The Shiver is Aprilia's first middleweight bike, and the first big engine to be developed totally in house. But is it any good?
It's not really fashionable to say this. But certain countries really seem to be better at certain things. We know that to an intelligent mind, it seems like lazy stereotyping. But if we want a well engineered, premium car, say, then a German wielding the CAD machine. A well tailored financial product? Probably a Scottish Independent Financial Advisor. Nice watches come from Switzerland, excellent wine from France, good bicycles from Taiwan. Italy is good at lots of things. Pretty much all the food groups (except breakfast - Americans do breakfast best). Coffee. Ladies shoes (the ladies in the shoes too surely? -JP). And of course, motorbikes. But Italian bikes tend by their nature to be on the exotic side - highly-strung Ducatis, esoteric Bimotas, wacky Benellis. They' re not at their best when trying to do practical or usable.
I wonder just how good Aprilia's new budget middleweight entry can be. The Noale firm has carved out an enviable niche in high performance sportsbikes, natty scooters and huge 125 and 250 GP race successes. But can an Italian firm ever build a real world bike?
It's not really fashionable to say this. But certain countries really seem to be better at certain things. We know that to an intelligent mind, it seems like lazy stereotyping. But if we want a well engineered, premium car, say, then a German wielding the CAD machine. A well tailored financial product? Probably a Scottish Independent Financial Advisor. Nice watches come from Switzerland, excellent wine from France, good bicycles from Taiwan. Italy is good at lots of things. Pretty much all the food groups (except breakfast - Americans do breakfast best). Coffee. Ladies shoes (the ladies in the shoes too surely? -JP). And of course, motorbikes. But Italian bikes tend by their nature to be on the exotic side - highly-strung Ducatis, esoteric Bimotas, wacky Benellis. They' re not at their best when trying to do practical or usable.
I wonder just how good Aprilia's new budget middleweight entry can be. The Noale firm has carved out an enviable niche in high performance sportsbikes, natty scooters and huge 125 and 250 GP race successes. But can an Italian firm ever build a real world bike?
ENGINE
All-new design is Aprilia's first developed totally in-house (thanks to all that Piaggio scooter cash). It's a 90 degree V-twin with four valve per cylinder, four camshafts driven by chains and gears, two spark plugs and very oversquare architecture. Compression is fairly low at 11:1.
INJECTION
Totally automated throttle valve control is based on Magneti Marelli system that's used on the Volkswagen Passat. The twistgrip is attached to a sensor unit mounted under the steering head, so when you turn the throttle, all that happens is the dual ECUs get a signal about how much throttle you want. The computers then send power to a pair of motor which open each throttle body's butterfly valve by an appropriate amount. This allows the injection computer to have total control over ignition, injection and airflow into the engine. So according to gear, revs, speed and twistgrip opening, the computer dials in what it thinks is the perfect combination of butterfly valve opening, fuel injection amount and timing, and ignition timing. The ECU even balances the two bodies automatically, to take account of dirt or wear in the valves.
BRAKES
Aprilia's own radial caliper design with 320mm discs up front and a single piston rear caliper. Steel braided hoses all round.
FRAME
Front section is steel tube trellis, bolted to cast aluminium rear sections. This is designed to allow flexibility in design, slightly different steel tube steel tube sections can be easily produced to allow a wide range of bike from the base platform.
SUSPENSION
Basic Showa front forks are unadjustable, rear Sachs shock has preload and rebound damping adjustment, and cantilever operation via the neat aluminium swingarm.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
The engine has potential in a number of areas. The Shiver version of the 750 isn't very highly tuned, so a more powerful 750 would be easily produced. There is also talk of 900cc and 1,000cc-plus versions, and the various motors look set to be used in adventure sports, supermotard and sport touring guises. The ride by wire makes cruise control and traction control system easy to develop.
Hassle-free
Shiver, on the Alpine foothill roads north of Treviso. Following the Aprilia test rider, we start off at a gentle enough pace, which is fine for finding your feet on a new bike. Finding my feet is a little tricky at first though - the Shiver is pretty tall. The seat itself is comfortable though, and the wide, fat bars give a pleasing riding position. Match that to decent mirrors and a smart, comprehensive LCD dash, and you've got a strong ergonomic package. Even the switchgear is intelligently crafted: the start/run and headlight main/pass switch are well thought out.
The Shiver reveals a simple hassle free chassis. Steering is light, and the suspension is inoffensive if a little bouncy, while the brakes are strong and communicative.
Dunlop's Qualifiers are better than some of the firm's previous road offerings, although on some dusty stretches of hillside road, they lacked a little feedback from the front. I’d rather see a Michelin Pilot Power or Bridgestone BT-015 on here, but it seems clear that Dunlop's success in making 125 and 250 GP race tyres makes it a top choice for Aprilia.
What's less clear-cut is the engine's power delivery. Out on the open road, with a bit of space to 'open her up', the SL750 is a stonker. The airbox praaappps out a fantastic noise. And over 6,000rpm, there's strong, urgent pull - this is no meek SV650-like powerplant. On a stretch of dual carriageway I soon see 205kph (confirmed by the speedo's max speed display), with more to come. While the fuelling is smooth and progressive rolling the power on and off to overtake the occasional 40kph Fiat 500 trundling along the country roads.
Soft edge
But there is weirdness to the Shiver's power delivery right down low. From idle up to 4,000 revs, there's a slight hesitation and wooliness that perplexes. It's as if the ECU is trying to soften off the motor's torque according to how you use the throttle: slam it wide open quickly to try and pull a power wheelie in first, and it won't do it. But if you give the throttle a couple of blips, then the torque seem stronger
Give in and dip the clutch and you risk flipping the little Aprilia as the revs rise quickly into the serious grunt around 7k. None of this is particularly unpleasant though, and fine once you adjust to it.
That rather soft edge is exactly what Aprilia was aiming for though - the Shiver isn't a mini Tuono. Having said that, the engineers were keen to suggest the engine has loads of potential. Raising its comparatively Low compression ratio, tweaking the ride-by-wire fuelling and going for more aggressive performance could transform it into a superb little lump, bettering something like Ducati's 749 motor and challenging engines like Triumph's 675 for lusty and full of performance characters.
Bucking the trend
But Aprilia has to walk before it can run in this new, competitive class. It's decided to do it with this rounded, mainstream naked bike, which is selling at a great price, and which wilt suit the needs of 95% of its target market. So has Aprilia bucked the Italian trend and added another string of useful machinery to the Latin bow? Well on the strength of this quick first ride, it certainty seems like it.
SPECIFICATIONS
Engine
Type: I/c, 8v, DOHC 90degree V-twin
Displacement : 749.9cc
Bore x Stroke: 92x56.4mm
Compression: 11.1
Carburation: Ride by wire fuel injection
Gearbox: 6-Speed, chain
Power: 95bhp@9,000rpm
Torque: 59.7lbf ft@7,000rpm
Cycle Parts
Chassis: Steel tube trellis/alu plates
Suspension:
(Front) 43mm USD Showa forks, unadjustable
(Rear) Sachs mono, preload/rebound damping adjust
Brakes:
(Front) Dual 320mm discs, four piston radial mount calipers
(Rear) 245mm disc, single-piston caliper
Wheels/Tyres:
Cast aluminium/Dunlop Qualifier
(Front) 120/70 17
(Rear) 180/55 17
Seat height: 810mm
Wheelbase: 1,440mm
Capacity: 15 liters (3.3gal)
Dry Weight: 189kg (416lb)
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