Aprilia Shiver 750/900 - Tuono 660/RS660
Discussion
Anyone had one/got experience good or bad of either of the above.
Looking to get back onto 2 wheels, last bike was a ZX6R (some years ago). Would love a screaming 600 again, but these days, you seem to have to ring the neck of them to have fun, not sure I’m that age anymore where I really want to do that to enjoy biking again.
What something nice looking, so the Aprilia’s have popped up (MT07/GSX750) - I suppose would be a comparative, just fancy something that looks a bit nicer. Although admit I’m not really a fan of a naked bike, in my head everything needs a fairing, right..?
Sat on a Shiver 900 this morning, was surprised at how forward and on the front wheel the feel of the bike was, I was expecting more bolt upright position, guess riding positions have moved on a lot since I left. Maybe I’m right to ignore they current 600’s.
Any experience of the above bikes would be appreciated, as planning to go and see a Tuono 660 (I know some early models have engine issue's with conrods or complete engine replacements!) in the next day or so to compare riding positions.
jj
Looking to get back onto 2 wheels, last bike was a ZX6R (some years ago). Would love a screaming 600 again, but these days, you seem to have to ring the neck of them to have fun, not sure I’m that age anymore where I really want to do that to enjoy biking again.
What something nice looking, so the Aprilia’s have popped up (MT07/GSX750) - I suppose would be a comparative, just fancy something that looks a bit nicer. Although admit I’m not really a fan of a naked bike, in my head everything needs a fairing, right..?
Sat on a Shiver 900 this morning, was surprised at how forward and on the front wheel the feel of the bike was, I was expecting more bolt upright position, guess riding positions have moved on a lot since I left. Maybe I’m right to ignore they current 600’s.
Any experience of the above bikes would be appreciated, as planning to go and see a Tuono 660 (I know some early models have engine issue's with conrods or complete engine replacements!) in the next day or so to compare riding positions.
jj
I think you may need to consider what you want the bike for against what's it actually going to be used for. Does a set of high bars and seating position trump brand perception?
I was tempted when dealers were getting rid of Shiver 900s with the Nav Pack in 2020/21 for £6500. I like the penultimate model year gold coloured calipers rather than the black calipers on the final ones. Not being the most confident rider and manual handling the height and weight put me off a bit. I love the underseat pipe looks but it's a lot of weight high up. The white and green colour ways looked great to me.
I think the Tuono 660 may be even more front wheel biased. I like the feeling of riding the front wheel as I've got used to the responsiveness and my experience that such direct connection to the front wheel has got me out of a situation or two.
Tuono 660 review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5SstMXwjVA
The reviewer mentions the GSX-S750 when discussing the seating position of the Tuono 660.
The reviews for the RS660 opine that the riding position isn't that extreme for a fully faired sports bike. The alloy casting between the clips looks beautiful on the RS660. The Tuono is faired too.
The GSX-S750 has the K5 engine from the noughties that was known for it's torque spread so it's a perhaps less rev hungry inline 4. It may have more sit up and beg handle bars and a review online said it had the comfiest seat.
A review comparing the Shiver 900 and GSX-S750:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2H2Xslzju4
The sit up and beg riding position of the GSX-S750 mentioned:
https://youtu.be/_0MQX9EQcVs?t=142
I was tempted when dealers were getting rid of Shiver 900s with the Nav Pack in 2020/21 for £6500. I like the penultimate model year gold coloured calipers rather than the black calipers on the final ones. Not being the most confident rider and manual handling the height and weight put me off a bit. I love the underseat pipe looks but it's a lot of weight high up. The white and green colour ways looked great to me.
I think the Tuono 660 may be even more front wheel biased. I like the feeling of riding the front wheel as I've got used to the responsiveness and my experience that such direct connection to the front wheel has got me out of a situation or two.
Tuono 660 review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5SstMXwjVA
The reviewer mentions the GSX-S750 when discussing the seating position of the Tuono 660.
