- 2 days ago
We test the 2025 Aprilia RS 660 Factory on our usual street route and take the base model RS 660 to the Circuit of The Americas for a full track session. In this review, we break down performance, handling, and updates to see how Aprilia’s middleweight factory sportbike performs in real-world riding and how its base model performs at high speeds on the track.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hey folks, good morning and welcome to today's episode of MC Commute starring Aprilia's 2026 RS660 Factory.
00:07Alright everyone, there it is, Aprilia's 2026 RS660 Factory.
00:11This is a new and improved middleweight size sport bike from Aprilia out of Italy.
00:15Look at that bodywork. It's got an all-new front fairing and side fairings.
00:19It has a much more aesthetically pleasing look versus the original 2021 RS660.
00:25He is powered by a 659cc parallel twin that Aprilia says is the front half of its legendary RSV4, 65 degree V-twin engine.
00:35Alright enough talking about this bike. Let's swing a leg over and see what it's like to ride.
00:38Right away sitting on this motorcycle. Well, it's a sport bike.
00:42That means that the clip-ons are a little bit low and the seat is high.
00:49But to be fair, this RS660 Factory actually has a really accommodating seat level that is in spite of a traditional sport bike and is actually really low.
00:58And the clip-ons are actually pretty high.
01:00So for a sport bike, this is actually a really accommodating sport bike and very easy to ride on the street, which we like.
01:08This windscreen has a nice bubble which you can sit behind.
01:11I wish it was a little bit taller, but realistically it's not bad.
01:14It has a nice bubble shape and you can tuck in underneath it if you're a small rider.
01:19If you're 6 foot tall, 190 pounds, you're going to fit a little bit snugly on this vehicle.
01:25But overall it's not that bad, obviously, because the clip-ons are rather high and the seats are really low.
01:30The foot pegs are a tad high on this bike, which is good because you have really good cornering clearance when you're going around turns.
01:37But it's not so high where it's unaccommodating to ride on the street.
01:40I think if the seat was a little taller, us tall folks would have a little bit more room in the knees.
01:45Still a very nice ergonomics package and we like this wide body.
01:49This redesigned wide body front fairing, all the sport bikes, super bikes these days, all the good ones are all wide body.
01:55They've been doing that since 2019, 18.
01:58They started going wider and wider, wider.
02:00And it's cool the RS660 factory adopts that wide body super bike aero package.
02:06Even though it really doesn't need it, it's only got a 659cc parallel tune, which we'll get to in a second.
02:11But it's still cool that it probably is pushing the envelope on and off track.
02:15This thing's powered by a 659cc parallel twin engine.
02:20What a cool dual-ready camshafts with an eight-valve cylinder head.
02:22This engine's good for right around 90 horsepower at the business end of that rear tire, upwards of 40 pound-feet of torque.
02:31This vehicle has larger throttle bodies and some other changes that give this engine.
02:35This engine's got some stomp for a 660cc parallel twin.
02:41I just love the character of this engine.
02:42This engine literally feels like an RSV4.
02:45Of course, it doesn't have the traditional V4 shake, rattle, and roll.
02:50But you feel and hear that RSV4 character in this engine, which should come as no surprise because Aprilia said they literally engineered this powertrain to be the front half-bank of the 65-degree V4 engine.
03:06Very nice.
03:06We love the sounding character of this engine.
03:08It only gets meaner for 2026.
03:11Really pleasing character.
03:14Ride-by-wire throttle response.
03:15If there's one thing Aprilia knows how to do, it's ride-by-wire throttle programming, especially for track use.
03:22They've been the leaders in that segment for decades, and the throttle response continues on this bike.
03:29A little bit of engine vibration.
03:31You feel it through mainly the fuel tank, believe it or not.
03:35Mainly the four-gallon fuel tank.
03:36You can feel the vibration through.
03:38A little bit through the controls.
03:39But honestly, it's not overwhelming.
03:42It's the right kind of vibration.
03:43It makes you feel like you're riding a fun, sporty motorcycle, which we like.
03:49Cable-actuated clutch on this vehicle.
03:51Nice, light pull.
03:54The pull is very light, but yet it still has a nice weighted response.
03:57The clutch doesn't feel wimpy.
03:59There's also slipper clutch function.
04:01So if you downshift in too low of gear for vehicle speed traveled, you don't have to worry about anything crazy happening.
04:09Let's get to the front of the line where we belong, folks.
04:13And away we go.
