Aprilia Pegaso 650 Strada 2008 — Specifications

When Aprilia decides to transform its trail bike into a supermotard, the result is called Strada, and frankly, the transplant takes better than one might have imagined. The 2008 Pegaso 650 Strada trades in its off-road aspirations for rims heavily inspired by the RSV-R 1000 Factory, and this aesthetic lineage with the Noale sportbike gives it a presence that not all dressed-up trails possess. It’s clever, it’s consistent, and it avoids the syndrome of a motorcycle that doesn’t know what it wants to be.

What really changes with this version is the engine. The Rotax block that equipped the first generations is gone, replaced by a 659 cc single-cylinder engine of Yamaha origin, injection required, with a bore of 100 mm and a stroke of 84 mm, with four valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 10:1. On paper, 50 horsepower at 6,250 rpm and 61.3 Nm of torque at 5,200 rpm don't shake the specifications of a KTM 690 Duke or a Husqvarna TE610. But that’s not the point. This single-cylinder develops most of its power within a daily use range, where you actually spend your time, and the 168 kg dry weight transforms each Newton-meter into a real sensation rather than a catalog figure.

The Aprilia Pegaso 650 Strada technical specifications reveal generous equipment for a motorcycle in this segment. The mixed dashboard, analog for the tachometer, digital for the rest, the coded key immobilizer, the passenger grab handle, the two storage spaces, one with electromagnetic opening controlled from the handlebar: these are attentions that betray a real reflection on versatile use. The seat sits at 780 mm, accessible without being low, and the limited-travel suspension, 45 mm fork for 140 mm of travel at the front, mono-shock for 130 mm at the rear, clearly sign the road orientation of this Strada variant compared to the more adventurous Factory. Braking entrusted to a 320 mm disc pinched by a four-piston caliper at the front invites no serious criticism.

Those looking for an Aprilia Pegaso 650 Strada used will find on the market machines from 2005 to 2008 whose mechanical reliability, linked to this proven Yamaha block, is a solid argument. The 16-liter tank and the top speed announced at 170 km/h position this machine as a mixed-use two-wheeler: daily commute, weekend on a winding road, possibly a few well-marked forest paths if the rider keeps modest illusions. It's not a track bike or a long-distance touring machine: it's an urban and suburban tool that caters to intermediate riders, A2 license compatible with the restricted version, who want character without the complexity of a multicylinder engine. At the original price of 6,800 euros, the positioning was fair against a BMW G650GS or a Suzuki DR650.

The Aprilia Pegaso 650 Strada reviews that one regularly encounters on forums converge towards the same observation: an honest motorcycle, pleasant to ride in town as on national roads, without any particular flash but without any fatal flaw. Perhaps that’s its only real problem, in fact. In a segment where the KTM 690 SMC played electrocardiogram flat on the track and where Honda offered its XR wisely boring, the Pegaso Strada occupied the middle ground with application. It convinces rather than it enthuses, but it convinces durably.