Aprilia RS 660 Spotted Again On Test In Italy.



https://www.carandbike.com/news/apri...n-test-2248292

Here is some very positive feedback on the RS660 from an early CycleWorld media ride. This bike looks very promising indeed! The full article is here.

Aprilia RS 660 makes global debut in California.









https://www.autocarpro.in/news-inter...lifornia-77431

Initial media reports indicate that the Aprilia RS660 leans towards being more of a pure supersports motorcycle than a sports tourer like the Ninja 650 or the CBR650R. Here are some pictures from an enthusiast in the US.


That matt gold paint scheme initially seemed to be a bit of an acquired taste but the footage from the Aprilia video does make it look rather attractive. This will be a volume seller for Aprilia if they bring it to India, I dont know why they wouldnt.

If Aprilla does bring it then it will be via cbu which will put the price at 15l ex showroom. At that price it will be a hard sell when for a little more you can get proper litre class bikes. The bike looks fantastic though.

It will be dead on arrival. Nobody will plonk 15Lakh (ex-showroom) so about 20L (on-road) on a 600cc bike with similar tech as that of ZX-6r and having 30bhp lesser than ZX-6r. ZX-6R is available around 13L on road. Infact for a couple of lakh more one might pick up a Panigale V2

The initial reviews have started coming in and they all point to a usable and yet sporty Aprilia. Bennetts Bike mentions that 80% of torque is available at 4,000 RPM and that 90% torque is available at 6,250 RPM.

There is no reason for Aprilia to avoid the CKD route for this bike. Kawasaki did so for the ZX6R and managed to price the bike very attractively. Assuming that Aprilia does so as well, even at around Rs 50K more than the ZX6R, it will find a lot of buyers for sure. If it is around the same price or less than the Kawasaki, Aprilia will have a ton of buyers!

For reference, these are the UK prices
- Aprilia RS660 : GBP 10,149 (Visordown video)
- Kawasaki ZX6R : GBP 9,699 for the base all black model and GBP 9,899 for KRT graphics
Visordown does mention that the RS660 is a bit cheaper than the ZX6R so maybe there are some local taxes that need to be added onto the Kawasaki to make it a fair price comparison.

One big reason I feel that Aprilia would avoid the CKD route is mainly because it will entail a good investment and set up. Going cbu is a lot easier since they have a single model to sell aside from their scooters. Kawasaki has a slew of bikes to sell which is why they invested in setting up a plant for CKD models. I will be happy if Aprilia proves me wrong and launches it via CKD. There are no real competitors to the Zx6r after the departure of the Daytona but I feel it's highly unlikely Aprilia will go down the CKD route for any big bike like this considering they don't have a big line up to sell in India and probably wouldn't want to risk a big investment for these expensive bikes.

One thing that the BS4 fire sale proved without a doubt, is that Indians will lap up Aprilia's high end bikes, if the price is right. There is no doubting the capability of these Italian beauties, it is the prohibitively high price that has kept it out of the reach of most enthusiasts. Of course, it is the typical chicken and egg story, Aprilia will say there arent enough volumes to justify CKD expenses and the market will say, the CBU bikes are too expensive for us to buy, so how can you ask for volumes?

But if we look at Aprilia's global lineup, I think there is enough room to justify a CKD investment for India.
- Litre Class
We have the RSV4 RR1000 and the Factory 1100. We also have the Tuono RR1100 and Factory 1100. These are dream bikes for many Indian enthusiasts. Also there is a generation of Kawasaki Z800 / Triumph Street Triple 675 owners who have owned their bikes for a good 4 - 5 years now and are ready to upgrade to an exciting litre class naked bike. What options do they have today?
- Middleweight Class
The new RS 660 has all the ingredients to bring in volumes. Great looks, usable torque, complete suite of electronics and everything else that we can want. Now add the impending Tuono 660 and the Tuareg 660 and the numbers start making sense.
- Upper middleweight Class
This is the slightly weak proposition for the CKD argument. The Shiver and the Dorsoduro are good bikes in their own right but arent the first bikes you think of when you consider this segment. They may not even be in the list of the first 5 bikes either.

The other angle to consider is that many of these Motoplex dealers are sitting on high rental commercial spaces with limited sales from Aprilia and Vespa scooters. Compare this investment to a regular Honda dealer who has a regular sized showroom and sells 10x scooters and bikes each month. The Motoplex dealers definitely need to boost sales in the bigger bikes segment to improve their finances.

The question is will Aprilia (or rather the parent company Piaggio) do the right thing and invest in their future in the Indian market? If I were in Piaggio, I would move heaven and earth for the company to do so.

As per first ride reviews, it is not super aggressive as a supersport should be. It's found its way to sit between the Ninja 650 and ZX6-R. Leaning more towards the ZX6-R as said by the reviewers. This slots it right along the Honda CBR-650R. On the topic of finding a market for this particular machine, and 650R by Honda itself didn't find a huge number of buyers despite its price tag and service cost and Kawasaki still leads it. Maybe attributed to the low power figures. That maybe be filled with the Aprilia but setting up a CKD route, Aprilia will have to consider bringing along its entire line up, 150 to 660, at least.

Contrary to popular belief setting up a CKD assembly plant does not require big investment. They won't need the expensive and sophisticated equipment/robotics that a manufacturing plant require. They just need some skilled labor to fix the transmission in the engine and screw it all together as CKD rules state the tranny and engine should be imported disassembled. The rest is just bolting stuff on.

I hope Aprilia does go the CKD route and I think they're going to as I've read in some international forum. Fingers crossed and I am truly smitten by this baby rsv4. Half an rsv4 is exactly what the doctor prescribed for our Indian roads.

Piaggio to launch Aprilia RS 660 in India around mid-2021, it will arrive as a CBU product in India.

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Autocar says both the RS and the Tuono are going to come in as CBUs by mid-2021. Naturally pricing will be high, but I am more interested in the (lack of?) 3S for this brand, unless they decide to sell these alongside the scooters?

An almost production ready version of the Aprilia Tuono 660 has been spotted on test on the roads of Italy.



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Aprilia Tuono 660 revealed, The motorcycle comes with a 660cc 95 HP twin-cylinder motor. Weighing just 183 kg with all fluids.

Aprilia Tuono 660 comes loaded with technology. There is anti-wheelie control, cornering ABS, cruise control, engine brake, multi-level traction control, a choice of engine maps and riding modes (3 for road and 2 for track) as well.

Available in 3 colour options, namely Acid Gold, Concept Black and Iridium Grey, the motorcycle is priced in the UK at £9700 (9.65 lakhs).













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