2017 Aprilia Dorsoduro/Shiver 900 launch review

Remember when a 900 was a big-bore? No more. Big bore V-Twins are around the 1300cc mark, so Aprilia’s pair of new for 2018 900s are “mid-size” – the Shiver and Dorsoduro. This is the first time both bikes have shared that capacity, the Shiver up from 750cc, the Dorso down from 1200. That sounds bad for the Supermoto-style Dorso and good for the Shiver…

Aprilia took us to the Great Ocean Road (Victoria) to test the Shiver, then onto the fun McNamara Park racetrack at Mt Gambier (SA). Both test venues are a gamble, given the potential for serious traffic and weather on the GOR, while the Dorsoduro is no track bike, so I knew Aprilia must have faith in its new platforms.

Same base, different themes
They don’t look too similar, do they? But what we have here are two different interpretations of the same base – an 896cc twin overhead cam V-twin, running fly-by-wire throttle, EFI and offering the usual range of modes bikes are festooned with these days: Sport, Touring and Rain, plus traction control.

It’s the same high-tensile steel trellis frame on each, though each also has a specific swingarm to bolt the shock to. The main difference in this area is the extra travel of the Dorsoduro (168mm versus 127mm up front and 52mm versus 43mm in the Sachs shock) in a SUV kinda way – it’s not an off roader, but it is plush on bumps.

The Dorso is also lighter (212kg versus 218kg, wet, claimed), has a different final gear ratio and a smaller fuel tank (11.5 litres versus 14.5), a much taller seat height (905 compared to 810mm) and a longer wheelbase (1515mm to 1465), so while the engines and frames are mostly similar, the feel at the bars of both is wildly different.

Tactical nous
Locked in a freight train of Shivers along the Great Ocean Road, I had to admit the 900cc engine was a good move for the Shiver… I liked the 750, even if it was mild, because there is a place for mild bikes among us. They may not be the ones that get the flashy ads made about them, but the 750 Shiver was a great first bike off the P plates. That hasn’t changed, for me, even if the 900 shifts you along marginally easier.

The engine does feel flat-ish, but in a controllable way, not a “where the hell’s the power?” way. It suits the bike well, and like anything powered by petrol, if you get it wound up enough, it certainly hooks in hard. There’s enough power to make it interesting, but delivered sweetly enough, that I’d be happy for freshly-licenced riders to climb aboard this thing. Chances are they’d also be very happy to climb aboard because, like anything “cool” these days, there’s an app for it…

APRILIA SHIVER 900 SPECS AND PRICE

I am an old-school bloke, who doesn’t want to even think about my bloody phone when I am riding (part of the reason I ride is to escape into my own world), but I have to admit the Aprilia app is pretty good. You can monitor your lean angle (I can’t see that going wrong…) and other vanity metrics, however the inclusion of a good GPS set-up, a fuel station locator and a detailed trip meter system is all handy stuff and another way of keeping involved in your bike, long after you have put it away.

Importantly, the tactical weaponry of the Shiver is solid. The seat handled a day on the road beautifully, shifting gear is sweet, even if the clutch and gear lever are on the firm side, and the real Aussie test – horrendous mid-corner bumps on our crappy roads – were handled with solidity, even if I am not a huge fan of link-less laterally mounted shocks in general. Aprilia has, however, done a great job of this platform, because the bike is no slug from side to side, but the stability is excellent.

Mac time
With the Great Ocean Road dispensed with, it was time to swap from road gear to leathers and take to the 2.4km ball of laughs that is Mac Park. I hadn’t ridden here before, and the Dorsoduro is a great bike to learn a new track on. Like the Shiver, the power is delivered with zero surprises and despite being on road rubber, Mac Park’s grippy surface meant I didn’t get a fright all day – just lots of rewarding, fun, laps of an excellent track.

The bike’s engine meant I had a range of gears I could choose to exit a corner from without suffering too badly, though there is definitely a sweet spot for the grunt to flood in, something highlighted whenever I banged it onto the back wheel (which was often). The bike simply wouldn’t wheelie unless it was hoisted in a very specific rev range – 2500-3500rpm. Any more or less, and it wouldn’t loft. All this means is that the 90Nm torque peak at 6500rpm and gearing combine for a flat power delivery – but not in a bad way.

APRILIA DOROSDURO 900 SPECS AND PRICE

Keeping the bike stoked around corners was hampered by very little ground clearance (again, this isn’t a track bike), I was hanging well off the bike to reduce the scraping, and a front brake lever that needed some serious squeezing power to pull it up, but momentum was easy to maintain because the bike is so easy to ride, you could keep it smooth and still punch the engine hard to make up the lack of ground clearance. I suspect a change of brake pads would deliver better bite from the brakes, though if you never take your Dorso to the track I wouldn’t bother.

The TFT dash is a beauty, just like it is on the Tuono and RSV4, the shift lights making gear changing easy, usually without the clutch on the track, and the tacho is easy to read in bright sunlight. I had the traction turned off for most of the day, mainly because the grip is so good at Mac Park, but on setting one is didn’t intervene noticeably.

The ABS is typically good for a modern system, I turned it off and couldn’t tell the difference, even in hard bumpy braking at the end of the back straight, so I just left it on after that.

Summing up
Both bikes are remarkably stable, easy to ride and look great. Choosing between the two is easy. They are different enough to fit different holes, and if you want a bike with all the fruit but none of the angry, over the top power figures, the $15,190 (plus on-road costs) Shiver is a great sled.

Boasting quality gear, a great-sounding V-twin engine (the Dorso actually sounds even better, as the end cans are different), a quality suite of electronics and a mega-stable, predictable chassis that rides the bumps as well as it corners, the Shiver has moved a notch or two higher than its predecessor. It now had more tech, cubes, street cred and road presence, but has lost none of its road manners. It’s a sweet roadbike.

If you’re more of a show off, the $15,790 Dorso (plus on-road costs) will light more of your fuses – but it’s still a practical machine. Having not ridden it on the road, I can’t comment on the plushness the extra travel affords you, but it did make short work of the bumps at Mac Park and never put a foot wrong, despite me losing count of the amount of laps I set around the place.

There is stiff competition in this area, and not just from other V-twins. Ducati Monster lovers would enjoy looking over this pair, but so would those tossing up a Kawasaki Z900 or Yamaha XSR900, even though they are cheaper and not V-twins. They are similar-level bikes, with the Aprilia pair carrying Italian-built cred and higher-spec electronics to their higher price point.

The bikes are slightly heavier than they need to be, I reckon, and the levers and controls could be lighter, but the TFT dash and associated phone connectivity and charging suits the target market, while the engine is rock solid and fun, with a chassis that really is settled and predictable.

These are the types of bikes that look and sound fearsome fun, but are easy to keep the muzzle on, making them a great early-riding-career bike, but won’t be outgrown any time soon. They are also perfect for riders who want the latest, but don’t want to have to muscle high-horsepower around. Don’t get me wrong, they go well, but the delivery is very manageable.

If a mid-size bike is in your sights, don’t skip a visit to the Aprilia dealer.