APRILIA loves its twins, especially the naked ones. And while the Tuono might be the headline naked model for the Italian firm, the Dorsoduro is right up its tailpipe for real world rideability. And when you are on to a good thing why not stick with it, right? Cycle Torque tested the 750cc shiver a while ago now, and everyone who rode it thought it was a great thing – comfortable, good handling and power, while not in the league of its big brother the Tuono, was more than adequate to have a good time.

Engine

What Aprilia has done is taken the frame, engine and fuel tank of the Shiver and changed styling cues, added longer travel suspension and made the riding position more aggressive – in short it’s turned the Shiver into a monster supermoto machine for the street.

It was rumoured the Dorsoduro was originally to be fitted with a 1200ccc engine but issues with production meant the 750cc engine was used instead. But don’t feel too disheartened by the absence of those extra 450cc, the 750ccc Federico Martini designed 90 degree six-speed V-twin is a peach. Inside the ultra short stroke fuel injected engine is the usual modern technology. The end result is a shade over 90 horsepower produced at 8750rpm. Now this engine doesn’t mind revving, but it’s nothing like the small bore V-twins from Aprilia’s SXV supermoto range; ride one of those 450 or 550cc jiggers and you’ll see what we mean.

Throttle response from the fly-by-wire equipped Dorsoduro is very good for its capacity, it certainly jumps away very briskly when asked. And the fuelling is good too, none of this hunting and surging when you are trying to maintain a constant throttle in traffic or just cruising.

Aprilia’s trump card for the bike is the three stage ECU which allows you to select Standard, Sport or Rain modes. For everyday riding we found the Standard mode best, the power didn’t feel much down on the Sport mode and the throttle response was less finicky. You can easily wheelstand the Dorsoduro in both Sport and Touring modes, the only real difference is the throttle butterflies open slightly quicker in Sport mode than in Touring mode. It’s interesting to note how the suspension was affected by which mode you selected but more on that later.

We were lucky – or unlucky depending on where you were sitting – enough to sample the bike in the rain and being able to select the Rain mode was great. Of course experienced riders should be able to ride around safely in the rain without needing such help, but we think the idea has much merit and did give you added confidence in the rain. If you turned this bike into a road racer this would be perfect; imagine a set of rain tyres and Rain mode selected, you’d be near unbeatable.

Suspension and chassis

We know the Dorsoduro has longer travel suspension than its stablemate the Shiver (160mm front and rear compared to 120F, 130R) and this translates to a bump friendly machine. Out back is the same side-mounted, cantilevered Sachs monoshock as found on the Shiver. The 43mm inverted forks have a 26-degree rake and 108mm of trail. Wheelbase is 1505mm. The forks are adjustable for pre-load plus compression and rebound damping. The shock is adjustable for pre-load and rebound damping only.

When we first got the Dorsoduro we found the suspension quite hard in the bumps, but playing around with the settings softened them for our crap roads. The other thing was when we had the engine mapping mode in Sport, and the suspension settings hard we found the bike would become unsettled mid corner on less than perfect road surfaces, no doubt mostly down the aggressiveness at which the Sport mode works. Select Standard mode with hard suspension settings and it was better in the same conditions. Of course we played around to make the suspension softer and this can cause its own issues but the general message here is the bike really is adjustable on multiple level

The regular size 120/70ZR-17 front tyre is fitted, and out back a 180/55ZR-17 wraps around the six inch rim. This might be the norm for sportsbikes but we feel the Dorsoduro would benefit from a slightly smaller rear tyre/rim combo. 160 size tyres are not so easy to get compared to 180s so maybe Aprilia has decided to go with the 180 rear to make life easier for the owner come tyre changing time. Plus it looks phat too

With a bike this light (185kg) you don’t need monster brakes but Aprilia decided to throw them on anyway. Radial-mount four-piston calipers up front grab twin 320mm wave discs, while a 240mm disc is given similar treatment by a single-piston caliper at the rear – yes, the Dorsoduro can be stopped in a hurry.

Even though it is quite a small bike it does have a relatively high seat height at 870mm and ’pegs mounted high enough that extreme lean angles can be achieved. This doesn’t make the bike uncomfortable, quite the opposite. The seat/’pegs/’bars arrangement is spot on for the bike’s intended use. Even the little headlight mounted screen actually does a half decent job of keeping the windblast at bay. Other neat touches like the handguards and the MX style radiator shrouds give the Dorsoduro a real racy feel and look.

The final word

Aprilia has taken an already good bike and made it different, not necessarily better. Once thing is certain though, the Dorsoduro is a blast to ride in the city and out where the roads open up a little. It has plenty of poke and you can ride it in all conditions, you can even tour on it if you wish. The overall quality of finish is good but could be better, there were some signs of cheap fittings. Check one out – you won’t be disappointed.

$15,990 + ORC.