The middleweight sportbike category was shaken up by the Aprilia RS 660 when it launched a few short years ago in 2021. A perky parallel-twin engine boasting 100 horsepower with an RSV4-inspired chassis and electronics package turned quite a few heads, including our own, during street and track reviews. For the coming model year, the Noale-based brand celebrates the motorcycle’s success with a sport-focused variation—the 2023 Aprilia RS 660 Extrema. This new 660 variant features a host of carbon fiber components and an SC-Project exhaust.
Those that know their Ape history might recognize the Extrema moniker, as it was once used on the Aprilia 125 Extrema in the 1990s, which was the brand’s most performance-oriented 125 at the time.
The latest RS 660 incarnation takes the Extrema badging to heart, bringing the platform’s claimed curb weight down to a featherweight 366 pounds via a handful of performance parts. Compared to the standard RS 660, that’s a weight savings of 37 pounds!
The bulk of the savings is obtained by swapping out the underslung exhaust for a street-legal SC-Project exhaust system boasting a carbon fiber muffler. Owners get an aluminum mounting bracket for the muffler, allowing them to remove the passenger footpegs and trim down even more.
Reducing weight further is a lightweight carbon fiber front fender and belly pan designed in conjunction with the new exhaust system.
That isn’t the end, as the Extrema comes with the single-seat tail fairing from the Aprilia factory—an option for standard models. We should note that the pillion is included, should you need to carry a passenger.
The final race-inspired touch is something that track day fanatics will particularly enjoy—software that allows you to run the up/down quickshifter upside down and run the shifter in a race configuration. Otherwise known as GP shift, it performs the job without replacing components or modifying software. Of course, the standard IMU-assisted rider aid suite, with multiple riding modes, lean-angle-detecting traction control, cornering ABS, engine braking, engine maps, and wheelie control, is still available.
Lastly, the 2023 Aprilia RS 660 Extrema is available in a unique Italian checkered flag livery exclusive to this model. Pricing and availability information is not available yet; we will update this story when we get it.
2023 Aprilia RS 660 Extrema Photo Gallery
