We often see manufacturers developing a wide variety of motorcycles using the same platform. Now it seems like Aprilia has taken a similar path. Aprilia has been absent from the middleweight segment but the RS 660 will mark the Italian marque’s foray into the 600-800cc segment. It is also out in the open that the Tuono 660 will also follow sometime later. What’s new is, there’s another motorcycle which will be joining the supersport and the naked. And guess what? It is going to be an adventure tourer and will be dubbed as ‘Tuareg 660’ which was recently spied.
Revival of the Tuareg moniker?
For the uninitiated, Aprilia has made adventure motorcycles under the Tuareg brand name for years and the revival of the Tuareg moniker couldn’t have happened at a better time.
Expected features
Adventure tourers are gaining huge popularity and the 660 triplets from Aprilia will mean a ruthless onslaught from the Italian brand. Although the spy shots do not reveal much, it is safe to assume that the Tuareg 660 will be powered by the same 660cc parallel-twin engine which dishes out 100bhp. We can expect Aprilia to retune the engine to suit the characteristics of the Tuareg. More torque low down rather than more power higher up should be the way to go. Similar to other Aprilia big bikes, the feature list might also be impressive with things like cruise control, cornering ABS, traction control, multiple riding modes and a TFT screen.
The overall silhouette reveals that it is going to be purpose-built and it might turn out to be capable enough to endure some serious beating. It looks like a large enduro motorcycle and also seen is wire-spoke rims at both ends, a high rise handlebar, a short windshield and an extremely high upswept exhaust. Unlike the Kawasaki Versys 650 which is a soft-roader, we can expect the Tuareg 660 to be more in line with the likes of Yamaha Tenere 700. Aprilia teased the Tuareg 660 last year as well, at the EICMA but now that it is spotted out in the open, we can expect to see it in its production guise soon. Although the styling isn’t clearly visible in the picture, expect it to sport a headlamp and tail lamp design similar to its RS660 and Tuono 660 siblings.
Aprilia SXR160
Talking about Aprilia’s India operations, it recently teased its upcoming sporty SXR160 scooter, on their official website. Manufacturers like Honda and TVS have enjoyed a huge chunk of market share for the scooter segment in India, for decades. But now, the time is changing, and so is the demand, which has allowed other two-wheeler manufacturers to grab a piece of the pie in the Indian market. One such segment which is gaining popularity in India is the maxi-scooter segment.
Also read: Aprilia To Introduce Sub-400cc Motorcycles In India
The SXR169 will retain the typical sporty character, just like the SR range and will also come with 12-inch alloy wheels. The SXR160 will share the same engine, which is a 160cc, BS6 compliant single-cylinder engine, which produces 11 bhp of power and 11.6 Nm of peak torque. Also, other things which the scooter will share with the SR range is the suspension and brakes.