Several years ago, I finally realized why the big established motorcycle manufacturers have consistently ignored our pleas for an ADV bike that's light enough to be good off road and powerful enough for comfortable highway miles... because who would buy their heavy and expensive mid and full size ADV bikes? They've functioned as a cartel but Aprilia, Kove and CF Moto are all challenging them by trying to sell us the unicorn bikes we want.

I'm an experienced rider, but an absolute moron regarding suspension settings. You've given me really good insight about taking a methodical approach to dialing in my new Tuareg! Thank you from Texas, USA.

Probably the most thorough Touareg I have ever seen. Good job indeed

Subbed after introduction, lol. '99 Harley Ultra here and ran recommended tire pressures for 15 years. Was inspired by a vid on racing setups, started experimenting and came up with 2 less in front and 3 less in back. Made a big difference. Testing was fun too. At 67 ready for a lighter bike and just keep coming back to the Tuareg. Thanks from Texas.

I was JUST THINKING about this. BMW can not make a good bike in this weight category without stealing sales from more expensive bikes in their range. You are spot on and it is so funny that I was just thinking about this before I sat down to watch your video. Thanks!

I have an Aprilia Caponord my first ever Aprilia and it is a great bike. I now look at Aprilia's fondly and keen on the Tuareg

I bought Yamanha T7 just 2 months ... and i m in love with this bike....it s so good on road ...i live in a island....with some good dirt roads... it do dirt roads so well... Aprillia look s a very good bike... it was one of the bike i was on doubt if to buy!! Aprillia have always good road bikes ..let s see if the future they enter this segment of advs with a very good bike!

If they brought out a road oriented version (19" front etc) like Suzuki have just done with the new 2024 V-Strom Touring , I think it would sell well

Brilliant review builder brilliant review. Hey thanks for going over the shocks and the rebound. It’s always good to know that there are people out there that love the Aprilia ride in a KTM but I’m looking at that baby.

Great review! You covered a lot of ground and made some great comparisons.

You freaked me out with the ear bit at the beginning haha. I like how you gave it a multi titled 'type of bike' categorisation, because these days most bikes are 'a great scrambler, that gets stated as a fantastic road bike, intended to be a race track bike for off road mountains... ???? huh? wtf is wrong with the motorcycle industry they keep making hybrid mutant turtles and tuaregs and scramblers for the street, and street bikes for off roading in the quest to deny Abraham Lincoln's truth (you can't please all the people with one bike). I mean we got people commuting in the city on adventure bikes, and in Thailand people climbing up mountain trails on a honda fino. People do not buy bikes for intended purpose anymore, they worry about what others think of their bike and buy what they think others will like and forget what they needed it for in the first place. I mean what do you want a Tuareg for if your on the road? Get a cb 1300.. I mean what yo using a transalpine mountain bike for to commute to work with hahahahah i can't handle this

Proper bike Tubeless tyres just as good off road. Easier to to blow back up with hand pump than change a punctured tube. Not to mention much safer in blow out. Surprised it's not mandatory in law.

Great review Tom, I've subscribed, appreciate your knowledge and enjoy your humor. I'm getting the Tuareg soon.

I think not existing and being merely imaginary is way worse than being fired. My heart is with them. 🙂

I would have bought a 660 but the dealer had none in stock and couldn’t get one for months. I ended up buying a year mint T7 with 1000 miles for a complete bargain. Oh and I love it…

Excellent, fun presentation !

Here in Australia, the Transalp is about $15,500 and the Tuareg is $22,500 so not in the same league here unfortunately. I'm about the same 'vintage' as your good self, and looking for a road focused bike with that goldilocks seat to peg height, and adjustable suspension, obviously. 😎. I've just discovered your channel a few days ago and loving the info and insight you deliver.

I would like to see the owner speak about the proper fork and shock adjustment. Great review. Cheers.

You're comment about this bike not being taken this off road is a huge turn off, this bike has suspension for fairly serious off road adventurea, not sure why anyone would buy a bike like this with no intent to hit the trails. Iys a disservice to say this bike isnt for offroad

I bought the Suzuki because is less offroad oriented, a little more affordable and more comfortable. But the Aprilia stayed like a nail into my brain.

honda screwed up and went cheap again with transalp, tubed tyres, weak suspension plus ugly front lamp from CB500X? come on honda. Toureg660, T7 all the way.

Trail de Couvert Suzuki DE800...been on a diet and looks gorgeous with the paint sorted out...classic late '70's yellow! Under 300 Tauregs sold in the UK(better than only 17 Caponords still OTR?). Selling it 2nd hand is a problem!

All motorcycles require counter-steer for high speed turns. But it should be a very small amount, if you weren't the one doing it it should be imperceptible. No counter-steer, no lean-in. But if you're doing more than a couple degrees of counter-steer, Mr. O'Keeffe is correct, your suspension probably needs adjusting (or you need to stop treating public roads like a race track).

Another good one by Mr Okeefe straight to the point with loads of fun on the journey! Do you think the manufacturers pay attention to our opinions or carry on regardless !

Came to the Tuareg from KTM SMCR and absolutely love mine (except for the high beam switch, but hoping that fitting the heated grips may resolve...or I’ll be filing it shorter💯), hoping it will be as good on the green lanes as it is on the back roads

Tubed tyres at the begining, then tubeless tyres.. confusing? did I miss something ?

