A couple of months back, Aprilia launched 2 middleweights: the RS 660 and Tuono 660. Naturally, those with more daring aspirations would ask, "Does it have an adventure bike variant?” It will very soon.
Italian motorcycle magazine, Motociclismo, sat down with Aprilia’s product marketing manager, Cristian Romeo Barelli, to talk about the rumors surrounding Aprilia’s upcoming adventure bike.
“Yes, it will be very off-road oriented, which is why it will also have 21-inch front and 18-inch rear wheels,” said Barelli. It could be a hint that the upcoming adventure bike will go head-to-head with Yamaha’s F7 Tenere and KTM’s 790 Adventure R.
Reviving the Tuareg
It will be named the Tuareg. For those who are not familiar, the Tuareg was Aprilia’s capable adventurer that was manufactured between 1985 to 1994. Back then, the Tuareg was Aprilia’s weapon for various cross-country rally races where it proved to be a potent off-road machine.
The only other details we know is that it will be powered by the same engine as the RS and Tuono 660. To suit the off-road application, it will likely be tuned to return power and torque in the low to middle rev range, and is being developed to be as lightweight as possible.
“There was a lot of work to have a low weight. The 660 platform was born with sporting and fun contents. Even the Tuareg will follow that imprint,” added Barelli.
During the interview, Barelli did mention that the upcoming Tuareg will be a 2022 model and should be available in showrooms as early as the end of this year.
