Driving report Aprilia SL 750 Shiver

Posted on by admin

Menus

Driving report Aprilia SL 750 Shiver
Gargolov

Driving report Aprilia SL 750 Shiver

Try and range

The Aprilia SL 750 Shiver is about to go into series production. In order to secure her due attention in advance, Aprilia invited to an exclusive and short driving appointment. With motorcycles whose development is somewhere between a test prototype and a series machine.

There was one with the right looks. And two with the right motors, whose housings were admittedly still in the wrong paint. Neither had a tachometer with the correct scale. The golden frame color of the driving machines was not exactly right either. No matter: what there on one of the many sections of a huge test site
was ready for a test drive in Balocco, northern Italy, was always 100 percent Shiver, good enough for an authentic driving impression.

Despite all the effort with which the Aprilia engineers have developed a completely new two-cylinder, this is initially dominated by the chassis. No wonder, on the winding test track with double crash barriers on both sides of the road, the driver feels like a pneumatic tube capsule that has just been shot down and is extremely grateful for the handiness and precision with which the Shiver follows its steering impulses. The petite motorcycle remains neutral down to the lean angle and shows no tendency to slip over the front or rear wheel. However, the lean angle limit is reached too quickly. The footpegs begin to scratch relatively early, with less flexible parts lurking underneath, especially in a right-hand angle. Can the higher footrest system, which is offered as an accessory, change anything? Even if you take into account that the pavements of normal roads often offer less grip than the asphalt of a test site and that the Shiver shouldn’t be a super sports car, you still want to hang in a little more. After all, she invites you to fold it with verve into the next corner.

Because the line and the gear engaged do not always match during the first few laps on an unknown route, the engine gradually wins the tester’s attention. Very cultivated, already running smoothly with less than 3000 revolutions under load, the 95 PS strong V2 pushes the Shiver forward and unfolds a downright bearish power beyond the 5000 tours. If the pneumatic tube capsule knows its way, it can be catapulted to over 180 kilometers per hour and enjoys brilliant propulsion up to over 8000 rpm.

Above this, the performance development flattens noticeably; Although the 750 would turn even higher, the next higher gear is recommended. This behavior is surprising; In view of the tremendous speed increase in the middle, the engine gives the feeling that it can develop even more temperament upstairs. According to the engineers, the electronic throttle valve control intervenes beyond the nominal speed of 9000 rpm to prevent the V2 from rushing into the speed limiter without braking.

Of course, electronics can do a lot more. The aforementioned suppleness when opening the gas at low speeds, for example, is also due to the ride-by-wire. In this situation, it plays the role of a soulful driver who does not suddenly open the throat of a two-cylinder at low speeds, but avoids the collapse of the gas columns in the intake tract and the hacking of the engine by carefully opening the flaps. Even during load changes, the system acts like a driver who always has enough feeling left over ?? even in the middle of the curve and at full lean angle ?? to switch from pushing to pulling at the right speed. The assertion made by the author in the top test of the Kawasaki Z 1000 (issue 9/2007) that systems with two throttle valves had mastered this exercise best up to now was impressively put into perspective by the Shiver with one valve per cylinder.

In itself, Aprilia’s ride-by-wire is nothing new; the BMW K 1200 models or the Yamaha YZF-R6 have similar systems. However, you use far fewer options, for example, you forego opening the throttle valve slightly again when you suddenly turn the throttle before a bend in order to soften the braking effect of the engine and thus make downshifting and turning in more harmoniously.

In its current set-up, the Shiver engine showed such an effect noticeably, but not exaggerated. Nevertheless, the engineers want to fine-tune precisely this point by the start of series production at the end of June. They make no secret of the fact that the engine management system requires special care because it is to be adapted for other drive concepts. The plans range from the sportier 750 version to a 1200 twin-cylinder model based on the Shiver engine to the 1000 V4 for the new super sports car.

In contrast to many so-called mid-range motorcycles from other manufacturers, the A.prilia SL 750 Shiver therefore not as an offshoot of a larger, stronger or sportier motorcycle. It itself is the pilot project, the nucleus of the future model program, on which basic development is carried out with particular meticulousness. You can tell from her and that is just as optimistic with regard to the quality of the series version as the solid workmanship, which already distinguishes the prototypes. And awakens the appetite for more. A Supermoto variant in the style of the Ducati Multistrada, for example, or even a real super athlete.

Technical data: Aprilia SL 750 Shiver – Aprilia SL 750 Shiver

Engine: water-cooled two-cylinder four-stroke 90-degree V engine, two overhead, gear / chain-driven camshafts, four valves per cylinder, bucket tappets, wet sump lubrication, injection, Ø 50 mm, regulated catalytic converter, 450 W alternator, 12 battery V / 10 Ah, mechanically operated multi-disc oil bath clutch, six-speed gearbox, O-ring chain.
Bore x stroke 92.0 x 56.4 mm
Cubic capacity 750 cm3
Compression ratio 11.0: 1

Rated output 70.0 kW (95 PS) at 9000 rpm

Max. Torque 82 Nm at 7000 rpm

Chassis: tubular steel frame, motor with-
Load-bearing, upside-down fork, Ø 43 mm, two-arm swing arm made of aluminum, central spring strut, directly hinged, adjustable spring base and rebound damping, double disc brake at the front, Ø 320 mm, four-piston fixed calipers, rear disc brake, Ø 245 mm, single-piston floating caliper.
Cast aluminum wheels 3.5 x 17; 6.0 x 17
Tires 120/70 ZR 17; 180/55 ZR 17

Dimensions and weights: wheelbase 1449 mm, steering head angle 64.3 degrees, caster 109 mm, spring travel f / h 120/130 mm, seat height 810 mm, empty weight approx. 205 kg, tank capacity 15.0 liters.

Two year guarantee

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *