Updated for 2018 along with the Shiver, the Aprilia Dorsoduro 900 gets a longer-stroke V-twin for more power and torque as well as other improvements. (Photos by Brian J. Nelson & Kevin Wing)
The last time I rode an Aprilia Dorsoduro, way back in 2009, I got a speeding ticket, so I?m relieved to have avoided paying another hooligan tax during my 60-mile test ride on the new Dorsoduro 900. This time I was smarter, if not less restrained, flogging the slim-waisted, Italian-made supermoto on deserted back roads rather than on city streets. Knowing when and where to play is half the battle.
Read our 2009 Aprilia SMV750 Dorsoduro review
The Dorsoduro’s 896cc 90-degree V-twin is bolted in a hybrid aluminum spar/steel trellis frame. Sachs shock is adjustable for preload only. Sharing a platform with the Shiver naked sportbike, the original Dorsoduro was powered by a liquid-cooled, 750cc 90-degree V-twin carried in a hybrid aluminum spar/steel trellis frame. For 2018, the Dorsoduro-Shiver duo?s V-twin gets a longer stroke (67.4mm, up from 56.4mm; bore is 92mm) and now displaces 896.1cc, boosting claimed horsepower from 92 to 95 at 8,750 rpm. The big payoff with the longer stroke is more torque, which jumps from 60.5 lb-ft at 4,500 rpm to 66.4 lb-ft at 6,500 rpm and stays above 60 lb-ft from 4,000 to 8,500 rpm (claimed, at the crank). Updates to the pistons and crankshaft reduce friction and weight, a new high-pressure double-jet injector improves fuel atomization and a Ma...