Aprilia Tuareg Rally: Born in the Desert, Built for the Real World

When Aprilia dropped the Tuareg 660 a few years ago, it was clear they weren’t messing about. It was light, nimble, and surprisingly capable for a twin-cylinder adventure bike. But what if you took that bike, threw it into the desert at full throttle, raced it from Monaco to Dakar, and then handed it back to the engineers and said, “Now build that for the public”?

Well… they just did.

Meet the Aprilia Tuareg Rally — a no-compromise, desert-born, dirt-ready beast of a bike, developed from the one that Jacopo Cerutti and Aprilia Racing took to the top of the Africa Eco Race. This isn’t just a sticker kit and some fancy levers. This is the real deal. And it’s coming to production.

Built to Bash, Tuned to Win

Aprilia’s not playing the marketing game here. The Rally is built off the back of the Tuareg’s racing success and real-world competition data, courtesy of Aprilia Racing and GCorse (yep, the Guareschi brothers know what they’re doing). Cerutti himself — the guy who won the Africa Eco Race — was deeply involved in the Rally’s development. He wanted it to feel like the bike that took him to Lac Rose. According to him? Mission accomplished.

So what’s changed?

• New electronics mapping tuned with Cerutti’s input gives sharper throttle response – ideal when you’re smashing through sand, ruts, or rocky climbs.
• Updated suspension keeps the Kayaba units but swaps in linear-rate springs for better feedback and precision off-road. It’s stiffer, taller, and less about comfort, more about control.
• A bigger bash plate, full-metal hand guards, a higher seat, and wider bars give you more leverage and more protection.
• Heavy-duty spoked wheels with tubes, a new chain guide, and a larger sidestand foot – all ready for the rough stuff.
• And of course, a full SC Project titanium exhaust to drop some weight and add some bite.

The result? A proper rally-inspired weapon, shedding 5kg off the standard Tuareg and ready to rip out of the crate. This thing isn’t pretending. It’s built to get dirty.

Street-Legal Rally Replica Vibes

Visually, it screams Dakar. The Rally race replica livery is straight from the podium, with gold anodised forks, wheels, and handlebars giving it that “factory” look. It’s aggressive. It’s raw. And it looks fast just sitting still.

Tuareg 2025 Range – Updates All Round

The Rally isn’t riding solo though. Aprilia’s giving the entire Tuareg range a refresh for 2025. The 660 engine gets larger 52mm throttle bodies and a lighter rare-earth generator for snappier response and improved acceleration.

The styling’s been sharpened too — the triple headlight stays (thankfully), but the fairing’s more streamlined. Plus, two new colour options are on the way: Tornado Green and Hailstorm White, both matched with a striking red frame.

There’s also a pile of new accessories coming, including:

• Heated comfort seats in multiple heights
• TPMS sensors
• Reinforced off-road wheels
• And a full suite of Aprilia-branded ADV gear, created in partnership with Alpinestars

Even the helmets and goggles are on-brand now, so you can go full Aprilia Experience if you want to suit up properly.

If you’ve been eyeing the Tuareg but holding out for something more hardcore, this is it. The Tuareg Rally is as close to a factory rally bike as most of us will ever get to ride. It’s still a production model, but it carries the DNA of a race-winning machine. It’s not for show. It’s for go — whether you’re hammering fire trails, racing desert stages, or just trying to find the long way home.

Watch this space — we’ll be trying to get one dirty as soon as it lands in NZ.