Aprilia Tuareg Rally 660 Review: A Rally Bike for the Road?

If you’ve spent any time around adventure bikes recently, you’ll know the ‘rally-inspired’ idea has been stretched in just about every direction imaginable. Most of them are still road bikes at heart, just dressed up with spoked wheels, a tall, narrow windscreen and a bit of marketing hype.

The Aprilia Tuareg Rally feels different to that. It doesn’t try to hide what it is, and it doesn’t really soften the edges either. It’s still very much a road-legal adventure bike, but there’s a more deliberate focus underneath it, helped along with input from Jacopo Cerutti through Aprilia’s off-road racing programme.

It’s not pretending to be a Dakar Rally weapon, but it certainly feels like a bike that’s been pushed closer to that world than most on the market.

But given bikes like these tend to spend their lives on the asphalt, what does it actually ride like on the road, and does it justify its £12,445 price tag?

At its core, the Tuareg Rally uses Aprilia’s familiar 659cc parallel twin, a liquid-cooled, ride-by-wire unit producing 80hp at 9,250rpm and 70Nm of torque at 6,500rpm. It’s paired to a six-speed gearbox with an assist and slipper clutch, and it’s a combination that already feels well proven across the RS and Tuono 660 platforms.

In this application, though, it’s been tuned for usable mid-range rather than top-end urgency and, in doing so, loses 25hp in comparison to the Tuono 660 Factory with the same lump despite both having the same torque figure.

On the road that matters more than the headline figures, because it means you’re rarely out of the useful part of the rev range, even when you’re just flowing through traffic or rolling along faster A-roads.

The chassis is a steel trellis frame with aluminium side plates, and the suspension is where the Rally starts to separate itself from more road-focused bikes in the class. You get fully adjustable Kayaba (KYB) units front and rear with 240mm of travel at both ends, which immediately tells you where the emphasis sits.

Braking is handled by Brembo hardware with twin 300mm front discs and a 260mm rear disc, supported by braided lines. It also runs 21-inch front and 18-inch rear gold heavy-duty spoked wheels with inner tubes, and the whole package sits high even before you get on it.

Which brings you straight to the first real talking point…

The seat height is 913mm, and it’s not something you ignore. As a 5ft 9 rider, it was genuinely on the tall side in real-world use, particularly when manoeuvring it at low speed or dealing with uneven or loose ground. Even after softening the rear shock as much as possible, it never really reached a point where slow-speed handling felt relaxed.

It’s manageable, but it always asks something of you and is certainly a lot taller than the 890mm seat on the 390 Enduro R I also just recently reviewed.

Moving away from the mechanical side of things, the Tuareg Rally comes equipped with a genuinely comprehensive electronics package that brings it in line with most modern middleweight adventure bikes.

At the centre of the system is a bonded 5-inch TFT dash, which remains clear and easy to see in varying light conditions, and navigation through the menus is straightforward, allowing quick access to the bike's various rider aids and settings without requiring too much attention while on the move.

Aprilia has also equipped the Rally with a full suite of electronic assistance systems, including adjustable engine maps (AEM), engine brake control (AEB), traction control (ATC) and dual-channel ABS, which also offers three selectable levels and includes rear-wheel lift-up mitigation to help maintain stability under heavy braking, as well.

However, unlike some rivals like the Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Raid (which is £521 cheaper, I may add), the Tuareg Rally does not feature an IMU, meaning it lacks lean-sensitive cornering ABS and traction.

There are also four riding modes available: Urban, Explore, Off-Road and Individual.

Each mode adjusts the bike's electronic intervention to suit different riding conditions, whether you're commuting through town, covering distance on the road or venturing onto looser surfaces. The Individual mode is particularly useful, allowing riders to tailor the settings to their own preferences, and it is easily resettable if you go too far.

Cruise control comes as standard too, and it's one of those features that becomes increasingly appreciated on longer journeys. On motorway stretches and fast A-roads, it takes some strain off your throttle hand and adds a welcome layer of comfort during extended rides.

Importantly, none of these systems feel intrusive on the road. The electronics generally stay in the background, stepping in when needed rather than constantly reminding you they're there, which suits the Tuareg Rally's character well and is vastly different from the aggressive power cutting I experienced on the KTM 390 Adventure R.

Rather than masking the bike's personality, they simply add another layer of confidence and versatility to an already capable package. The only slight disappointment is that a quickshifter remains an optional extra. On a bike costing £12,445, it's a feature many riders would reasonably expect to see included as standard.

On the road, the 659cc twin is easy to live with. There's 80hp available, but you don’t really think about peak power when you’re riding it day to day unless you wind the throttle open. What stands out more is how settled it feels at cruising speeds.

At around 70mph, it sits at just over 5,000rpm, which gives it a relaxed feel that works well for UK dual carriageways and longer A-road stretches. There’s no sense of strain, and it doesn’t feel like it’s being pushed into uncomfortable territory.

