPORT

Aprilia’s RS 660 is a tractable, practical sport twin, and its engine will power an entire line of affordable, approachable Italian motorcycles.

- KEVIN CAMERON

To help understand what the Aprilia RS 660 middleweight twin sportbike is, it is helpful to understand what it is not. The Aprilia RS 660 is definitely not a rehash of the long-serving 600cc middleweights we’ve seen before. These have fallen out of favor for three reasons: They are too expensive—they had become pricey miniature Superbikes, designed to win Supersport races in the hands of professional athletes; they are too uncomfortable—the racer riding position is fun for a 10-minute “let’s pretend” but a pain in the long run; and they are too specialized— focus-group testing always shows that motorcyclists enjoy twist-and-go torque at any rpm, not a power-genie that explodes out of the bottle only above 10,000 rpm.

This leaves manufacturers wondering what new kinds of products can sustain their business. An alternative is a lighter, simpler, and frankly cheaper sportbike that is easier to ride well, powered by a versatile parallel-twin engine that can be used in more than one model.

Product planner Miguel Galluzzi, at Piaggio’s Advanced Design Center in Pasadena, California, spoke directly about the RS 660’s conception. (Piaggio, an Italian company founded in 1884, owns Vespa, Aprilia, Gilera, and Moto Guzzi.)

“Six years ago, being at the office late, we discussed RSV4 and its million horsepower,” Galluzzi says. “Who needs all this? What if we cut this V-4 in half? Discussion began about something more down-to-earth—but recognizing that we are still Aprilia, still Italian. How about a lightweight, more affordable sportbike that can do a lot of things? Not just to have a big-dollar motorcycle in your garage with tire warmers on it, only to look at.”