Aprilia Lvl: 1

Aprilia's new mid-range sport bike isn't a beginner's bike, but a bike for first time Aprilia riders.

When I was young, my first real experience with motorcycles was when my dad would pick me up from school on his Honda Shadow VLX600. I was young and didn’t really know better, so to me, seeing my dad on that big, loud, and vibrating Iron Steed was a revelation. And yes, I did say revelation when I was about as tall as your typical bar top. All my friends were jealous because I got picked up on a Harley – well, Harley lookalike. They had drivers and yayas, so they couldn’t feel the wind in their face, or the bike between their legs. It was that feeling that made me beg my dad to pick me up every day with his big bikes – the idea that I was the only one who could do it.

That was ever such a long time ago, though, and 12 years later I’m the one riding motorcycles now. Naturally, I inherited my father’s bikes, which means my experience in motorcycles is almost exclusively cruisers. I like 'em big, lazy, and burbling, basically.

Knowing myself, it would take a very good experience to make the switch to a different type of bike. I’m a big fan of that laid back biker lifestyle, not so much the hardcore, hunched over seating position often seen with sport bikes.

A bike like the RS660, then, was exactly the kind of bike I wouldn’t give a second thought to. Just from the launch photos and video, the entry level race-ready bike was going to be murder on my back, knees, and nether regions. I reckoned that I’d end up getting off the bike maybe every 25, 30 minutes, at least.

The RS660 does its job well, though. The 659cc Parallel Twin is powerful, but it’s not intimidating to beginner riders. 100 horsepower is a lot, of course, but because the Parallel Twin is more conducive to low end torque, it bills itself as a very forgiving bike – certainly a big departure from Aprilia’s more hardcore, track-derived RSV4. It definitely strokes a rider’s ego – Valentino Rossi levels of fun but without MotoGP levels of danger.

As of now, though, I can’t comment on how it feels to get in the saddle, but guys like Ari Henning have said that the RS660 is designed from the ground up for the beginner rider, so the saddle is nice and wide but pretty low for the shorter rider. The foot pegs are also nicely placed to give better leg room for the rider, regardless of leg length, and the clip-ons are placed nicely on the triple tree, giving an almost upright riding position. Okay, it’s not the laid back, cruiser style I’m used to, but it’s not the hunched over, hardcore style I hate, either, so being able to throw a leg over the RS660 will definitely be interesting. Who knows? I might actually switch over to sport bikes. And if not, at least this new bike shows a new path for Aprilia’s beginner riders.

Photos courtesy of Bikerbox, Inc., the Philippine distributor of Aprilia motorcycles.