Aprilia RS660 – 1 year post race season review.

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When we left off, we had just finished our first race weekend on the new Aprilia RS660. Since then, it’s been put through the paces at many tracks using different tire compounds, spring rates, and gearing options. Time and time again the little Italian twin performed superbly. A few hiccups on this journey hurt lap times and overall race results quite a bit so let’s dive into the ups and downs of the first season.

The engine and electronics were not the standout aspect of the Aprilia in the initial test sessions; it was the chassis and suspension that were my favorite part of this machine. As the pace increased, we quickly found out that the spring rate on the rear was not correct. The stock rear spring is a 750lb unit and we started off with a 900lb. By the season’s end I found myself (145lbs) needing an 1050lb spring on the penske shock set up by Zoran at TWF Racing. The bike was on absolute rails nearly everywhere we went which allowed the lap times to drop even more. We started off with a digressive piston/valving in the shock which worked fantastic at half the tracks, the other half could have used a linear set up. If you’re wondering which one you should go with? I would recommend going with a linear set up and at minimum a 1000# spring. The front end did not get tweaked one time and when I say not tweaked, I mean not even a single click. I’m typically someone who doesn’t touch the shock and adjusts the forks all the time. On the SV650s, I was constantly changing out springs and making clicker adjustments every session. Somehow Zoran got these RS660 forks so spot on perfect that regardless of the pace; the spring rate, oil height, and compression/rebound were not adjusted one single time in the season. The front end offered superb feel, support and traction. We used .95 springs and modified carts that changed the left fork leg to be the compression adjustment.

I still don’t believe the powerplant is anything special when competing against the FZ/MT/R7 and SV650s when each bike is built with in the MotoAmerica Twins Cup rulebook. It’s fast on the top end and the trap speeds prove this. I would love to see some more grunt like the competitors have to offer. I don’t want to sound like this massive complaint about the power, the bike is fast. More than fast enough to win on and the race results from this season proved this.

This RS660 does come with some absolute stunning electronics. The autoblip, quickshifter, and traction control were so good. There were a few places on a couple tracks where I could use the traction control to point the bike in the perfect direction. The next segment is a bit painful to write because the love for this bike is really strong. The autoblip is an absolute dream… when it works properly. Many others and I had issues with the autoblip on those downshifts didn’t exactly work flawlessly. Most of the riders had to ignore the fact that it was even a feature. The clutch had to be used and you really had to take your time on some downshifts. This turned into a massive struggle for me over and over again. One lap everything would be perfect and then the next lap it became a massive chore to get it down a gear. Typically, the issued came from 5th into 4th or 4th into 3rd. One thing we slowly learned was that the sensor/transmission was extremely sensitive to the angle of the shift rod and where the toe peg was at to get the perfect leverage. The ECU really wanted the stock rearsets.

We had one other major headache with this beautiful machine which was only a burden at the start of races. Launching this bike was nearly impossible for me. Starts have been my strong suit for many years until 2021. I tried all different techniques when it came to the green flag waving but never got it right. When the clutch was released, the bike would cut out 3 or 4 times before actually accelerating. Didn’t matter if you tried low rpm, mid-range or high rpm. The ignition would simply cut out and by the time we got going, the only thing in sight was the back of the pack. This issue could easily be unique to only a handful of bikes as not everyone seemed to experience this.

The support Aprilia had to offer at the track was amazing. Anthony from Aprilia as well as Matt Spicer from Robem Engineering were able to help me out quite a few times getting the bike’s software updated track side. This came in as a saving grace in the last round of the season when the RS660 would not go over 9,000 RPM. After hooking up the laptop, the throttle position sensor was able to get recalibrated and all codes cleared. I would like to give a massive thank you to Matt Spicer at Robem Engineering, Anthony Davies at Aprilia and all the other guys at Aprilia who showed up at the races. Aprilia is putting in the effort all over the place and I expect the RS660 to get much better in the coming years. If a few of the issues get worked out, this bike is perfect. Even as it sits, I have little to no desire to ride any other motorcycle on a racetrack, it’s that good. If you are looking to try one out on the track, make sure to check out the Aprilia A-Racer Days at your local track.

This post has already been read 4895 times!