RIDE REVIEW I APRILIA 660 TUAREG
P60
niers. The 660 engine is stressed
and connects to the frame via six
anchor points, twice as many as
the RS and Tuono. The Tuareg's
engine is also kicked back around
nine degrees, comparatively, a
nod to improved tight-terrain han-
dling on paper.
Fuel capacity and chassis/
handling go together in the
adventure world. And Aprilia has
brought a nice combo of capac-
ity and manners here. Holding
4.75 gallons (18 liters) on-board,
the Tuareg's fuel tank slips verti-
cally inside the top frame spars,
dropping the weight as low in the
chassis as possible and protect-
peak at 9250 rpm. This pairs well
with a Tuareg-specific gearbox
featuring a shorter first gear and
a two-tooth smaller front sprocket
to deliver torquier grunt right at
the crack of the throttle. On the
books, this sounds awesome.
Chassis development also went
the full ADV-specific route from
Aprilia with the Tuareg. Steel and
fully welded frame and subframe
units combine to create a touring
base worthy of max loads. Yeah,
the subframe is permanent and
not replaceable, something Aprilia
thought was worth the compro-
mise of its 460-plus-pound cargo
claims. That's a lot in your pan-
a narrower crossing phase of
the cam lobes to boost low-end
torque character. A unique air-
intake system (somewhat obvi-
ous considering its perch above
the fuel tank) is also added to
the engine to emphasize low-
rpm torque with longer ducts.
The exhaust system follows the
low-to-medium rpm performance
bias as does specific ignition
mapping.
Aprilia says 75% of the 70 Nm
of max torque (52.5 Nm) is avail-
able at 3000 rpm and 85 percent
is on tap at 4500 rpm with max
torque pumped out at 6500
rpmâwell below the horsepower
The Aprilia Tuareg
certainly looks legit
for the ADV world.
