Aprilia Tuareg 660 (2026 - ) review

Aprilia launched itself into the middleweight category with a family of bikes built around its 660 twin, kicking off with the RS660 sports bike and Tuono 660 naked before being joined by the Tuareg adventure bike a year later, reviving a classic Aprilia name from the 1980s. This follows industry convention, and is similar to the way Yamaha’s MT-07 platform has spawned the all-conquering Ténéré 700. In 2025 the regular Tuareg was joined by a Rally version with uprated suspension, heavy-duty spoked wheels, bashplate and SC Project exhaust among its upgrades. Both are slickly designed and styled, have a premium look that raises them above the Yamaha and perform impressively, too. In fact, apart from being often inexplicably overlooked compared to offerings from Yamaha, Triumph, BMW and the flood of new models from China, there’s virtually nothing to fault.

The Tuareg offers largely familiar middleweight adventure bike ergonomics. Being a parallel-twin it’s manageably slim and reasonably light at 204kg ready to go but as an adventure bike with big wheels, long-travel suspension and an upright riding position, it’s also quite tall, which can make it awkward for shorter riders. The standard bike’s seat is 860mm, which is just about OK but the Rally is over 900mm and a bit of a stretch even for taller riders. Once up and running, however, you get a commanding riding position, enough protection from the mid-sized (but non-adjustable) screen to make motorway touring acceptable, a slick dash and less of the imposing bulk and weight of full-size litre-class adventures.

Adventure bikes of any capacity are inherently practical, given they’re capable tourers, fun for Sunday blasts and can even do a bit of off-road while still being useful around town. Larger, 1,000cc+ models have topped the sales charts for years now, the arrival of increasingly capable middleweights inspired by the influential Yamaha Ténéré 700 broadening appeal thanks to reduced weight and more affordable pricing. The class has exploded, the Tuareg following in the wheel tracks of the Yamaha, the Honda XL750 Transalp and new arrivals from Chinese brands like Voge, CFMoto and others. The Tuareg delivers that all-rounder skill set as well as any other and, arguably, has added ‘Italian exotica’ appeal while the newer Rally version offers genuine off-road credibility and even more rugged style. An adjustable screen would be welcome and it’s not quite as fast, affordable and manageable as, say, the Transalp. But if you like the spec and style it does it all.

The Tuareg’s 659cc parallel-twin is a retuned version of that introduced on the RS660 and Tuono 660. That engine in turn was derived from Aprilia’s long admired 1,100cc V4 and even boasts the same 81mm bore, albeit with a slightly longer 63.9mm stroke. In Tuareg trim it’s received internal revisions to valve-timing, induction and exhaust to boost low- and mid-rpm performance at the slight expense of peak power. Accordingly, The Tuareg, in both forms, produces 80 horsepower at 9,250rpm against the RS660’s 105 horsepower at 10,400rpm and 70Nm of torque at just 6,500rpm, which is 2,000rpm sooner than on the RS. On paper that’s down on both the Transalp and the Ténéré but the Aprilia never feels wanting and delivers gutsy, characterful drive throughout the rev range through four standard riding modes (Urban, Explore, Off-Road and a customizable Individual) and made slicker still with an optional quickshifter. Braking is equally impressive thanks to twin 300mm front discs grasped by conventional Brembo four-piston calipers with a single rear all aided by ABS.

If you accept the inherent handling compromises that come with the adventure bike format of a tall riding position and soft, long-travel suspension there’s virtually nothing to fault with the Tuareg’s ride and handling. On the stock bike you get better-than-average fully adjustable Kayaba 43mm inverted forks with a matching monoshock at the rear. The ride is relatively plush but controlled, steering is light but sufficiently secure and the whole bike has an air of refined quality and confidence some big-name rivals can’t match. The Rally version takes all of that up to another level – albeit a more focused, less versatile one. It’s even taller, for a start, its suspension is firmer but has more travel and its tyres are more dirt orientated, too. It’s still a more than capable road bike and, unfortunately, due to time constraints, we didn’t get the opportunity to sample it in the dirt. But we’ve every reason to suspect it’s up there with the best if you do.

While undoubtedly premium Italian machines both Tuaregs are fundamentally relatively affordable, budget-conscious middleweights so, in effect, offer the best of both worlds. At the time of writing the base Tuareg costs a bit more than the recently updated Transalp, but is classier and more capable and the gap over the Ténéré is closer still. The Tuareg should also be little different in terms of running costs, with no excessive demand on consumables such as tyres, chain and brake pads. Aprilia residual values, historically, aren’t quite as good as Honda but, overall, you should have few concerns, and the slight premiums are more than justified by the extra quality the Italian offers.

As discussed, both Tuaregs share Aprilia’s proven 660 engine which, itself, has roots going further back still with no red flags on any for reliability. Both versions also boast higher quality components in terms of suspension and brakes than many immediate rivals, too. Summary? We have no immediate worries!

The Aprilia Tuareg 660 and Rally version both get an industry standard unlimited mileage two-year warranty, which can be extended to up to four years if you stick to servicing by the book at an official dealer. To wit, following the regular 600-mile initial service intervals come round every 6,200 miles or annually, bigger services with valve checks following at 12,400 miles and every other interval after that.

Given the competitive and cost-conscious sector in which they operate bikes of this type are often built to a price compared with more premium alternatives. That’s certainly the case with the likes of the Transalp but you don’t get the same sense with the Tuareg, most obviously with its more premium cycle parts like suspension and brakes, the rider modes, the TFT screen and, yes, the extra prestige of the badge. The Rally takes this further still, with the extra capability and pulling power of its uprated parts and fancier graphics. An adjustable screen would be nice but, apart from that, both have pretty much all you need.

The case for middleweight adventure bikes of this type is compelling, as evidenced by the number of different brands and models competing for attention. The Tuareg might not be the cheapest but it remains one of the most appealing, thanks to its evocative powertrain, quality chassis, equipment levels and general build quality. And if you need more of the above the Rally version gives you just that. In short it’s one of the best of its type, and nor is it even all that expensive, all things relative!