VOLUME 58 ISSUE 16 APRIL 20, 2021 P119
dies on the weekend's canyon
MotoGP.
Aprilia's built in a huge
amount of electronic adjust-
ability to the Tuono, which is
not massive news these days.
However, what's important here
is how easy all the modes are
to adjust. Just hit the button
on the right handlebar switch
block and you're taken into the
ride modes suite and you can
adjust engine brake control,
maps, TC and ABS, etc., far
easier than on many bikes that
cost twice as much.
Each map offers a distinctly
different personality to the
Tuono. After a bit of screwing
around I settled on level two for
the throttle map, which took out
a little of the savagery of level
one. This gave a near ideal
amount of torque immediacy
for canyon riding and highway
cruising, but if I wanted more,
the electronics had my back.
The 41mm Kayaba front
suspension isn't as high-spec
as you'll find in something like
the Triumph Street Triple 765
R or the KTM 890 Duke R,
but it does the job. If you go
hammering the front under
brakes, you'll find the fork's limit
pretty quickly, but it's compliant
enough for 95 percent of the
applications a Tuono 660 will
be put through.
The shock can send a de-
cent whack up your butt on the
high-speed compression circuit
when you hit sharp bumps, but
overall performance is pretty
good. However, not having full
adjustability is a drawback.
The fork settings
are fine for the most
part, but the fork
struggles a little
with bottoming out
under hard braking
and turning.
