Cycle World put's Aprilia's Tuono 660 up against the Triumph Trident 660. Which will come out on top as the best entry level motorcycle into these two premium brands.

Let’s give the design teams behind the Aprilia Tuono 660 and Triumph Trident 660 a break. To create worthy entry-level naked middleweights that represent the heritage and know-how of premium brands is no easy feat. Such bikes must find a balance between approachability for beginners and sporty performance for experienced riders, embody the emotional personality of their brands’ flagship models, and be both well polished and cost effective. Get it right and create lifetime brand loyalty; fail to hit every mark and get told-you-so’s from the brand’s most loyal customers. No pressure, team.

In the cases of Aprilia and Triumph, there’s a lot to live up to. Each brand has built a following upon its own design paths, resulting in two very different machines. Aprilia bleeds Italian racing heritage and the superbike technical excellence that comes with it, an aura of no-expense-spared sporting performance. Triumph, on the other hand, exudes purist British design with an emphasis on refined simplicity.

On paper, these bikes’ equal displacement would seem to call for a head-to-head comparison, but the diverging intentions of the two machines left us wondering if buyers would even cross-shop the Aprilia and the Triumph. So what started as a battle of all-new 660 middleweights quickly turned into a comparison of entry-point choices from two exceptional brands with very different design approaches. That firmly in mind, we headed to California’s central coast to put each through its paces.

Triumph Trident 660: $8,095

The Trident 660 is Triumph’s attempt at an affordable and approachable segue into the sporting side of the British brand, using the ultrarefined performance of the inline triple made legendary by the Street Triple and Speed Triple platforms, all for a very reasonable as-tested price of $8,095.

The heart of the Trident is a liquid-cooled DOHC 659cc inline-triple, essentially a de-stroked version of the original Street Triple 675. Why sacrifice power? The Trident is built as a more modest machine with the versatility and friendliness needed for an entry-level model, stepping away from the naked sportbike scene of its ancestors as the Street Triple has morphed into a premium performance-based naked middleweight. Still, the Trident gets a bunch of modern features: ride-by-wire technology, traction control, ABS, and even a TFT display with Bluetooth connectivity.

The Trident’s engine benefits from Triumph’s years of continuous refinement to the inline-triple range, highlighted by the silky smooth linear delivery of its CW-measured 72.1 peak horsepower at 10,200 rpm and 42.9 pound-feet of torque at 6,700 rpm. Direct throttle connection and gentle initial power delivery lend to confidence-inspiring acceleration, aided by the excellent grip of Michelin Road 5 rubber. And, while modest figures may suggest otherwise to spec sheet spies, getting the Trident’s throttle WFO is damn addicting, not least because the triple-trumpet exhaust howls as it rips through its very well-spaced six-speed gearbox; if you aren’t on the Triumph, you want to be behind it to soak in all that triple glory. But the best part, in combination with the price tag, is how approachable and easy to use it is for less experienced riders. The torque curve is incredibly broad and flat, making for flexible right-here-right-now oomph. It’s a quick bike, but the smooth delivery won’t cause trouble, especially as it is aided by a basic and switchable TC system with subtle intervention.

Handling is also delightfully neutral, adding to the overall balance and versatility of Trident. Yes, the steering geometry is more relaxed and the measured dry weight is 25 pounds heavier than the Aprilia, but it offers easy steering with confidence-inspiring symmetry in its front-to-rear balance. The well-tuned Showa shock and 41mm fork offer help here with a solid blend of small-bump compliance to soak up the small chatter and big-hit support for backroad wailing, despite the fork not allowing any adjustment. It’d be easy to scoff at the lack of adjustability, but remember Triumph’s aim.

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