04:15We've got a six-speed electronic quick shifter-enabled transmission.
04:19That allows us to growth up and down through the gearbox.
04:26Yes, finally, some turns.
04:28We love turns in this 400-pound RS660 factory.
04:34That's right.
04:34This thing only weighs just over 400 pounds.
04:38It's a very light sport bike.
04:40You feel how light it is.
04:41It's just lifted it off of its side stand.
04:46And it handles very nice.
04:48Nice, predictable handling.
04:50This motorcycle is suspended with Ohlins suspension.
04:53We have an Ohlins fork with independent spring preload and separate function, compression, and rebound damping.
05:01Rebound is in the right, compression is in the left.
05:04Ohlins does that to reduce weight from this front suspension system.
05:08It's also less manufacturing cost.
05:11We prefer independent suspension front forks setups where you have two cartridges, one for rebound damping, one for compression damping.
05:21But this fork has a more budget-oriented setup.
05:24The spring rate on this motorcycle is rather light.
05:26If you're a heavier rider, you're certainly going to tax the OE spring rate.
05:31But all in all, not bad.
05:33All right, everyone.
05:33So far so good on Aprilia's 2026 RS660 factory.
05:36Look at this thing.
05:37I really like the aesthetics of this motorcycle.
05:39It's a really pleasing upgrade from the previous 2021 to 2025 RS660.
05:44It's certainly a looker.
05:45It looks even better than the RSV4, in our opinion.
05:48Really comfortable for a sport bike and loaded with all the bells and whistles.
05:52And we love that signature RSV4 character from the front half bank of this 659cc parallel twin.
05:58Well, everyone, enough talk about this bike.
05:59Let's get back on the road because we're having so much fun.
06:01All right, folks, where were we?
06:03Oh, yeah, the spring rate.
06:04The spring rate on this vehicle is a little bit more lightly sprung.
06:07So if you're a 190-pound rider, you're definitely going to be in the upper edge of the spring envelope on this vehicle.
06:13Probably going to be re-sprung.
06:15This motorcycle, while it feels Latin, agile, the suspension, it really beats you up on the street here.
06:22You really feel every bump, and it is very just rough riding.
06:28So a very rough riding motorcycle on the street.
06:31If you're looking for a motorcycle that has really compliant suspension and gives a real nice plush ride over the bumps,
06:37you're not going to find it with this RS660 factory.
06:40However, on a smooth road, on a smooth road that's devoid of any bumps,
06:44the suspension glides over the pavement.
06:46It has really good road holding.
06:47I mean, we like the way the suspension operates on smooth pavement.
06:52We just aren't big fans of it on the rough stuff.
06:54Out back, we have a non-linkage-equipped shock.
06:57So the shock mounts directly between the frame and swingarm using the engine as a stress member.
07:01And there is spring preloading, compression, and rebound damping adjustment.
07:05We do like that the compression and rebound damping adjustment knobs are knobs.
07:09You don't need a screwdriver like you do with the fork.
07:12It's a really, really nice touch.
07:15I think it's cool this Porsche comes with Oleens.
07:17I wouldn't say it works significantly better than the base model, in theory at least,
07:24just judging over how Aprilia engineers and Ducati engineers its base model versus its up-spec Oleens-equipped model.
07:31But the Oleens gold stuff certainly looks cool.
07:35Now, this motorcycle is equipped with all the bells and whistles.
07:38We have adjustable combined engine power and throttle mode maps, track control, wheelie control, launch control.
07:44It's all controlled via this switchgear block here that is backlit.
07:51Right now, we've been getting 39 miles per gallon on this vehicle.
07:56Not bad.
07:58Not bad.
07:5839 miles per gallon with a 4-gallon capacity.
08:02Fuel tank, nice fuel gauge right there.
08:03There's a button right here that allows you to switch between global riding modes, commute, individual, and dynamic.
08:13You can also tune the track control while you're riding.
08:17If you're right in the right screen.
08:20You can tune, track rolling, and wheelie control while you're riding.
08:23Very, very cool.
08:25The switchgear is okay.
08:28The menu navigation with a prolly always changes, so it takes you a little bit of time to understand the function of the menu
08:36and how to get in and out of things and how to set the settings, but once you do, the user interface has made great strides from previous RSV4 and RS660s.
08:48Good job, Aprilia.
08:49So, all in all, nice electronic system, and we like the backlit switchgear so you can see where the button is when you're riding at night.
