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In this episode of Vlog of Flog, Justin takes the 2026 Aprilia Tuareg Rally through a progressive off-road challenge designed to expose an adventure bike’s real strengths and limits. Starting on pavement and increasing difficulty through gravel roads, two-track, single-track, sand washes, and finally a technical hard-enduro hill climb, the test reveals how the Tuareg Rally performs as conditions get tougher. The goal isn’t to prove it’s something it’s not, but to see how far this rally-inspired ADV bike can realistically go, where it excels, and where it starts to show its weaknesses.

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Transcript
00:00This is the Aprilia Touregg 660 Rally and today I'm going to see how much abuse this
00:05thing can take.
00:06This is the vlog of FLOG.
00:26So what makes the Touregg 660 Rally different than the standard Touregg 660?
00:30Well, this bike is based off of the bike that Giacobo Ceretti used to win the Africa Eco
00:37Race in 2024.
00:39It's got the same kind of color scheme and it's got some serious upgrades to make it a
00:43better off-road machine.
00:45Where we're going to start?
00:46Suspension.
00:47In the fork and on the shock, it's got a single rate spring that is stiffer than the standard
00:52Touregg 660.
00:54The other Touregg 660 has progressive rate springs.
00:57What that does is give it better hold up for off-road use, but it also holds the bike up
01:01higher and gives it more preload so it has more ground clearance.
01:04The seat height has also gone up with that extra preload, 20 millimeters or about 3 quarters
01:09of an inch.
01:10It's got taller handlebars.
01:12It's got a beefy skid plate.
01:13It's got a beefed up chain guide.
01:15It's got awesome graphics that are very dirt bike-ish.
01:19They are actually stickers instead of paint.
01:21The other Touregg has nice clean paint.
01:24This has got stickers.
01:25I'm really interested to see how this is going to hold up through the day.
01:28And one final important touch on this bike is the SC Projects Titanium Exhaust.
01:34This thing pulls a ton of weight out of this bike.
01:36And when we weighed this thing with the full tank of gas, it weighs 454 pounds.
01:41It's about 15 pounds less than the standard model.
01:44It still has the great parallel twin that we found in the other Touregg 660, which is
01:49also used in the RS 660 and the Tuono 660, but it puts out a claimed 80 horsepower.
01:55It is time to hammer this thing and see how well it does starting with the street, moving
02:00to dirt, then going to single track, then going to sand washes, and finally trying out
02:05some hard enduro.
02:23Aprilia says that this has a different throttle map than the standard Touregg, and I gotta say,
02:30it definitely livens it up.
02:31It has a lot more bottom end than I remember from the 660, and that makes it really lively
02:37coming out of the corners.
02:38It just gives it more punch, which is really nice.
02:41The engine itself, super cool, smooth, torquey.
02:44It's everything you want out of a parallel twin.
02:46It may not have as much top end power as some of the other bikes in the class, especially
02:53like when you get up into the 900cc range of like 890s and things like that.
02:57It's plenty quick.
02:59It's just a really nice engine.
03:00Driving-wise, Pirelli STR tires are excellent on the road.
03:04They are like supermoto tires.
03:06Grip is great.
03:07Even today, after we've had massive amounts of rain, there's junk all over the road, and
03:13it's still very sure-footed.
03:15I had the bike move over on me one time on a bunch of gravel, but no problem.
03:20The stiffer suspension actually helps the handling.
03:22It's got better holdup, gives it a little more ground clearance, and it just feels more
03:26controlled than the standard.
03:27The standard is no slouch on the road, but this is actually even better, even though
03:32it has a little bit higher ride height.
03:34Overall, past the street test, really good.
03:40All right, all done with the gravel section.
03:48It really works well in the gravel.
03:51I really like the way this engine delivers power for riding stuff like that, where it's
03:56a little bit slippery, but also lets you showcase the power of the engine.
04:01So down low, it's real snappy.
04:02It's easy to kick out, but then once you get up in the higher RPMs, the throttle is really
04:07connected to the engine.
04:08It feels like it's just right there on your wrist, and you can really dial in what you
04:12want the rear tire to do.
04:14Dial a slide, basically.
04:15Kind of sit in the bike, and the bars feel really tall.
04:19But once you stand up, all of that totally makes sense.
04:22The bars are at the right height, the foot pegs are in the right place.
04:25It feels really comfortable for standing, and that's what this bike was modeled off of,
04:29is a rally bike.
04:30When you're racing rally, you're standing up all the time.
04:32This thing is more focused to dirt than the standard model, and you can tell in the ergonomics.