Overtakes are straightforward because you don’t really need to plan them; you just roll the throttle on, and it responds smoothly without needing a downshift most of the time.

The 270-degree crank also gives it a bit of character without turning it into anything rough or vibey either, and the titanium SC Project slip-on adds a lovely tone when riding hard, with a bit of overrun pops and crackles. Entertaining at first, but I reckon it could prove a bit tiresome after a while.

Low-speed fuelling is clean and predictable, which makes it easy to filter through villages or ride in slower traffic without any awkward snatchiness, and the gearbox is direct and consistent through every change, whilst the clutch action is light enough that it disappears into the background quickly.

For a bike with this much travel and a 21-inch front wheel, the Tuareg Rally behaves itself surprisingly well on typical UK roads.

It feels planted and even rather sharp through the corners, but that suits the character of the bike. It holds a line well through faster bends and doesn’t get easily unsettled when the surface changes mid-corner, which is something you inevitably notice a lot on UK roads.

The Brembo brake package is also excellent and incredibly confidence-inspiring, allowing for a surprising amount of late braking before tipping into a sharp bend. Not something that I was expecting, that’s for sure.

The Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tyres also do a better job on tarmac than you might expect, and in the wet they remain consistent and predictable, provided you’re riding in a normal road manner rather than trying to force pace into them, that is.

Onto the suspension side of things, and here we have Kayaba 43mm off-road-tuned upside-down forks in a nice shiny gold colour to match the bars and a KYB rear shock. They’re both fully adjustable, of course, and clearly tuned with control in mind rather than comfort.

At higher speeds the suspension works well. It keeps the bike composed over rough bits of road and doesn’t allow excessive dive or wallow when the road deteriorates, giving it confidence on faster rural roads where surfaces are rarely perfect.

At lower speeds, though, it never really softens into comfort. Even after adjusting the rear preload, it remains firm and quite committed, particularly over uneven ground or potholed village roads.

It feels like it’s prioritising stability and support over compliance, which makes sense for its intended use, but it doesn’t translate very well to comfort in day-to-day riding.

The riding position works well once you’re on the move; whether you’re sitting or standing, it feels natural and controlled, and standing up at low speeds is easy enough once you’re used to the height.

Wind and weather protection is also better than expected too, and at higher speeds, airflow is directed just over your helmet rather than into your chest, which takes enough pressure off to make motorway stretches more comfortable than you’d assume from a bike with this much off-road intent.

The seat is also firm rather than plush, and you notice it after a while, particularly on longer continuous rides which could impact its touring capability, but it’s not just the firmness that’s the main issue; it’s the height.

The seat is also quite angular, which, when combined with the firmness of it, can dig into your inside leg a bit if you’re on the shorter side by having to lean a bit over the seat when stopped to put a foot down, but that’s a minor niggle.

There’s also a bit of heat that builds on the lower right leg after riding spiritedly for an hour or so. Nothing dramatic, just something that creeps in once you’ve been riding it hard for a while.

Overall, though, taking the seat firmness and height out of the equation, once you’re on the move, the riding position itself is pretty comfortable. There’s little to no pressure on your knees, hips or wrists, and it feels like a commanding place to be, allowing you to focus more on riding rather than thinking about your achy wrists or back constantly.

Off-road time was limited to rough tracks and uneven ground rather than anything technical, but it’s enough to understand the direction the bike is aimed at.

At low speed it feels controlled and predictable, and it doesn’t get twitchy when the surface becomes loose or uneven. Standing up feels natural, and the bike stays balanced at walking pace once you settle into it; that’s even when standing up.

It’s manageable on rough ground, but this isn’t really about extreme off-road use in a UK sense. It’s more about being able to handle rough terrain without the road manners falling apart.

The Tuareg Rally sits in an interesting place, because while it feels composed and manageable in everyday riding, it only really comes alive when you start pushing it.

On the road it behaves like a properly sorted adventure bike with a strong, usable engine and a chassis that feels stable and predictable across typical UK conditions, and overall, it doesn’t feel like a compromised machine at all once you’re moving.

The trade-offs are there, though, and you notice them most at low speed. The height, the firmness of the suspension, and the general physical scale of the bike all demand a bit more commitment from the rider than a lower, and perhaps softer alternative.

But that’s also what defines it. It doesn’t try to smooth those edges away or pretend they don’t exist. It just sits in that space between road usability and genuine off-road intent and expects you to decide if that balance works for you.

The engine is great fun, sounds great and really sings at the higher RPMs. It’s not really a bike to bimble around on but a sharp tool that demands to be ridden hard. Exactly what I’d expect from a bike as serious as the Tuareg Rally.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this review. If the Tuareg Rally has made it onto your shortlist, don’t forget about insurance before heading out on your next ride, soyou’re your Adventure Motorcycle Insurance quote with Lexham today. Thanks for reading, ride safe, and we’ll catch you on the next one!