2010 Aprilia Dorsoduro Review

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Warning, prolonged use of this product may cause worn out adrenaline glands, heart palpitations and a stupid grin on your face that might not wash off. Your driving license will be screaming for mercy, you’ll be on first-name terms with your local tire changer and none of your law-abiding friends will go riding with you anymore.

The Aprilia Dorsoduro is infected with the same strain of madness that runs through the SVX550 moto we had on test last year, although thankfully in a slightly milder and more civilized fashion. Still experiencing sweaty nightmares, where I wheelie past a whole line of nine-to-fivers on their way to work before putting the front wheel down in time to see flashing blue lights, I almost needed rehab when the folks at Aprilia took it away.

Thankfully, if you are well behaved you can manage to keep both wheels on the deck, and come to a halt without sliding sideways in a cloud of blue smoke, most of the time. You can even cruise on the highway in reasonable comfort and pretend you are an energy-saving commuter for a while. But as soon as you hit a piece of twisting asphalt and lose the company of the four wheeled brigade, it’s game on.

Using a short stroke, 90-degree V-twin, the Aprilia provides a sense of urgency and visceral excitement when you pin the throttle butterflies wide open. There’s something urgent, raw and bordering on manic the way the bike leaps forward, and it’s one extremely addictive rush. Looking through the press brief, the bike is quoted as making 92 horsepower at 8,750 rpm, and while I figure there is little Italian optimism in that quote, it’s certainly extremely powerful for a 750cc V-twin.

I recently put in a couple of track sessions on a very well built, big-bore SV650, putting out around 84 hp, and it  felt docile in comparison. Whatever the real figure, there is just something about the way Aprilia motorcycles put out their power that guarantees a thrill every time you ride.

Chatting with bike’s designer, Miguel Galuzzi, in Noale, Italy, a couple of years ago, I should have noticed the glint in his eyes when he talked of riding the Dorsoduro around the streets close to the Aprilia factory and the surrounding countryside. He also talked about the bike’s philosophy of fusing dirt and street into a big Supermoto-style bike that can be enjoyed for commuting, racing, or touring.

While motorcycles serve a more practical function in Europe than here in the States, this is truly a one-fits-all in that respect. More so since the bike comes with three engine-map settings for Rain, Sport or Touring. We are getting used to this feature on motorcycles these days, but it certainly is very practical to be able to set the engine characteristics to any situation you might encounter at the press of a button.

This technology is also found in the Dorsoduro’s sister machine ,the Shiva, and I took advantage of its versatility while filming in the Alps in some very wet conditions, greatly enjoying the confidence afforded by the more relaxed power curve.

One of the first things you notice about the Aprilia Dorsoduro is there are no generic looking parts anywhere. Starting up at the  tapered-section anodized aluminum handlebars, race-inspired of course, the first thing you notice is the slick matching hydraulic reservoirs for the clutch and brake systems. The attractive levers are four-way adjustable and covered by hand guards. This is really more for fashion than function, but with the angular mirrors and the futuristic mini fairing, the bikes front-end signature is unique and very modern.

A  shorty fairing juts out of the gold inverted 43mm forks and accentuates the front wheel. Stylish fork shrouds cover the exposed part of the fork, and a pair of four-piston radial calipers squeezing 320mm wave rotors are mounted behind the fork legs. These are Taiwanese-sourced items badged with the Aprilia logo and they do a decent job. Though not as sharp and powerful as the brakes on modern 600cc sportbikes are–even with the stock braided steel lines–they work well enough. A set of softer pads might sharpen things up, but we didn’t get time to make any changes for this test.

The rear brake set up uses a 240mm rotor with a single piston caliper. Any lack of a fancy specification here is not missed, as it’s easy to lock the rear under heavy braking if you aren’t sensitive with your right boot, and lots of fun to do it on purpose when you want to.

The aluminum alloy wheels are about as sexy as anything you’ll see wrapped in rubber.  Our test bike came with Dunlop Sportmax Qualifiers, a 120/70 ZR 17 in the front and a 180/55 ZR17 in the rear, and these do a great job on the street, warming up quickly and giving more than enough grip for street riding duties.

The forks and rear shock are sprung on the comfortable side of the sporting equation, and there are few better-handling machines on the road up to certain speeds . The bike tips into corners with the sort of intuition that only the new Ducati Hypermotard can match, with stability in equal measure. This is due in part to the  steel trellis and aluminum alloy frame, which is extremely light, but boasts good torsional rigidity. You can see that it was inspired by the  SXV550/450. And if you have followed motorcycle racing over the years, you’ll know Aprilia is good at building frames to win world championships.

Our test unit would sometimes feel a little vague at high speed, and although we may have been able to tighten some of the nebulous feel out of the chassis by altering suspension settings, it made more sense to leave it where it was for street riding duties. Particularly since the seat seems to borrow some technology from the Spanish Inquisition, discouraging me from further stiffening the ride.

Unfortunately, we had the Dorsoduro in Charlotte over the winter months, and so never had the chance to take it to the track. But it did spend some quality time on my own personal test routes when the weather permitted. I also used it for more pedestrian duties running up and back to the office on a mixture of back roads and highways. While I never felt that the fuel delivery was perfect, even after a re-map, it was always a fun ride. According to my buddy Nick at the local Aprilia dealer, there have been no complaints from service technicians or customers, so perhaps I’m being overly fussy. It just seems to me that rideability was better when the throttle was being opened rather than when at a constant setting or when getting back on the gas after slowing down.

The Dorsoduro is equipped with state-of-the art electronic fuel injection with two throttle bodies. Optimum burn is ensured in the cylinders by micro-spray injectors, and the whole system is operated by ride-by-wire electronic throttle control. Gases enter and leave the cylinders via  four valves operated by double overhead cams, and the Aprilia’s exhaust system features two large and stylish exhaust cans tucked under the narrow seat. Perched between them is a futuristic tail light that looks like it was lifted directly from the company’s SXV550/450.

Many of the components on the Aprilia Dorsoduro look to have been styled by an artist.  I could imagine the swing arm hanging in an art gallery, and the same goes for the frame. The only time I’ve seen such artistic blending of tubular and box section metal was during a tour of the Bimota factory in Rimini, Italy. It’s not hard to be impressed with the attention to detail that’s been lavished on this bike. Even the side stand is a sculpted piece.

Retailing for around $9500, the Aprilia Dorsoduro is not a budget machine. But think of it  as a highly evolved, more-civilized Supermoto and it makes more sense. With a set of aftermarket pipes, a tweaked suspension, and some work on the gearing, the Dorsoduro will embarrass plenty of sport bikes at track days. Or you could soften things up, find a saddle that wasn’t sponsored by a hemorrhoid cream manufacturer, and throw on some soft luggage, and you could be sport touring in style.

Or you could just leave the bike alone, sell your coffee maker, and add an extra ten miles to your commute in the morning to arrive as chipper as can be. The Aprilia Dorsoduro can do it all.

Photos by Neale Bayly and Scott Ely.