2021–2024 · Naked Bike · Buyer's Guide
Italian Edge, Light Package
Aprilia built the Tuono 660 around a 659 cc parallel twin with a 270-degree firing order, so it pulses like a V-twin while staying narrow and cheap to run. You get 95 hp at 10,500 rpm and 49 lb-ft at 8,500 rpm in a 403 lb wet package that brings sport-naked thinking down into the middleweight class. The kit is grown up: ABS, traction control, wheelie control, ride modes, cruise control, a slipper clutch, adjustable suspension at both ends, TFT dash. It also looks properly modern and expensive, sharper than almost anything else this size.
On the road it rewards a rider who uses the gearbox. Most of the torque is there from 4,000 rpm, but the twin gets genuinely lively past 7,000 and runs to an 11,500 rpm redline, so short-shifting leaves the best of it unused. That suits weekend backroad riders and daily riders who want Italian sporting flavor without a heavy bike underneath them. Be honest about the ownership side: throttle pickup is touchy in traffic, some bikes weep coolant or oil from the water pump inside the first few hundred miles, and the finish is ordinary. Satin paint scratches easily and exposed fasteners dull in year-round use.
Spec sheets don't ride bikes, but they set the baseline.
| Power | 95 hp (70 kW) @ 10,500 rpm |
|---|---|
| Torque | 49 lb-ft (67 Nm) @ 8,500 rpm |
| Displacement | 659 cc |
| Engine | Parallel twin |
| Cooling | Liquid-cooled |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Final drive | Chain |
| Front tire | 120/70-17 |
| Rear tire | 180/55-17 |
| Wheelbase | 53.9 in (1370 mm) |
| Seat height | 32.3 in (820 mm) |
| Wet weight | 403 lb (183 kg) |
| Fuel capacity | 4.0 gal (15 L) |
| Top speed | 134 mph (215 km/h) |
| Fuel economy | 48 mpg (US) |
Equipment check
Chassis
Connectivity
Drivetrain
Lighting
Safety
This part isn't my ride. It's what owners have told me over the years in the paddock, at club nights, during long chats at fuel stops, and in the emails and messages riders send me directly. On the Tuono 660 the pattern is steady: people love how it rides and how easy it is to live with, and their complaints center on the stock suspension, the finish and what it costs to buy and keep supported.
Riders consistently single out the character of the 270-degree twin. Owners describe it as more refined than the other parallel twins they know, with a sound they genuinely enjoy. High-mileage reports back that up: bikes past 31,000 miles (50,000 km) still show healthy compression, clean chassis bearings and brake discs well inside their wear limit. Steady riders also report getting more than 200 miles (320 km) from a tank. Owners rate the electronics, which trace back to the bigger V4 bikes, as the best in the class. Cornering ABS is an option here, not base spec.
Riders who compare it with its RS 660 sibling keep bringing up the taller, more upright bar. Owners say it lets the Tuono commute all week and still deliver on the weekend ride. The recurring catch is a buzz between 5,000 and 6,000 rpm that some riders find wearing on long highway stretches. Several say bar-end weights calm it down.
The most common gripe is the suspension on the Standard model. Riders describe the fork and shock as too soft and underdamped, vague over mid-corner bumps and prone to bottoming under hard braking. Owners say the Factory version, with its fully adjustable fork and piggyback shock, fixes this. Price is the other big objection: the Tuono sits only slightly below the RS 660 and above several rival middleweight nakeds. Smaller complaints cover a rough belly-pan finish and decals that lift over time, though nobody reports anything structural. First-year bikes draw the most fueling complaints. Some owners describe waiting weeks for parts like a chain set or an electrical relay, and point to a thinner dealer network than the big Japanese brands have. Their advice is to check for a nearby dealer first.
Improperly heat-treated connecting rods (engine replacement)
Connecting rods on a defined production batch were improperly heat-treated by a sub-supplier (rods manufactured by SPT srl, heat treatment by sub-supplier "Citt"). Affected rods can fracture in service, leading to sudden complete engine failure. A documented in-service failure occurred at approximately 1,400 mi (2,300 km). The remedy is a complete engine replacement at no cost, with warranty restart from the date of replacement.
Snatchy ride-by-wire fueling on throttle transitions
Closed-throttle to roll-on transitions exhibit a touchy, jerky character widely reported in launch-year reviews. Cold-weather behavior below approximately 54°F (12 °C) ambient adds occasional hesitation or misfires until the engine warms. The character is most pronounced in the more aggressive ride modes. Reports diminish in MY2022+ coverage relative to MY2021.
Loose shift lever (early units) and quickshifter false-neutral / "sticky" engagement
Two distinct symptoms reported: (a) on early MY2021 units, the shift lever could come loose from the splined shaft within the first ~100 miles and require dealer replacement; (b) the bidirectional quickshifter occasionally produces a false-neutral on upshifts in upper gears at low or partial throttle, or "sticky" cuts during shifts. Rough gear changes at low rpm and partial throttle, smoothing above 5,000 rpm, have also been reported. The loose-lever issue is widely reported on MY2021 and largely resolved on MY2022+ production.
Water-pump mechanical seal weep at low mileage
Coolant or engine oil drip from the water-pump weep hole, sometimes presenting as early as 150–250 miles. Recurring early-ownership theme on Aprilia owner forums. The coolant-side variant sometimes self-clears as the seal beds in; the oil-side variant requires teardown of the flywheel cover and seal replacement, normally completed under warranty.
Aprilia MIA module pairing failures and dashboard firmware quirks
When the optional Aprilia MIA Multimedia Platform (PMP 3.0) module is fitted, owners report Bluetooth pairing failures, the phone icon remaining greyed out, inaccessible submenus, and music interruption when paired comms are active. Several owners report a fix only after a dealer-side dashboard firmware update via the Piaggio PADS diagnostic tool.
Cosmetic finish and fastener corrosion complaints
Recurring small complaints across reviews and forums: matte/satin tank paint is thin and scratch-prone; visible fasteners surface-corrode in year-round use; belly-pan plastic feels rough relative to price tier; decals work loose over time; minor rear-brake squeak reported. None are structural problems and all are cosmetic in nature, but they are widely cited as detracting from the bike's premium positioning.
Where this Aprilia Tuono 660 pulls ahead of — or falls behind — its rivals on the numbers, and the typical bike in its class on character.
Power
Torque
Displacement
Wet weight
Top speed
Seat height
Forget spec-sheet bragging. Here's who the Tuono 660 is actually built for.
Skyline and Alice's on Saturday, city traffic on Monday: this covers both. It is light in stop-and-go, it looks sharp parked up, and cruise control plus the TFT dash make the commute half painless.
Made for Bay Area Ridge Roads · San Francisco / Bay Area · Skyline Boulevard / Alice's Restaurant
For Angeles Crest and everything like it, you get real front-end feel and lean angle without a heavy bike to muscle. You will work the gearbox to stay in the meat, and that is part of the appeal.
Made for Angeles Crest Highway · Coronado Trail / US 191 · Highway 1 / Big Sur
Dragon and Cherohala days are about technique, and a light, communicative bike teaches you more than a powerful one. It is happy being hustled corner to corner, and the ride out there stays comfortable.
Made for Back of the Dragon · Blue Ridge Parkway · Cherohala Skyway
If this one isn't quite the fit, these are the bikes worth riding back-to-back against it.
Any price note compares both bikes at the same age — the youngest age both have on the used market — against this Aprilia Tuono 660. “cheaper/pricier” is what that bike costs second-hand, not how worn it is.
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