Stock settings isn't whwre it "should" be. All adv bikes have so out of whack suspension tune those stock settings aren't worth much. I set in all advs damping to minimum and it still doesn't make much difference, its still too much compression damping, always. And im avg weight dude so its not that

Awesome review sir👍🏼

I think its the bike to get because it comes equipped better than everything. The thing that bothers me is lack of dealer support in the local area and the fact that the engine is 13:5:1 compression ratio.

I have a garage full of bikes including 3 KTMs. I really like the features of the Tuareg and I’ve considered buying one. The only thing I don’t like is the looks of the front end. Kind of incomplete. They do sell a beak kit that makes it more pleasing for me but it’s not a total fix.

You make some some good points but why would anyone want tubed wheels over tubeless? I ride a lot of on and off-road miles and I'll always want tubeless.

What is the aprilia like compared to the husqvarna norden 901 expedition? They have similar suspension travel, the aprilia is lighter, but the Husqvarna has the low center of gravity fuel tank. Which one feels more agile, and how do they perform under high payload ?

I love the words ably the Aprillia. Well said

Lovely bike might have to get to the dealers and take a closer look

Its closest competitors would definitely be yamaha T700 . But the toureg does have features the yamaha doesnt , for not much more money.

What do you mean by the counter-steering comments? Like you "never had to counter-steer". Counter-steering is just initiating any lean i.e. steering. That's to say, it is what steering is. Do you mean that you didn't have to put much conscious effort into correcting the lean once initiated?

Save the money for the comfort seat. In my opinion it brings no benefits besides the fact that the shiny yellow seat remains shiny yellow. But why are always driving in Urban mode (or did I see that wrong?) I own this bike after many years with a GS and I really love it 😍

I just picked up my brand new Tuareg, with 2 years warranty here, for €1000 under the Transalp RRP. At that price, even my paranoia about Aprilia couldn't stop me.

Have you had the ECU update done?... fueling has improved by a lot for me after

Moto Guzzi v85 has all the same features plus includes bars/luggage. The off road capability really that different?

it's all well and good on paper and specs, however i wouldnt touch one given the reliability record of Aprilia, and dealership network - or the lack of. T7 for me. Oh and a quick google, Valve service at 12k miles is around £800.

Your bike has ‘tubeless’ tyres mate not ‘tubed’ 2:32😁

One advantage of tubed tires: you can air them down for more traction. I went with Tubes and rim locks as low as 1 bar instead of 2.3. But this was a lighter bike. But probably it is easier to put a tube into a tubeless than the opposite :)

Hey Terry It was obvious that you were impressed by the 660 I was wondering would you add it to the O Keeffe fleet for solo riding or would you buy the Tiger 900 ? I enjoyed your video, like your friend Vincent, I’ve never made any adjustment to my preload, I have the bike since last September The manual will be read today as soon as I find my glasses

In Sweden Transalp is more expensive than Tuareg so it makes no sense. Tuareg is still not as good as KTM 890/Norden 901 except being lower priced.

I haven’t had tube wheels on any of my mountain bike or gravel bicycles over 15 years, I still don’t get it how come there are motorcycles with tube wheels still today. Back in the day could have bough the Africa Twin and decided to purchase something else only based on the fact they come with tube wheels (finally fixed for 2024).

I miss Honda XR650R

If I had one complaint it would be the high compression ratio which mandates high test gasoline. I’d much rather have another 50cc of displacement with 2 points less compression that allows standard unleaded gas. Otherwise, you’ll get no complaints from this old turd.

isnt it 12 000 miles not km for valve check?

wonder if you'd bottom out toureg suspension on some bumpy unpaved roads....

What kind of luggage carrier do you use for your soft topcase?

In Finland Transalp is 16k and Tuareg 15.5k e...

KTM dare to make it,has already bike with the same camschaft issues

When you start Tuareg in cold engine I have noking sound for 2 sek. Not sure if they all dose this .?

Aprilia: the marque with few xealers in the US of A !

Thi sis a good point of why the Transalp came out so MEH...

This bike has serious problems for hard off road riding. If you like to ride the city and occasionally a groomed dirt road or easy trail, you'll be ok. But if you like hard, rocky, rooted, rutted trails, and you'll have some hard dismounts, sh!ts going to come apart in a big way. Both the shifter and brake pedals break way too easy. The bottom footpeg trangle bracket is large / bulky, held in place by a decent upper bolt at the top and one super low diameter bolt down low in the front and the rest of the triangle is unsupported and easily leveraged to the rear when the footpeg hits the ground which bends the lower thin bolt. Its absolute crap design

Terry Great Video! I was at the Colorado Motorcycle Adventures Desert Rally in April. Ian of Big Rock Moto was there on his 660. (I'm the Idiot in the beginning setting up my GPS. LOL) kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gLyKgqyll9jKpWQ.html Ian is a serious rider and Loves his. It is superior to the Tenere I was on there. The only problem with Aprilia here in the states is they have basically been given the boot because of the way they treat dealers. The closest one to me is at least a half day ride and they are just a 2 man shop. Not buying from them any time soon! The 660 is a beautiful bike but unobtainable/serviced here. Too Bad. Ride SAFE and BE safe Sir! 👍👍

Norden expedition 902

Is it Japanese reliable?

Ever looked closely at Aprilia's wiring looms and connectors?? Honda fit higher quality ones to the made in India CB125F. LOL. Rule #1 Avoid anything of Italian or German manufacture. Cheers.

TLDW

Is that a factory windshield or custom? It looks a little higher than OEM. Excellent review you did, I liked the countryside you rode through, You made me want this bike more!