News: ‘ Battle of Tsars’ Aprilia RS 660 vs Kawasaki ZX-6R

All eyes were on Aprilia RS 660 since the last EICMA saw the concept and that saw Aprilia getting themselves in the middleweight category.

While on the other hand Kawasaki ZX-6R was born in 1995 with eleven updates since 1995 and the last update that it received is in the current year for 2020 model.

Both these bikes are made effectively to target the young generation that is inclined towards more power and great style.

Let’s compare and see how they are fare with each other.

• Aprilia RS 660 gets a 660cc parallel-twin engine. This DOHC engine utilizes the 270-crankshaft. The advantage of 270 architecture allows one piston to halt while the other may run. Apart from this it also helps the traction and gives a special sound to its exhaust note.
  
  The engine architecture is inspired by its elder sibling 1100cc V4 that comes with RSV4 1100 Factory and Tuono V4. 100hp of power is the output of the new RS660. However, the Torque figures are still under the wrap. The Aprilia RS 660 comes as a Euro 5 compliant package.
  
  
• 2020 Kawasaki ZX-6R, on the other hand, comes with 636cc, DOHC, liquid-cooled, 16 valves, inline 4 cylinders that churn out close to 126bhp of power with 70 Nm of torque. Well, a straight 26 horses more than the RS 660. The ZX-6R is Euro 4 compliant.

Design

• Aprilia RS 660 posses the compact and track-inspired design and has a low dry weight that is 168 kgs roughly 372 pounds. To lessen the weight the swingarm and frame are made up of aluminum. 
  
  The other good feature of the swingarm notably on the right side takes a curve shape to allow the exhaust pipes to pass through it. The shock absorbers are mounted in a way wherein there are no links involved to get maximum progress.
  
  It gets Kayaba 41mm fork that can be fully adjusted. Both the wheels come with Brembos with 320mm discs. The stability and the downforce are managed by the extra fairing.
  
  The triple front LED system is inspired by the RSV4. The narrow and sleek rear also gets the LED taillights. Self-canceling blinkers and daytime driving lights do come by default. High-end five-inch TFT display plus a facility to connect smartphone too is provided. Aprilia RS 660 comes in two paint schemes Black and Purple/Red.
  
  
  
  

• 2020 ZX-6R too comes with a track inspired design to flex your muscles on track. Kawasaki ZX-6R weighs 174kgs in terms of dry weight. The front suspension is 41mm inverted Showa SFF-BP fork with top-out springs while the rear is Bottom-link Uni-Trak with gas-charged shock and is fully adjustable. The frame on which the entire structure is dependant is tubular and diamond-shaped.
  
  The front wheels come with Nissin 4-piston monobloc calipers and KIBS ABS and the rear gets single-piston caliper and KIBS ABS.LED headlights and tail lights.
  
  
• ZX-6R has few new paint schemes like Candy Steel Furnace Orange/Metallic Flat Spark Black, Metallic Spark Black/Metallic Flat Spark Black also there is one more KRT version that has KRT inspired paint scheme. However, the KRT version costs $400 more as compared to the ABS version.
  
  ZX-6R comes in three versions, standard with No ABS, second with ABS and third is KRT edition.

Electronic Package

• Aprilia RS 660 gets the IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) heart of electronic systems to control the electronic parameters. The electronic goodies that RS 660 comes with are wheelie control, cornering ABS, traction control, engine braking, bi-directional quick-shifter and five riding modes two for tracks and three for roads. Plus it comes with cruise control.
  
  
• ZX-6R has three power modes in addition to Full Power mode, one (Low) and two (Middle, Low) alternate modes.Intelligent anti-lock Brake System, Kawasaki Quick Shifter.

Price Tag

• The price tag of Aprilia RS660 is still under the hood. However, we feel that will be higher on the side given the fact that RS660 gets a strong electronic package.
  
  
• Kawasaki ZX6R retails to $9,999 for Non-ABS Version, the ABS version costs $10,999 and the KRT edition comes with $11,299 in the US.

LivingWithGravity’s Take

What do we like?

• Aprilia’s great attempt to bring the RS 660 and enter in the middleweight category.
• RS 660’s strong electronic package with cruise control compared to 2020 Kawasaki ZX-6R.
• The sleek, compact design with low weight when compared with 2020 ZX-6R, However, the ZX-6R gets more horses.

What we don’t like?

• Little less power when compared to ZX-6R. However, this is just a start for Aprilia and the future versions may get a rise in power.
• Kawasaki may want to add more parameters in their electronic package for ZX-6R when compared with Aprilia RS660 and make the future versions of ZX-6R more compact.
  
  

See Also 

Upcoming Suzuki Motorcycles in India
Top 9 facts about Kawasaki Z900
R1250GS is unveiled by BMW
Kawasaki brings new paint schemes for 2019 at Glemseck