The reviews for the RS660 opine that the riding position isn't that extreme for a fully faired sports bike. The alloy casting between the clips looks beautiful on the RS660. The Tuono is faired too.
The GSX-S750 has the K5 engine from the noughties that was known for it's torque spread so it's a perhaps less rev hungry inline 4. It may have more sit up and beg handle bars and a review online said it had the comfiest seat.
A review comparing the Shiver 900 and GSX-S750:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2H2Xslzju4
The sit up and beg riding position of the GSX-S750 mentioned:
https://youtu.be/_0MQX9EQcVs?t=142
Edited by carinaman on Friday 26th May 12:55
carinaman said:
I was tempted when dealers were getting rid of Shiver 900s with the Nav Pack in 2020/21 for £6500.
Really....??? The almost 3yr old example I was looking at (was immaculate I'll admit) was more than this..!?Sat on a Tuono 660 this evening, and I think I like the position better, wasn't as extreme as I thought it might be, particular example wasn't to my liking though.
jj
MCN likened the Shiver 900 to a Suzuki SV650 with more power.
I don't know if the SV650 is going to be replaced by the GSX-8S but Suzuki are doing a £500 off and the first three services for free deal on SV650s in stock if ordered and registered by the end of June, they had the gloss primer grey with red wheels and and metallic blue with bronze wheels and frame in stock when I asked. If you have them, or any new Suzuki I think, serviced annually by a Suzuki dealer they'll keep the warranty active for seven years or 70K miles.
The SV650 has sit up and beg handlebars but relatively high footrests.
There always seem to be pre reg. SV650s available at a discount so I don't know if the £500 off and three free services is that good of a deal.
I don't know if the SV650 is going to be replaced by the GSX-8S but Suzuki are doing a £500 off and the first three services for free deal on SV650s in stock if ordered and registered by the end of June, they had the gloss primer grey with red wheels and and metallic blue with bronze wheels and frame in stock when I asked. If you have them, or any new Suzuki I think, serviced annually by a Suzuki dealer they'll keep the warranty active for seven years or 70K miles.
The SV650 has sit up and beg handlebars but relatively high footrests.
There always seem to be pre reg. SV650s available at a discount so I don't know if the £500 off and three free services is that good of a deal.
Edited by carinaman on Friday 26th May 21:30
I have an RS660. The riding position is between a full sports and a cbr600f. It’s still quite sporty.
Great bike, goes really well. The engine can be a little lumpy in traffic under 20mph on and off the throttle. The commute map does help.
The tuono is very popular and will be more comfy.
They are fairly high insurance group for a 600
Great bike, goes really well. The engine can be a little lumpy in traffic under 20mph on and off the throttle. The commute map does help.
The tuono is very popular and will be more comfy.
They are fairly high insurance group for a 600
I like my Rs660.
It's a nice balance of power and easy to ride
Can ride it all day no issues.
Peg height is fine for me.
Engine is punchy enough and nice to have cruise control to stretch the wrist out sometimes.
Came from a tracer 900 and have had an R6 previous to that, CBR650 before that.
660 is the right balance for me between all those bikes.
Depending on how much you push the bike and how lardy you are, you might find the rear shock lacking.
I swapped mine out for a ktech, went up a tooth on the rear sprocket and added a DID chain as the stock was noisey and full of tights spots from new.
Reliability is good on the later models, there was a recall on early bikes I've had no issues at all.
My local aprillia dealer is 2 miles away which helps.
Plus it's a really nice thing to look at. Something you arnt getting with an SV or Shiver.
Lots of luggage options as well if that's your thing
Be aware also that the RS has QS and blipper as standard (which are sublime btw) a really pleasure to use.
The tuono 660 doesn't, unless you get the factory (which also has ohlins)
It's a nice balance of power and easy to ride
Can ride it all day no issues.
