Aprilia Shiver - Good or not?

[NNN]

Hi All

I would be interested in knowing what members think of Aprilia Shiver. I am looking to buy a 2008 model that has done around 8Ks.
I live in Auckland. My concerns are: is it expensive to maintain; would all dealers service it. I was reading somewhere that these bikes need valve checks every 6Ks. I know most bikes will do at some stage (and some bikers too:pinch:). I guess my main concern is how expensive it is to maintain a Shiver. I am on a limited budget.. around 8Gs. I was looking into gixxers, CBRs, R6 and Daytonas, but they are either expensive or have done a lot of Ks. I ride 50Ks everyday so the number on speedometer is a concern. I also looked at Tripps (i know it is a big shift from Sports to Naked- but budget is a b*tch), but couldn't find any in my range.

I would be really keen to have your thoughts.

Cheers

[rustyrobot]

Well, I'll get in before Hitcher (you can search this site for his tale of woe). I have an Aprilia and to be honest the biggest problem with these bikes is the terrible service from the parts supplier in New Zealand - who are Triumph NZ. I've also read some pretty scathing reviews of the Auckland Aprilia dealers (also available on this site) but I can't see why any shop couldn't work on your bike.

The best place to go for all things Aprilia is AF1, you can get parts from them in about a tenth of the time (I'm being literal here) that you'd get them through local supplier, and they have a fantastic and very supportive forum. Here's the Shiver section: http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?63-2008-2014-Shiver-SL750-Dorsoduro-750

Ask all your questions there and there's bound to be someone who'll know the answer.

I love my bike and I really rate the Aprilia build quality highly, as I am sure you will find others do too. Shiver looks right nice too.

[James Deuce]

Love them. Does everything without feeling like a Kawasaki Z750 or Bandit 650. Buy parts from AF1racing.com. The local distributor will NOT provide ANY support and if they did the parts would be 10 times the price of AF1 and take 20 times longer to arrive.

[Hitcher]

Local distributor notwithstanding, the Shiver is probably one of the best bikes I've ever owned. The rear suspension is only just adequate and easily overwhelmed if carrying luggage or a pillion.

The engine and gearbox are just gorgeous.

[yevjenko]

For me it came down to a shiver or a Tuono. My head said shiver, my heart said Tuono. My legs said Tuono as I'm just over 6foot and I found the shiver slightly cramped, which the Tuono isn't.

I was really impressed with the engine on the shiver, quite a gutsy thing and was surprised at how nimble the bike was. Like all Aprilia's, neutral can be a pain to find till the bike has warmed up. Also like all Aprilia's these are pretty reliable machines, with only a couple of well known faults. Do your research on the af1 forum rusty pointed out.

The valve clearances are due every 20 thousand km's according to the Aprilia service manual (which I can send you the electronic version if you want). Most servicing can be done by any decent mechanic, but note that this is a ride by wire bike so there may be some electrical things that it would need to be plugged into the Aprilia service computer (axone or something like that I think).

Overall, a nice bike, but in the end I went for the Tuono - it's engine is even better than the shiver and it was irresistible... but it was a really close run thing for me

sent from my phone (so scuze auto correct typos)

[yevjenko]

Oh and like rusty said, the build quality is great. Much better than a Ducati of the same age

sent from my phone (so scuze auto correct typos)

[NNN]

Thanks guys!!!!!

There are one or two good ones on tr.me. Mid.co.nz has one arriving soon (don't know much about them though)

Redbaron is selling aprilias.. will go and check with them this weekend.

[yevjenko]

Mid seems to be importing a few. They did have a GT version (which has a screen, cubby box and electrical outlet built into the fairing) a while ago that looked very nice. Heard good things about mid

sent from my phone (so scuze auto correct typos)