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BIKES: Aprilia Dosoduro
Neale Bayly tests the new Aprilia Dosoduro1200.
Neale Bayly rides the all new Aprilia Dosoduro1200.
I personally think the word Dosoduro in Italian means “badass,” as there is simply no other word to describe the 1200cc V-twin “maxi-motard” from Noale, Italy. The day I took delivery, I pulled out of my neighborhood, gave a solid twist on the throttle and, to put it in modern vernacular, let out a violent “OMG” as the front wheel went instantly skyward. Quickly short-shifting to second gear, after another twist of the throttle I let out a yelping “WTF” as the front wheel again disconnected from the ground again. This thing is pure madness. But why should I expect anything different from the Italian company that brought us the poster child for mad motorcycles, the Tuono, and probably the most insane motorcycle to wear a license plate, the SXV550?
Styled to look like its smaller sibling, the Dosoduro 750, the new Aprilia Dosoduro1200 makes no excuses for its sporting nature, so to see what it was made of, I packed a bag and headed out to the infamous Tail of the Dragon. With 318 turns in 11 miles, it is some of the most demanding motorcycling real estate in the country and will quickly find any weaknesses a bike or rider might exhibit. Taking a side trip to Mt. Mitchell on the way, and spending some time avoiding park rangers on the Blue Ridge Parkway, gave me some surprising additional insight into the big Italian twin. With a seat that must have been designed by the same person who invented stiletto heels, the ride to Robbinsville created quite the dichotomy, as the incredible engine set in touring mode to tame down the power delivery on the tighter country roads, the nimble handling from the upright riding position, the wide bars, and the excellent brakes, the Dosoduro was so addictive I didn’t want to get off. Though with the seat making my tender, office-chair-conditioned arse feel after a few hundred miles like someone had been beating it with a baseball bat, I was in a constant internal fight between wanting to keep going, and wanting to stop. Fortunately, the 3.9-gallon gas tank only allows about 100 miles before the fill-up light comes on, so you have to stop, and it’s a testament to the Aprilia’s intoxicating riding experience that the pleasure always won over the pain. But while this made for a great weekend’s riding, it’s not going to be practical for long-term owners, and with the bike’s excellent ability to handle sport touring duties, hopefully Aprilia or an aftermarket company can address the seat issue.
Once out on the Dragon, it was back in sport mode, although to be honest, with all the crazies flying up and down I was relatively conservative. Enjoying the way the bike flicked in and out of the tight corners with so much in reserve was actually more enjoyable than pushing hard and risking problems. Moving to some lightly traveled roads, I wicked it up a few times and enjoyed mostly the same result. The longer-travel suspension is a tad mushy when the going gets heated, though; but on a public road that sort of behavior is soon going to end in tears, so this is not something to complain about. The bike uses a Sachs 43 mm inverted fork up front with 6.3 inches of travel so it can handle any type of road surface you throw at it. Although adjustable in all the usual ways, I left it as delivered, and while it could have been tightened up for hard-braking, I preferred the compromise for maximizing all the comfort possible to offset the uncomfortable seat.
In the rear, a single Sachs single gas-charged shock is used and mounts straight to the swingarm without a linkage. It’s easily accessible as it sits out to the side and comes with pre-load, compression, and rebound adjustment. With 6.1 inches of travel, it soaks up bumpy roads with aplomb, -just don’t expect racetrack-type handling at speed with this much travel. Stopping the beast, a pair of radial-mount Brembo four-piston calipers overachieve up front as they do the business on a pair of 320mm rotors. A smaller 240mm disc in the rear gets a single-piston caliper, which is more than adequate for reducing tire life when coming to a halt sideways in a plume of smoke. As tested, the Dosoduro came with a set of Dunlop Qualifiers, which do a great job in wet or dry conditions, and they certainly look as if they should last a while if you can manage to be conservative with the back brake.