Peg height is fine for me.
Engine is punchy enough and nice to have cruise control to stretch the wrist out sometimes.
Came from a tracer 900 and have had an R6 previous to that, CBR650 before that.
660 is the right balance for me between all those bikes.
Depending on how much you push the bike and how lardy you are, you might find the rear shock lacking.
I swapped mine out for a ktech, went up a tooth on the rear sprocket and added a DID chain as the stock was noisey and full of tights spots from new.
Reliability is good on the later models, there was a recall on early bikes I've had no issues at all.
My local aprillia dealer is 2 miles away which helps.
Plus it's a really nice thing to look at. Something you arnt getting with an SV or Shiver.
Lots of luggage options as well if that's your thing
Be aware also that the RS has QS and blipper as standard (which are sublime btw) a really pleasure to use.
The tuono 660 doesn't, unless you get the factory (which also has ohlins)
Caddyshack said:
I have an RS660. The riding position is between a full sports and a cbr600f. It’s still quite sporty.
Great bike, goes really well. The engine can be a little lumpy in traffic under 20mph on and off the throttle. The commute map does help.
The tuono is very popular and will be more comfy.
They are fairly high insurance group for a 600
Yeah and the engine sounds like a nail and is generally quote unpleasant around town. Lovely bark to it on throttle tho.Great bike, goes really well. The engine can be a little lumpy in traffic under 20mph on and off the throttle. The commute map does help.
The tuono is very popular and will be more comfy.
They are fairly high insurance group for a 600
Exhaust options aftermarket are stupidly expensive as well.
EVOTECH3BELL said:
Caddyshack said:
I have an RS660. The riding position is between a full sports and a cbr600f. It’s still quite sporty.
Great bike, goes really well. The engine can be a little lumpy in traffic under 20mph on and off the throttle. The commute map does help.
The tuono is very popular and will be more comfy.
They are fairly high insurance group for a 600
Yeah and the engine sounds like a nail and is generally quote unpleasant around town. Lovely bark to it on throttle tho.Great bike, goes really well. The engine can be a little lumpy in traffic under 20mph on and off the throttle. The commute map does help.
The tuono is very popular and will be more comfy.
They are fairly high insurance group for a 600
Exhaust options aftermarket are stupidly expensive as well.
I was out the other night with a friend who has ridden for over 30 yrs…always had quick stuff. He was on a 208hp Ducati….after a spirited ride (and he could obviously pull away from me) he said ‘you can easily come out with us when we go out for a group ride, you can clearly keep up enough’ I haven’t been riding long, it is just a very capable bike that is fast enough and easy to ride.
We have a 660 Tuono and a V4 Tuono in the household and the 660 is such a sweet little thing, I love riding it, it feels like a BMX after getting of the V4, and I mean that in a good way.
We bought ours before they released the factory version, but it still came with the IMU and Quick Shifter and Blipper.
For a parallel twin with the standard exhaust it sounds ok, has a lovely induction noise not to dissimilar to the V4 as the revs start to rise too.
They also look by far and away the best bikes out of this class and price range too.
The only real downside to them is the hole in the rev range that could do with filling in.
We bought ours before they released the factory version, but it still came with the IMU and Quick Shifter and Blipper.
For a parallel twin with the standard exhaust it sounds ok, has a lovely induction noise not to dissimilar to the V4 as the revs start to rise too.
They also look by far and away the best bikes out of this class and price range too.
The only real downside to them is the hole in the rev range that could do with filling in.
The gabro intake trumpets and a new air filter then an up map is supposed to fill that hole. Oddly, if you look at a dyno plot there isn’t a power drop or flat spot, it just seems to come in cam after that point.
I am going to try 1 tooth more on the rear soon as I have found that being in a lower gear than normal keeps it on the boil.
I am going to try 1 tooth more on the rear soon as I have found that being in a lower gear than normal keeps it on the boil.
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