Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200 (2010-current)

Aprilia’s new liquid-cooled, 90° V-twin 1197cc motor pumps out an impressive 130bhp at the crank and 85flt of torque, far more than its rivals. There’s more than enough power right the way through the rev-range and there’s no question the Dorsoduro 1200 is a fast bike. With its electronic ride-by-wire throttle system the Aprilia has three riding maps: Sport., Touring and Rain. Ironically, ‘Sport’ mode has too much of an aggressive throttle response, especially for wheelies, so you end up riding in the softer ‘Touring’ setting most of the time and you miss out on the best of the what the Dorsoduro has to offer. 

Unlike some feisty supermotos, the Dorsoduro 1200 is nice and stable on fast, bumpy terrain and the ride quality is good. It’s tall, so smaller riders may struggle getting both feet on the floor at a standstill. ABS and a three stage traction control system (which works with wheelspeed sensors and not gyros like the RSV4 Factory SE) is a very useful safety device and standard on UK machines. If you want to have supermoto fun on the Aprilia you can turn the electronic rider aids off as it won’t slide or wheelie with them switched on. The only thing is you can’t do it on the move and have to stop.

As you’d expect from Aprilia the standard level of equipment is very high. As well as the electronic ABS and traction control it comes with a multi-function dash, fully-adjustable Sachs forks and rear shock and radial Brembo front brakes. Compare and buy parts for the Dorsoduro 1200 in the MCN Shop.