04:38Overall, it works really great in the gravel.
04:40The Pirelli STRs, they work pretty well.
04:43They have plenty of grip.
04:44They have a nice profile.
04:46Only when you get the tire way over on the side does it kind of start to knife and cut,
04:51which is just a function of the way those tires are.
04:54Thumbs up for gravel use.
04:55Now we're here at MotoVentures, and we're going to do all of our super difficult off-road testing.
05:08You can really tell this bike is made for the dirt.
05:13It is amazing.
05:14The ergonomics are perfect.
05:15The way you sit, the way you stand, it just puts your head right over the steering stem,
05:19which gives you just ultimate control of what to do with the front tire.
05:23It's super responsive.
05:24It just works really well.
05:25And I think with really gnarly set of off-road dual sport tires, it would be an absolute
05:31beast in the dirt.
05:46Over here on the trails, this thing is awesome.
05:48The suspension is amazing.
05:51The upgrade to the single-rate spring from the Progressive in the standard makes all the
05:56difference in the world.
05:57Granted, the valving is different too, but overall, it just works so much better in the
06:02bumps.
06:03You can jump it.
06:04You can hit the whoops in it.
06:05It doesn't bottom out, but you do hit the kickstand with your heel and it can cut out.
06:10So not the greatest setup there.
06:12Over the rocks, amazing.
06:14Overall suspension on this thing is epic.
06:17I would love to go do a desert race on this thing as it sits stock with better tires.
06:23That's it for the trails.
06:24Now it's time to hit single track, then the sand wash, then hard enduro.
06:33Single track Slayer.
06:34I already knew it was going to be good in single track over on the normal trails.
06:38It's so responsive, so quick to handle.
06:40Feels fairly light.
06:41Doesn't feel too top heavy, even though this area is pretty bulbous.
06:45It's just really good.
06:47Total passing grade on single track.
06:48Piece of cake.
06:49No problem.
06:50Let's head to the sand wash and then hard enduro.
06:53Okay.
06:54We're at the infamous sand wash, which probably yesterday was more of a water wash or a stream
07:00than a sand wash.
07:02But it's already starting to dry up to see how it goes.
07:05I don't know if it's going to be easier or harder now that it's wet.
07:09The sand is going to be very heavy, but we might be able to stay up on top better.
07:13So I expect that this thing will do pretty well in this.
07:18It's a really balanced bike.
07:20So I'm not, I'm not too worried about it.
07:21I think this is going to be cake for it.
07:24Oh, it's super easy today.
07:28Piece of cake.
07:33Oh, it's super easy.
07:42Told you.
07:44Okay.
07:45Here we are.
07:46The final boss, the hard enduro section.
07:49We have yet to make it on any bike.
07:51We've tried it on Ibex 450, Himalaya 450, Tenere 700.
07:57Have yet to make it and it's looking pretty nasty after all the rains.
08:01So let's give it a go.
08:03See how far she gets.
08:31No, that's it.
08:38Fold again.
08:40This rock is my nemesis right here.
08:45And Pirelli STR tires.
08:47We tried the same with three, three of the same tire and we just can't make it.
08:51So that's going to be it for this hard enduro test, almost the same spot.
08:58What's it going to take?
09:00I think it's going to take some real knobbies to get up.
09:02All right.
09:03That's it for this issue of vlog of flog, Aprilia Touring 660 Rally.
09:10I think I'm a little bit in love with this motorcycle.
09:12It is so good.
09:13It's so nice.
09:14It's got a few little flaws as any good Italian motorcycle should, but overall, it's really
09:20an upgrade from the standard model.
09:23Those straight rate springs in the fork and the shock make a massive difference.
09:27The extra ground clearance helps.
09:29Price wise, $13,799.
09:33The stock one, $12,499.
09:36So is it worth the $1,300 extra?
09:38Absolutely.
09:39You've got the suspension upgrades, you've got better wheels, you've got a skid plate, and
09:43you have this wonderful sounding SC Project titanium pipe.
09:47Sounds cool.
09:48Cuts a bunch of weight.
09:49This thing works so good off-road and it's still good on-road.
09:54I'm really amazed with what we could do with it.
09:56It was excellent in all the bumps, all the whoops, all that stuff was great.
10:00Only little flaw, that kickstand.
10:03Do not like it.
10:04I would probably find some sort of solution for that and I would change the tires.
10:08Other than that, it doesn't need anything.
10:10So if you like what we're doing on Vlog-A-Flog, hit the like button, subscribe, tell your friends,
10:15put comments down below, tell me again how bad I am at climbing hills and we'll see you
10:20on the next one.
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