RS660 – Initial Track Review – It’s Damn Good

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As of May 3rd, 2021 we finally got our Aprilia RS660’s on the race track. One a bit more race prepped than the other but both turned out to be loads of fun.

What did we do? Both bikes received suspension mods in the form of Penske Doubles set up by Zoran @ TWF Racing and modified fork carts also done by Zoran. The left leg has been modified to be the compression adjuster as the stock forks do not supply any compression adjustment. The right fork is still rebound.

My bike only had some brembo rotors, mirrors/plate holder/kickstand removed and some Dunlop slicks. Stock exhaust, stock handle bars, ABS and the stock lines still in place.

The #89 bike received a host of modifications over the stock bike including: Spider upper triple clamp, Spider Rear Sets, Spider Gas Cap, Akrapovic Exhaust, JetPrime Tuning Module, JetPrime Bar Controls, JetPrime Ignition Delete, Woodcraft clip-ons, And the following purchased from Robem Engineering: Rear caliper hanger with matching Spiegler brake lines, Kick Stand Delete, Rectifier Relocator, Coolant Overflow and Spiegler Front brake lines

My initial impression in the first couple laps were that the bike felt tall and part of that was due to the fact that the stock handle bars are much higher than anything I’ve been riding over the past 13 years. The cockpit is made for a smaller human. The motor had no pull/grunt out of the corners. You had to be screaming in the RPM in hopes it would propel you in any way. My assumption on the motor feeling dull is that the stock gearing is very very tall. The 17 tooth front sprocket combined with the 43 tooth rear does not allow the machine to pull out of a corner and we both found the shift points to be off from what we were use to at the Summit Point main circuit. Our next flight will have a different sprocket combination in hopes to see a machine that can pull out of the corner. The motor currently leaves me wanting more.

I was skeptical about leaving the stock brake lines in place as the front brake lever was very spongy. Unlike the disappointing motor, the brakes were fantastic. The brakes stiffened up once they got heat into them and a few late brake instances showed how strong they could really perform. Lofting the rear end in the air showed to be an easy task even with the street HH brake pads. Sean on the other hand decided to cook his brakes going into the first corner on the first session instead of breaking them in like a normal human would. Don’t be like Sean.

Let’s get to the good stuff, the things that simply, truly, wowed me. The stock slipper clutch combined with the programmable engine braking is 100% amazing. It’s beautiful how well the two work in harmony, Aprilia nailed it. Bravo. To make these areas of your track better, the auto blip/clutchless down shifting works like a charm. Again, 100% amazing, Aprilia nailed it. Staying on the shifting topic; the quick shifter works as it should. The gear box engages smoothly every time and doesn’t miss a beat when paired up with the clutchless shifting regardless of where you are in the RPM range. These features of the bike alone make it worth the price tag. It just works so damn good. Neither Sean or I were riding in GP shift, we were not able to get that done. As of today, my RS660 has the GP shift modification completed by my local Aprilia Dealer (MotoPlex West Chester) which costs roughly $250. Aprilia sends dealers a code which needs entered into your ECU. There are some stand alone options for GP shift but I will recommend just getting it done at your dealer.

The chassis on this bike is the best part. Partially speechless when it comes to the geometry. We took a guess on spring rates, fork height and shock length. Neither of us wanted to touch a thing which is extremely rare for myself. What ever line you wanted to take, the 660 would let you do it and let you do it with grace. The chassis is unbelievably smooth in every part of the corner. We were a couple seconds off a faster race pace however once we get going faster some adjustments will be most likely have to be made. The chassis is just so damn good. This Aprilia RS660 is the best handling motorcycle I have ever ridden. I’ve ridden 30+ different SV650’s on the race track and not a single one comes close to this APE in the handling department. The 660 is perfectly balanced. This Aprilia is too damn good.

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