The heart of the matter is the 1197cc fuel-injected V-twin using four-valves per cylinder and a pair of 106mm pistons spinning in a short 67.8mm stroke. Thumping out a quoted 130 horsepower at 8,700 rpm, there is 73 lb-ft of torque available at 7,600 rpm. While these figures would make it seem that the Aprilia is a little highly strung, it’s actually very strong off the bottom end, and when ridden calmly, the big Italian twin is very smooth and conservative in the way it puts the power to the ground. Gearing seems short, as most of the fun seems to be over once you get to around 110mph, and, while I never went much faster, I don’t think top speed would be much more than 125mph. With just a small bikini-style mini-fairing, there’s no need for more speed, as it doesn’t give a lot of wind protection. It does help though, and on the highway at 70-80mph it doesn’t create any unpleasant buffeting or turbulence, and the air that is hitting you is very clean.
An interesting part of having the Aprilia on test was the comments I heard and the conversations it provoked. The styling is pure wicked, and for me it’s one of those bikes I could just sit back and gaze at after a long ride. The super-sexy steel-trellis/aluminum frame, the gorgeous sculptured swingarm, and the sleek, angular body-parts make it stand out in any crowd. The large undertail exhausts might be a love it or hate it feature for some, but they work for me, and if you have seen one with an Akropovic system installed, you won’t have any trouble with what to ask Santa for next year. This would help get the Aprilia’s 490-pound weight down, and remove the weight from up high, which would make it change direction even faster.
With ride-by-wire throttle, three-position mapping for sport, tour, or rain mode, but no slipper clutch or anti-lock brakes, the Dosoduro is both sophisticated and basic in the same breath. With the big torquey V-twin, and closely spaced gear ratios, a slipper clutch would be nice, although ABS is not so important for me as the strong brakes are super-sensitive and easy to modulate. Rain mode is important though, as it reduces the power to around 100 ponies, which makes life a little saner when grip levels are low.
Switchgear and instruments are all sharp, modern Aprilia fare, and there are no surprises in the way they operate. Paint finish and quality are excellent, as are all the cycle parts, although new owners are going to want to remove the warning stickers which seem to be plastered everywhere. Available for $11,999, the new Aprilia Dosoduro 1200 fits somewhere in amongst the Ducati Hypermotard, the KTM 990, and possibly BMW’s HP2 in the large motard class as it competes for customer dollars. As pictured here in black, it looks to me like it’s ready for a fight, and with its knockout punch from the muscular engine, coupled with light, agile handling, it’s totally equipped to win. “LOL.”
View photos HERE!
Styled to look like its smaller sibling, the Dosoduro 750, the new Aprilia Dosoduro1200 makes no excuses for its sporting nature, so to see what it was made of, I packed a bag and headed out to the infamous Tail of the Dragon. With 318 turns in 11 miles, it is some of the most demanding motorcycling real estate in the country and will quickly find any weaknesses a bike or rider might exhibit. Taking a side trip to Mt. Mitchell on the way, and spending some time avoiding park rangers on the Blue Ridge Parkway, gave me some surprising additional insight into the big Italian twin. With a seat that must have been designed by the same person who invented stiletto heels, the ride to Robbinsville created quite the dichotomy, as the incredible engine set in touring mode to tame down the power delivery on the tighter country roads, the nimble handling from the upright riding position, the wide bars, and the excellent brakes, the Dosoduro was so addictive I didn’t want to get off. Though with the seat making my tender, office-chair-conditioned arse feel after a few hundred miles like someone had been beating it with a baseball bat, I was in a constant internal fight between wanting to keep going, and wanting to stop. Fortunately, the 3.9-gallon gas tank only allows about 100 miles before the fill-up light comes on, so you have to stop, and it’s a testament to the Aprilia’s intoxicating riding experience that the pleasure always won over the pain. But while this made for a great weekend’s riding, it’s not going to be practical for long-term owners, and with the bike’s excellent ability to handle sport touring duties, hopefully Aprilia or an aftermarket company can address the seat issue.
