Aprilia Tuono 660 Review: The Featherweight Thriller

It is easy to be seduced by big numbers, but the Tuono 660 makes a compelling case that the most thrilling motorcycles are often the lightest. Aprilia took its RS 660 sportbike, raised the bars, sharpened the attitude and created a naked that trades brute force for a scalpel-like precision. On a real road, ridden hard, it delivers a purity of experience that far more powerful machines struggle to match.

This is a bike built by a company with racing in its blood, and it shows in every input. The Tuono 660 does not overwhelm you with power; it invites you to carry corner speed, to be smooth, to enjoy the process. Get it right and it flows down a ribbon of tarmac like almost nothing else at the price.

A twin with genuine character

The 659 cc parallel-twin, effectively the front bank of Aprilia's V4 superbike engine, produces 95 hp at 10,500 rpm and a useful 67 Nm of torque. That may sound modest against triples and fours, but in a bike this light it is more than enough to thrill, and the 270-degree crank hands it a throaty, characterful bark that belies its middleweight displacement.

The delivery is the clever part. There is enough low-down drive to make it easy in town, a strong, elastic midrange that suits real-world roads perfectly, and a top-end that rewards a committed rider chasing the redline. It will dispatch 100 km/h in around 3.6 seconds and stretch to 220 km/h, but it is the everyday accessibility of that performance that makes it so addictive.

Featherweight agility that redefines fun

At just 183 kg the Tuono 660 is one of the lightest bikes in its class, and the effect on the handling is transformative. The aluminium twin-beam frame and Kayaba suspension give it a flickable, intuitive agility that makes threading a series of switchbacks feel effortless. It changes direction the instant you think about it, yet stays utterly composed once committed to a line.

Brembo brakes on twin 320 mm discs deliver strong, feelsome stopping power, and the Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa rubber offers plenty of grip for spirited road use. The short 1370 mm wheelbase makes it wonderfully eager, and while it lacks the outright plushness of some rivals, the payoff is a directness and connection that keeps you grinning inside your helmet.

The everyday compromises

The Tuono is sportier and more focused than the average naked, and that brings a few trade-offs. The seat is firm, the riding position leans forward more than some rivals, and the parallel-twin can feel a little buzzy at sustained motorway speeds, transmitting a touch more vibration through the bars and pegs than a smooth four would.

None of that stops it working as a daily, and the 15-litre tank paired with a frugal 24 km/l offers a decent range. But this is a bike that clearly prefers a winding road to a motorway slog, and buyers should go in knowing they are choosing thrills and involvement over armchair comfort. That is rather the point.

Superbike electronics in a middleweight

This is where the Tuono truly astonishes for the money. It inherits Aprilia's full APRC electronics suite, governed by a six-axis IMU: cornering ABS, cornering traction control, wheelie control, engine-brake control, cruise control and multiple ride modes, all adjustable through a comprehensive TFT dash and a slick up-and-down quickshifter.

This is genuine superbike-grade technology in a friendly middleweight package, and it is beautifully calibrated. The systems are configurable enough for an expert to fine-tune and reassuring enough to give a newer rider real confidence in the wet. Few bikes at any price offer this depth of rider aids so seamlessly integrated.

Value and the middleweight rivals

Priced keenly against the middleweight establishment, the Tuono 660 makes a persuasive financial argument to sit alongside its emotional one. It undercuts many premium nakeds while offering electronics that shame bikes costing far more, and against the accessible sport crowd — Honda's CBR650R, Yamaha's MT-07, Kawasaki's Z650 — it counters their friendlier prices with a level of sophistication, feel and outright ability that those honest, cheaper machines simply cannot begin to approach on a genuinely demanding road.

The flip side of that Italian sophistication is the ownership reality. Aprilia's dealer network is thinner than the Japanese giants in many markets, so servicing and parts can require a little more planning and patience, and the running costs sit a notch above the mass-market middleweights. None of it is prohibitive, but it is a fair consideration for the buyer weighing the little Aprilia against a more conventional and more widely supported rival.

There is also the closely related RS 660 to consider for those who fancy a fairing and clip-ons, but the Tuono is the more versatile everyday choice thanks to its wider bars and upright stance. For the rider who has done the sums and decided that handling, character and clever electronics matter more than badge familiarity, the Tuono 660 repays the slightly braver purchase many times over, every time the road turns interesting.

The Tuono 660 is the finest reminder in motorcycling that lightness, not horsepower, is the true currency of joy.— Marcus Vale

Made for

• Canyon carvers who value agility above outright horsepower
• Riders who prize connection, feel and involvement on a back road
• Buyers who want superbike-grade electronics on a middleweight
• Enthusiasts stepping down from a heavy litre bike for more fun
• Anyone chasing the purest handling thrill in the naked class

Verdict

The Tuono 660 is a masterclass in the idea that less can be more. Its twin has genuine character, its featherweight chassis delivers a handling thrill that shames far pricier machines, and its electronics suite is little short of astonishing at the price. The firm seat and buzzy motorway manners are the only meaningful concessions, and they are a small toll for what you get.

For the rider who understands that the best roads are rarely straight and never fast for long, the Tuono is a revelation. It is the featherweight thriller — a bike that puts joy, precision and involvement ahead of the spec sheet, and is all the greater for it.