Aprilia's race-rep Tuareg 660 Rally adventure bike celebrates Africa Eco Race success

Aprilia have taken their already capable Tuareg 660 adventure bike and turned it up to 11, lifting the lid on a hardcore Rally version inspired by the works racing machines that dominated this year’s Africa Eco Race at the hands of factory rider, Jacopo Cerutti.

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This more athletic iteration is set to challenge the Yamaha Ténéré 700 Extreme and KTM’s 890 Adventure R Rally, offering a lighter, more focused ride with rally-inspired upgrades.

Cerutti said: “The goal was to make it as similar as possible to the bike with which we won the Africa Eco Race, and I can say we succeeded! The Tuareg was already an excellent starting point for problem-free off-road riding, but with the Rally version, we’ve taken it a step further, coming very close to a full rally-raid bike. With the right tyres, it can easily take you over the desert dunes.”

• Related: Aprilia Tuareg 660 long-term test

When off-road, weight is the enemy and for that reason Aprilia have specced a dedicated SC Project exhaust with a titanium silencer, dropping the overall weight to a claimed 199kg – down 5kg from the base model.

New, narrow 7075 aluminium rims also contribute to the trim. They are built to be both lighter and stronger than standard, whilst also opening up the option to run dedicated off-road rubber. The trade-off here is that they lose tubeless functionality, meaning that owners will have to make do with old fashioned inner tubes, or run Tubliss (a dual-tube tyre system for hardcore off-roading) or mousses for racing.

The trick bits don’t stop there though. Aprilia have also fitted a high front fender, full-wraparound aluminium hand guards, a thicker, full-coverage sump guard (although disappointingly, the shock linkage remains exposed), new enduro style lower chain guide, 20mm higher seat, and a race replica colour scheme.

The Kayaba suspension fitted to the base Tuareg carries over to the Rally, offering the same 240mm of travel at either end but now features beefed-up linear springs, rather than progressive ones, improving support in the rough stuff at the expense of comfort.

To improve efficiency, both the Rally and standard 2025 Tuareg now boast 52mm throttle bodies too, up from the previous 48mm. The engine is also Euro5+ compliant. Prices and availability are yet to be announced.

Watch: Aprilia Tuareg 660 long-term test