NZ SET TO BE FIRST TO SAMPLE
NEW APRILIA MIDDLEWEIGHT
A
prilia has officially unveiled its new
middleweight sports RS660. The
big news, however, is that the New
Zealand market is confirmed as one of the
first in the world to get the new Aprilia.
Based around a new parallel twin-engine, the
RS660 marks a new era for the Italian marque, with
the bike moving away from the hard-core racer
focus of many of Aprilia’s fully-faired sports bikes
with a new focus on everyday riding pleasure.
Key to the RS660 is its new engine. The 660cc
parallel-twin is derived from the front bank
cylinders of Aprilia’s 1100cc V4, from which it
takes its base concepts and measurements.
Aprilia says it chose this configuration due
to its compactness and efficiency, its very
limited transmission of heat to the rider, and
the freedom it gives engineers to exploit the
spaces and create a slim, lightweight chassis.
Producing a record-breaking (for its displacement
at least) 100hp, the DOHC 270 degree crank’d twin
promises to revitalise the middleweight category,
which has been quite lacklustre in recent years.
KIWI RIDER 97