Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200

Aprilia has finally launched the first of a range of 1200cc twin-cylinder products with the Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200. The 1197cc liquid-cooled 90-degree-vee engine has got that full and rich V-Twin feel that was missing on the 750. Liquid-cooled, the midrange is now stronger 130bhp at 8700rpm and a strong  115Nm at 7200 rpm.

Along with providing rich midrange torque, we suspect the Piaggio-built V-Twin will offer high mileage reliability. Aprilia's racing heart is represented by the SXV/RXV and RSV4, while the bona fide road bikes represented by the Dorsoduro and Shiver. The racing engines are 100 per cent Aprilia-engineered while the 750/1200 engines are Piaggio-engineered.


The new engine is reportedly under-stressed, and there's good reason to expect a touring machine featuring this engine in the near future. The Dorsoduro 1200 accelerates up to and beyond 200km/h easily without the side to side weaving at high speed which is typical on a 650cc single-cylinder bike.

Despite its size and heft, the Dorsoduro handles corners with great agility. The new steel-trellis frame may appear to be the same as on the 750, but it's stronger and stiffer and hence a little heavier, but has been compensated a little with a lighter rear subframe. The Dorsoduro 1200 tackles the corners with great agility and that supermoto feeling, where you can place the front wheel exactly where you want.


A fairly heavy machine (207kg claimed dry weight) compared to something like the Ducati Hypermotard, the Dorsoduro 1200 has 30 extra horsepower to compensate. The Dorsoduro 1200 allows the street-riding public to approach supermotard riding such as sliding in and out of corners in a safe way.

The front end features a Sachs 43mm USD fork with a full 160mm travel, leveraged by the cantilever-style Sachs shock at the back, which allows 155mm of travel. The long travel allows you to brake deep into corners, and allowing a controllable slide should you wish for one. Riding in a straight line or even cruising the suspension soaks up bumps nearly as well as a full-on supermoto.

Double 320mm disc setup with radial Brembo brakes provide plenty of power for braking, balanced with the 240mm rear disc with a one-piston Brembo caliper at the back. The Dorsoduro 1200 will be delivered with ABS as standard, and could be turned off should you wish. The ABS will turn on automatically after turning the ignition completely off and then on.

The Traction Control system is basically a toned-down version of the one found on the RSV4 Factory APRC. The lower-spec traction control is also all you need on a bike like the Dorsoduro, and it's adjustable on three levels plus off. Move up to two and three and more and more torque is removed from the lower rpm calculations based on pre-programmed maps. Level three along with ABS and the Rain riding mode should allow you to pin the throttle on slippery concrete, but it wouldn't be fun.


All these rider aids allow you to tame the beast completely. If you are a less experienced rider and want to measure and control your own progression into the high-performance world of motorcycling, you can do this on one bike. Only the three riding levels of Sport, Touring and Rain can be adjusted while riding, and it's not in rapid fashion as the throttle must be off and there's the odd three seconds or more wait which is too much while on the move unless you're alone on the road.

If you like to pop some wheelies, which by the way is a major selling point of the bike, then the traction control needs turning off because there's some calculations needed from the front wheel that simply disappear when the wheel is in the air. That makes the system think it should cut power, which it does. A short wheelie is still possible, but not the long second-gear ones that you really want.

The bike is now 100 per cent pure fun. The Dorsoduro 1200 is better in every aspect than the 750, and the traction control prevents serious palpitations exiting the corners with big throttle openings on high lean. Despite the large capacity it feels much smaller than BMW's HP2 for instance. The fact that it's liquid-cooled and reliable, sturdily built and with useful safety features,the Dorsoduro 1200 may be one of the city commuter's best choices in 2011.