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Dorsoduro 900

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Episode 63 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is out, and it is a massive deep dive into the future of transportation and the rise of electric motorcycles.

But before we get back, to the future, we first talk about Jensen’s recent trip to California, to ride the Aprilia Dorsoduro 900 (named after a university district of Venice, Italy – by the way) and the Aprilia Shiver 900.

Both bikes are revised for the 2018 model year in the United States, and are interesting machines in Aprilia’s lineup. You can read Jensen’s full review on them here and here.

From there, our discussion turns into a impromptu deep conversation about electric vehicles, urban infrastructure, global politics, and the future of transportation.

It is tough work reviewing two motorcycles in one day, but that is exactly what we did this past week in Ventura, California – as Aprilia USA had us riding the new Dorsoduro 900 and Shiver 900 motorcycles.

Coming to the United States for the 2018 model year, the Aprilia Dorsoduro 900 gets a much-needed update for its tenth birthday, with Aprilia overhauling the affordable maxi-motard with some needed upgrades and modern touches.

In addition to a revised and bigger engine, which is now Euro4 compliant, the Aprilia Dorsoduro 900 gets a modest electronics suite added to it, as well as new hardware.

The overall design of the bike hasn’t changed much, which is perhaps a good thing, as the Dorsoduro has always been a visually appealing motorcycle.

The real strength with Aprilia’s 900cc platform though is the pricing, and at $10,999 the Aprilia Dorsoduro is the cheapest motorcycle in the large-displacement supermoto category – giving riders an excellent bang-for-the-buck offering, not to mention a fun motorcycle to ride.

Hello from Ventura, California where today I will be riding the two bikes from Noale’s street lineup, the Aprilia Dorsoduro 900 and the Aprilia Shiver 900.

More evolution than revolution, for the 2017 model year Aprilia has revised the Dorsoduro and Shiver them with a 896cc engine – increasing the stroke from the previously 750cc 90° v-twin lump.

This gives both models a modest power bump and torque gain, while bringing the two street bikes into compliance with Euro4 emission standards. While at it, Aprilia has also updated both machines, leaving no stone unturned in the process in making them better motorcycles.

As such, virtually every aspect of the Aprilia Dorsoduro and Aprilia Shiver have been updated, most notably the electronics, which now include a traction control system, along with new ABS and ride-by-wire hardware and software pieces.

Hopefully, this means that these two rather bland machines from Aprilia have become the potent weapons we always hoped they would be.

To test that thought, we will be riding one of my favorite roads in the world, Highway 33, which stretches from Ventura to Ojai, and into Lockwood Valley – ending at Interstate 5. A good set of twisties, it should be the happy hunting ground for these two motorcycles.

Per our new review format, we will be giving you a live assessment of the Dorsoduro 900 and Shiver 900 models right here in this article (down in the comments section), and there we will try to answer any questions you might have.

So, here is your chance to learn what it’s like to ride these affordable street shredders, before even my own proper reviews are posted. As always, if I don’t know an answer, I will try to get a response from the Aprilia personnel. So, pepper away.

You can follow our thoughts on the bike live via FacebookTwitter, and Instagram

For the 2017 model year, the Aprilia Dorsoduro 750 gets an upgrade to 900cc, making it the 2017 Aprilia Dorsoduro 900. Aprilia says that the new 896cc 90° v-twin engine is a stroked out version of the 750cc motor (from 56.4mm to 67.4mm), which allows Aprilia to meet Euro4 emission standards while also giving the Dorsoduro 750 a much-needed upgrade.

Despite the 150cc increase in displacement, the 2017 Aprilia Dorsoduro 900 makes only an additional 3hp, with peak power now set at 95hp at 8,750 rpm.

While that change in horsepower is underwhelming, there is somewhat better news to be found in the torque curve, which sees a 6 lbs•ft torque increase, for 66 lbs•ft at 6,600 rpm.

Aprilia says that the torque curve for the Dorsoduro 900 is flatter than that of Dorsoduro 750, and at all rpm points higher. That is at least modestly reassuring.