Once out on the Dragon, it was back in sport mode, although to be honest, with all the crazies flying up and down I was relatively conservative. Enjoying the way the bike flicked in and out of the tight corners with so much in reserve was actually more enjoyable than pushing hard and risking problems. Moving to some lightly traveled roads, I wicked it up a few times and enjoyed mostly the same result. The longer-travel suspension is a tad mushy when the going gets heated, though; but on a public road that sort of behavior is soon going to end in tears, so this is not something to complain about. The bike uses a Sachs 43 mm inverted fork up front with 6.3 inches of travel so it can handle any type of road surface you throw at it. Although adjustable in all the usual ways, I left it as delivered, and while it could have been tightened up for hard-braking, I preferred the compromise for maximizing all the comfort possible to offset the uncomfortable seat.
In the rear, a single Sachs single gas-charged shock is used and mounts straight to the swingarm without a linkage. It’s easily accessible as it sits out to the side and comes with pre-load, compression, and rebound adjustment. With 6.1 inches of travel, it soaks up bumpy roads with aplomb, -just don’t expect racetrack-type handling at speed with this much travel. Stopping the beast, a pair of radial-mount Brembo four-piston calipers overachieve up front as they do the business on a pair of 320mm rotors. A smaller 240mm disc in the rear gets a single-piston caliper, which is more than adequate for reducing tire life when coming to a halt sideways in a plume of smoke. As tested, the Dosoduro came with a set of Dunlop Qualifiers, which do a great job in wet or dry conditions, and they certainly look as if they should last a while if you can manage to be conservative with the back brake.
The heart of the matter is the 1197cc fuel-injected V-twin using four-valves per cylinder and a pair of 106mm pistons spinning in a short 67.8mm stroke. Thumping out a quoted 130 horsepower at 8,700 rpm, there is 73 lb-ft of torque available at 7,600 rpm. While these figures would make it seem that the Aprilia is a little highly strung, it’s actually very strong off the bottom end, and when ridden calmly, the big Italian twin is very smooth and conservative in the way it puts the power to the ground. Gearing seems short, as most of the fun seems to be over once you get to around 110mph, and, while I never went much faster, I don’t think top speed would be much more than 125mph. With just a small bikini-style mini-fairing, there’s no need for more speed, as it doesn’t give a lot of wind protection. It does help though, and on the highway at 70-80mph it doesn’t create any unpleasant buffeting or turbulence, and the air that is hitting you is very clean.
An interesting part of having the Aprilia on test was the comments I heard and the conversations it provoked. The styling is pure wicked, and for me it’s one of those bikes I could just sit back and gaze at after a long ride. The super-sexy steel-trellis/aluminum frame, the gorgeous sculptured swingarm, and the sleek, angular body-parts make it stand out in any crowd. The large undertail exhausts might be a love it or hate it feature for some, but they work for me, and if you have seen one with an Akropovic system installed, you won’t have any trouble with what to ask Santa for next year. This would help get the Aprilia’s 490-pound weight down, and remove the weight from up high, which would make it change direction even faster.
With ride-by-wire throttle, three-position mapping for sport, tour, or rain mode, but no slipper clutch or anti-lock brakes, the Dosoduro is both sophisticated and basic in the same breath. With the big torquey V-twin, and closely spaced gear ratios, a slipper clutch would be nice, although ABS is not so important for me as the strong brakes are super-sensitive and easy to modulate. Rain mode is important though, as it reduces the power to around 100 ponies, which makes life a little saner when grip levels are low.
Switchgear and instruments are all sharp, modern Aprilia fare, and there are no surprises in the way they operate. Paint finish and quality are excellent, as are all the cycle parts, although new owners are going to want to remove the warning stickers which seem to be plastered everywhere. Available for $11,999, the new Aprilia Dosoduro 1200 fits somewhere in amongst the Ducati Hypermotard, the KTM 990, and possibly BMW’s HP2 in the large motard class as it competes for customer dollars. As pictured here in black, it looks to me like it’s ready for a fight, and with its knockout punch from the muscular engine, coupled with light, agile handling, it’s totally equipped to win. “LOL.”
View photos HERE!
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