THE MOTOR The Tuareg ’ s engine is based on the 659cc , liquid-cooled DOHC , parallel twin found in both the Aprilia RS660 and 660 Tuono . It has a 270-degree firing order to replicate that of a V-twin , and a six-speed gearbox with particularly nice shifting and clutch action . Re-tuned for more midrange and less peak power than on the donor RS660 , there ’ s a healthy peak power of 80hp ( 58.8kW ) and 70Nm of torque . More impressively , 75 % of peak torque is available at only 3000rpm and 85 % from just 4500rpm .
PREMIUM ELECTRONICS Bristling with a suite of top-shelf electronic aids , there are four riding modes . Urban , Explore , Off-road and Individual . Urban has all the safety features on high alert . ‘ Explore ’ dials the safety features down a little . Off-road turns off ABS to the rear wheel and reduces it at the front . Individual mode allows you to control all aspects of the electronics ’ intervention - you could have ABS and TC off completely in this mode , giving
an easy way to disable all ABS on the fly , without having to go into a menu to do it . This would also get around having the ABS come back on when the ignition is turned off . In the rider configurable individual mode , TC and ABS invention can be adjusted along with power delivery and engine braking . The TC can also be turned off . Geoff says he rides it most often set to full power with minimum TC and front ABS intervention and the rear ABS off . This allows for almost maximum fun on all terrain with a wee safety net for the unexpected . A smart man is Geoff . The whole shebang is controlled by a Magnetti Marelli 11.5MP ECU and a ride-by-wire throttle . There are adjustments for traction control , engine braking , throttle response and the ABS . Cruise control is included too . A quick-shifter with throttle autoblip can be had as an optional extra . Other nice touches are full LED lighting with day time running lights , a five-inch TFT screen where are the electronic adjustments are shown and , of course , the very handsome Italian design .
58 KIWI RIDER