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Aprilia Dorsoduro Test

Aprilia Dorsoduro Test

Author: Josh
Date: 2012-05-30
Having ridden the Dorsoduro over the weekend, I would have imagined the name to mean "Beast" or "Insanity", a name befitting this monster of a bike. Alas, it was not to be as Mr Google would inform me. In fact dorsoduro means "hard ridge" in Italian, in reference to Dorsoduro, one of the six sestieri (areas) of Venice. So it has a rather silly name. How disappointing. However, the bike itself did not disappoint!

The sharp lines & aggressive looks compliment the riding characteristics of the bike in my humble opinion. Both the ride and looks are by no means subtle. More like tear your face off! So, back to the test, the first thing I noticed was how the petrol tank is uniquely designed so that your legs snuggly, yet not in a cramped way, "hug" the bike. This gives the rider a more controlled feel over the bike. It also assists in preventing you from flying face forward kamikaze style when enthusiastically applying the amazing brakes. I found it comforting, almost as if I was "one with the bike", or something hippy like that.

Then again, it eats hippies for fun. My second observation was how quickly the gap between me and the car ahead was diminishing; resulting in that previously mentioned enthusiastic braking. It's unbelievable the amount of off the mark acceleration the Dorsoduro has. One second you're waiting at the robot, next you're breaking the sound barrier. With just the smallest twist of the wrist you can bend the very fabric of the universe. Responsible for all this utter lunacy is the liquid cooled 90 degree V-twin 1197cc engine. Electronic fuel injection delivers the flammable stuff to the engine while the twin spark ignition system, meaning it has two spark plugs per cylinder instead of just one, ensures said stuff is used with maximum efficiency.

All this technical wizardry results in 130 angry, foaming at the mouth horses bursting forth onto the back wheel at 8700rpm. The torque, 115Nm at 7200rpm, is ever present to strongly pull you through the sweeping corners this bike excels in negotiating. At one stage I even discovered ......

Read next week's edition to discover what Josh discovered. In the meantime if you want to know more about the Dorsoduro, call East Coast Motorcycles on 031 566 3024 or call in at the showroom at 10 Meridian Drive, Umhlanga Ridge.