Aprilia Tuareg 660 Spotted in the Wild for the First Time

The first time we saw the Aprilia Tuareg 660, it was in a glass box at EICMA, surrounded and covered by plants that obscured our view.

But, with the dirt-focused adventure bike getting closer to reality, we were bound to get a better glimpse before its debut. That brings us to today.

Caught for the first time on the open road, this photo posted to the Aprilia RS660 Facebook group (and then removed) shows the mid-sized adventure bike in its pre-production form.

Like all good spy photos, it appears to come from someone with either zero photographical skills, or with a camera phone purchased during the Obama administration (perhaps both). But nonetheless, the photo is enough to whet our appetite.

At the core of the Aprilia Tuareg 660 is the 660cc parallel-twin motor that will also feature in the Aprilia RS660 and Aprilia Tuono 660 sport bikes.

The motor design is said to be a half of the V4 engine that powers the RSV4 superbike, and those very powerful and advanced.

As such, the Tuareg 660 is likely to share the 90hp version of the motor with the Tuono 660, as it is better suited for street riding, though it wouldn’t surprise us to see Aprilia create its own tune for the ADV bike.

Almost surely different power modes will augment that horsepower figure for rain and off-road riding, via ride-by-wire.

Speaking of electronics, the Aprilia Tuareg 660 is expected to have plenty of rider aids. One of the allures of the 660cc platform is its high-tech nature and six-axis IMU. This means sophisticated lean-sensitive traction control, cornering ABS, and more.

A 21″ front wheel was teased in Milan, and it seems to be confirmed in today’s photo as well.

This means that Aprilia sees the Tuareg 660 as a true dual-sport, and is keen to have the bike compete against the KTM 790 Adventure R and the Yamaha Ténéré 700.

This also means that the Aprilia Tuareg 660 is expected to have a reasonable price tag (our sources in Noale confirm as much to us as well), with the 660cc platform overall aiming to be an affordable, yet sophisticated, offering for two-wheeled enthusiasts.

We would expect the machine to fall somewhere in-between the $10,000 and $13,700 range that is created by the Yamaha and KTM.

Just as we are keen to hop on the Aprilia RS660 in the coming weeks, as it is finally headed to production, we are eager to try our hand on the Aprilia Tuareg 660, as it is surely going to be one of the most anticipated models to debut in 2021.

We would like to say it is looking good so far, but that would be giving today’s photographer far too much credit.