08:59Very, very nice.
09:01I really like that Aprilia infuses its racing DNA into this bike.
09:07This bike feels very sporty.
09:09Although it's comfortable for a road-going sport bike, it's got that cool signature RSV4 growl and character.
09:17And while the suspension rides a little rough, that roughness could also convey a little bit of rigidity, so it feels like you're racing.
09:27Like a real racy, rigid feel.
09:28Again, not the most comfortable, but it does offer a lot of character.
09:35It makes riding a sport bike feel like riding a real sport bike.
09:39Good job, Aprilia.
09:41Keeping speed in check is triple hydraulic disc brakes from Brembo Brembo.
09:45We also have this nice radial mount master cylinder.
09:48Braking package on this motorcycle.
09:49Very stout.
09:50We love it.
09:51This motorcycle has a big back brake.
09:52Realistically, 400 pounds, it's not that heavy, so it probably wouldn't need to have as stout braking as it does.
10:00But the brakes are pretty dang good on it.
10:03To be fair, they do fade a little bit when you're really wailing on this thing.
10:09When you're really giving this thing to berries and a rider like it's meant to be, it does have a little bit of brake fade.
10:15But given the configuration of the motorcycle, it's totally acceptable.
10:20It's nice having IMU power quartering ABS.
10:22If you haven't ever experienced IMU power quartering ABS, if you haven't lived, it allows you to use the brakes with extreme, extremely aggressively.
10:34And the threshold of ABS intervention is just so high.
10:40It's just amazing that a machine can allow you to operate a vehicle that aggressively with the brakes.
10:47So very, very nice if you're someone who really likes to brake heavily at lean.
10:53You're going to love the IMU power quartering ABS.
10:56The pure Pirelli Diablo Rosso 3 tires in this vehicle, they work good.
11:01They're nice tires.
11:02They're not the most sporty, grippy sport bike tire out there, but they're certainly capable.
11:09And they work in inclement weather as well.
11:11So, the carcass and profile of Pirelli's is also pretty neutral.
11:19The race tires are maybe a little bit softer.
11:22These street tires are a little bit more firm, but not quite as firm as other manufacturers, but they do a good job.
11:28I really like this color TFT display.
11:30It looks good.
11:31The fonts aren't the sharpest.
11:34There's other motorcycles with TFT displays that have a little bit sharper fonts.
11:38But, all in all, it works well.
11:40I like the white numbers and the black background.
11:42That's always my favorite setting.
11:44In a setting, I always select on other vehicles when I'm operating them.
11:50All right, let's give this thing the berries.
11:53Oh, yeah, this thing sounds awesome.
11:56Whoa!
11:58Whoa.
11:59The speed got carried away there.
12:01Definitely some engine vibration through this 659cc Pirelli Twin, but again, it's a good kind of vibration.
12:08It makes riding fun.
12:10So, of course, MC Commute is a street bike riding series, but because these bikes are so high performance,
12:19we wanted to show you what they are like to ride on the racing track.
12:24Because a good amount of you folks will ride these bikes out on track, because these bikes are just so fun and capable.
12:34So, this, folks, is a lap of circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
12:39This track is so cool because it is very high speed.
12:44As you can see right now, you're going well over 120 miles per hour.
12:48And you have to get to shift into almost top gear.
12:52As we go down into the six-speed gearbox into first gear.
12:58Of course, we're riding on the OE, Pirelli Diablo street tires.
13:03So, we can't really haul butt, but we can do enough to feel this bike.
13:08This bike is really easy to ride.
13:10Really easy to ride.
13:11Really charismatic.
13:12Really fun.
13:14If you're someone who wants to get on track on a bike that's not crazy intimidating,
13:18very easy to ride, this RS660 fits the bill.
13:24Well, everyone,
13:24that was a really fun ride in Aprilia's 2026 RS660 factory.
13:28This motorcycle is really awesome.
13:30Again, really love the styling of this motorcycle.
13:31Big upgrade from the original 2020 RS660.
13:34Styling is awesome.
13:35Character, wow.
13:37Aprilia did a really good job infusing its superbike fun-loving character in this motorcycle.
13:41It's a comfortable sport bike that feels very racy, which we like.
13:47Well, everyone,
13:48that wraps up our official 2026 MC Commute RS660 factory.
13:51This motorcycle retails for $14,000.
13:53Carries a two-year warranty.
13:54It's built in Italy.
13:55We'll see you next episode.
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