When Aprilia first announced the Tuareg 660 back in 2021, the Cycle World staff was keen to throw a leg over the Italian adventure bike. After an exclusive early ride in 2021 followed by an official press introduction, CW’s Executive Editor Justin Dawes returned highly impressed. The 659cc DOHC parallel-twin engine that also powers the RS 660 and Tuono 660 was well received.
But how much power does the “half-an-RSV4″ engine make? Aprilia claims 79 hp at 9,250 rpm and 51 lb.-ft. of torque at 6,500 rpm. We got our hands on one to find out how much reaches the pavement via the rear tire.
The 2022 Tuareg 660 weighed 459 pounds on the CW automotive scales before making 69.9 hp at 10,660 rpm and 44.3 lb.-ft. of torque at 6,680 rpm on the CW Dynojet 250i dynamometer. For reference, the 2021 Yamaha Ténéré 700 tipped the scales at 466 pounds and produced 63.8 hp at 8,870 rpm and 44.1 lb.-ft. of torque at 6,640 rpm.
Last year, the 2022 Aprilia RS 660, which shares the same engine architecture as the Tuareg 660, produced 89.2 hp at 10,520 rpm and 44.9 lb.-ft. of torque at 9,540 rpm on the CW Dynojet 250i dynamometer. The Tuareg’s model-specific camshafts designed to “decrease lift and duration” are responsible for the lower peak horsepower and torque numbers which turn out to be beneficial for off-road riding.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/octane/FUSK6RJ4SZEBBGB5V7SEG42LNQ.jpg)
