2008 Aprilia SMV 750 Dorsoduro: MD First Ride

"This is a true Aprilia", Francesco Polimeni (Aprilia Motorbike category Manager) told me at the Rome presentation. What Polimeni meant is that it carries more racing heritage than the last big Aprilia news, the Shiver.

Just by looking at the new Dorsoduro you can see clearly what it is. It's Aprilia's take on the hottest niche in the motorcycle market. It's Aprilia's answer to Ducati's Hypermotard and KTM's 990 SM. By using the 750cc V-twin, Aprilia also positions itself as the smallest of the big ones.

But Aprilia's 750cc, 90 degree V-twin is liquid cooled, not air-cooled like the Hypermotard. Despite tuning the engine for more low-end torque, the Aprilia Dorsoduro still ends up with a respectable 92 peak horsepower @ 8750rpm. The main target with the Piaggio developed 750cc V-twin was low-end and midrange power. And torque there is plenty of from very low revs and max torque (82Nm) is available already from 4,500rpm.

Aprilia's ride-by-wire is also in place on the Dorsoduro. From the starter button you can change between Rain, Touring and Sport settings. The R setting takes away all the fun for safe throttle usage when it rains. The T setting softens the low-end torque response but leaves full power on top. The S setting allows the hooligan to express himself fully!

Needless to say, I spent most of the day in S mode. In the morning though, I involuntary set off in T mode. I was thinking that this wasn't too aggressive a throttle response and kept it on full throttle for best drive. To change the 3-way ECU settings you have to let go of the throttle so that the engine is on idle and then push the starter button whilst the engine is running.

After a heavy thunderstorm during the night, the roads were covered with dirt and debris. Despite this, I felt that I had really good traction from the combination of a long swingarm and the Dunlop Qualifier 180/55-ZR17 rear tire. The Dorsoduro aluminum swingarm is longer than on the Shiver for better sliding control. The rear sub-frame is new as well. The front end is a bit livelier just like on a true supermotard. All this aids aggressive corner entry and exit.

The wide handlebars allow supreme bike control, and for good measure Aprilia have added the hand guards from the SXV. On a supermoto, they mainly protect the clutch and brake levers from accidental contact during close racing. But on the Dorsoduro they'll protect the levers in the event of an accident and also shield your hands from wind and weather. This is very practical when using short supermoto gloves.

The front area of the Dorsoduro has a striking headlight design that resembles a knight's helmet. Since all of the bikes at the launch were black, it'll be a black knight then. The design works for me, and the clean view of the 17inch front wheel is pleasing on any supermotard.

The SMV7 50 has wavy double-discs with Aprilia's radial brake callipers attached. The wheel is mounted on a 43mm USD fork that is adjustable for spring preload and rebound damping. A generous 160mm travel is available from the front end. The side-mounted rear monoshock also sports the same adjustability and spring travel as the front suspension.

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