It ’ s not tetchy in the least – think surefooted , stable , and sweet . And it goes , despite the fact its powered by an upright twin . I thought I ’ d be wishing for more bang , but it suited the roads we rode perfectly . That engine is all new , and comes with a 270-degree crank , so when you ’ re smashing through the up-down quickshifter , it emits the most delightful race-bred explosions out of its optional Akra race system . Few things make me smile like a bike that makes a bang between gear-shifts . And since I rode the fully optioned version at the press launch , and only the fully optioned version ( no-one asked me if they could
have a go , so I assumed no-one cared enough to want to ride it ), I know what I know . And I know I was pleased .
ONE OF THE BEST HANDLING APRILIAS What I knew before I had ridden the RS660 through just about every corner in Victoria , most of which were greasy with the tears of heaven , was that I didn ’ t much like upright twins – and I certainly didn ’ t much like the Supersport class . Those bikes tend to be built for snakehipped , stoop-shouldered , chickenchested boys , and I tend to be structured more like a bear . I had totally changed my mind as the corners came at me .
62 KIWI RIDER