Main test: Lord of the twins

Published: 30 November 2023

When thinking about Italian exotica, a pair of middleweight parallel twins probably isn’t the first thing that springs to mind.

But this blossoming part of the market actually offers a sublime mix of usable and abusable power, with a sporty, focused nature.

And nothing comes sportier than Paton’s S1-R 60th Anniversary Limited Edition; a £41,995 (yes, you read that right) road-going version of their Supertwin TT machine that not only holds the current lap record on the island, but has been near enough dominant since 2017 with five out of six wins.

Its twin may be based on an old Kawasaki lump, but it’s seriously pimped-up, with internal engine changes, a bespoke chassis and a load of goodies, such as top-level Öhlins suspension, Brembo and TK braking power and of course, that
beautiful carbon fairing.

It’s a machine that’s built to a luxury specification to go fast, but just how does it handle the real world? To find out, we’ve put it up against one of the best parallel twins in the business: the Aprilia RS 660.

By Carl Stevens

Road Tester - Carl has worked within the industry as a motorcycling journalist for several titles since 2015, and has covered a host of new bike launches, events, and interviews since then. Although he may still looks fairly young, he’s been around the block for longer than he’d care to admit. Alongside his journalistic experience, Carl has been racing since 2012, spending many years at both a club and National level. A personal highlight of his came in the form of a British GP2 podium, at his first outing. Although Carl has a keen eye on sportsbikes, nakeds and anything that can be a bit naughty, his love of motorcycling covers everything from off-road and adventure, to cruisers and big customs. If it’s got two wheels and an engine, he’ll have a go.