One year on: Aprilia SL750 Shiver
The Christmas-New Year break each year has proven poignant for me as a motorcyclist.
Seven years ago I decided there was only one way of curing the motorcycle "itch" I had had for most of my life. I decided that if I could locate a helmet large enough, that would be the omen necessary. Sully, in those days employed by Sawyer Motorcycles on Adelaide Road, came to my rescue and the rest they say is history.
Five years ago I traded in my beloved ZRX1200R for a Honda ST1300.
Four years ago, on Boxing Day, my ST1300 and I "went down the road" in Bulls. I broke a collarbone and several bits on the ST. An associated concussion resulted in me having no memory of this event nor of the minutes preceding it.
In keeping with this "anniversary" theme, last year I test rode an Aprilia SL750 Shiver. On 4 January 2009 I bought one. In Cult White. Whoar.
Since then I have completed about 31,000km on this hot little naked Italian.
That's four sets of tyres (Dunlop Qualifier OEMS, Avon Storm STs, Conti Motions, and Pirelli Angel STs) and two services (initial and at 20,000km).
The year's riding includes a Grand Challenge, a bit of touring, some brisk trips over my beloved Rimutakas and the odd burst of two-up riding.
So what's my verdict? Despite the best efforts of Triumph New Zealand Ltd (this country's official Aprilia distributor) to convince me otherwise, I love my Shiver.
It's a delight to ride in any conditions. It has rekindled my love for naked bikes and exposed me to the joys of V twins (although the howl of an inline four still makes me tingle in strange places). The Shiver goes, stops and handles.
The ergonomics of the Shiver were the first thing to impress me about it on last year's test ride. It's easy to sit on for hour after hour and eat up highway.
My biggest misgiving prior to purchase was the 15 litre tank. With average fuel economy at about 4.5 litres per 100km, "fumes" is somewhere between 250 and 300km, probably closer to 300 than to 250. There is no fuel gauge. The warning light comes on with 4 litres to go and after it has been on solidly for a couple of minutes, the display changes to inform how many km have been travelled on "reserve". I reckon that over two hours in the saddle is long enough and a bit of a stretch while refuelling my steed is a good idea.
When it works**, the multifunction display is an absolute pearler. It's easy to read and the various functions can be displayed using the mode switch on the left-hand control.
All of the Shivers sold or currently being offered as new for sale in New Zealand are the 2008 model. They're easily distinguished by their gold trellis frames. The early Shivers have a downloadable "tri" mode that is installed at their first service. The three modes are Sport, Touring and Rain, denoted on the display panel as S, T or R.
Aprilia claim 92 brake at the crank for the Shiver. R mode drops this to about 70 brake. I don't get the point of this at all. A Shiver is a 750cc motorcycle. Even in S mode they don't light up dangerously in any conditions that I've encountered.
T mode flattens out the throttle response and makes no difference that I've been able to spot in terms of fuel economy. Consequently my bike stays in S mode all the time.
As well as a tall seat height (definitely not a bike for shorties) the Shiver also has a tall first gear. Slow riding requires quite a bit of clutch work. This is also the first bike I've ever owned where first was a legitimate riding gear. I use it quite a bit on the Rimutakas, particularly when riding behind slow traffic.
I've got my soft limiter set at 10,500rpm but rarely get within 4,000rpm of that. The L twin is happiest between 4,000 and 6,000rpm, so that's where it spends most of its time when I'm astride it. I understand that the front wheel can be elevated at 7,000rpm in first gear...
Modifications? I've got Oxford heated grips and a Ventura pack rack on. I've also imported from the UK an Aprilia screen, an EP radiator guard, and a rear hugger. Crazefox did a brilliant job matching the Cult White (white with a blue pearl) and painting the hugger. I've also fitted my Garmin zumo 550, which has served as my primary speed and distance measuring device for most of this year.
So my verdict after a year? The Shiver gets a solid 8 out of 10. It's not perfect -- the rear suspension would benefit from a slightly longer travel (particularly when riding two-up), and a Memjet or Power Commander could help smooth out occasional lumpy low speed fuelling. Otherwise it goes just brilliantly and suits this rider very well indeed, to a point where I'm not sure what I would buy if I had to seek out another bike. If Aprilia is, as rumoured, thinking of a 1200cc Shiver then I may well import a new one from Australia. Until then...
**The one black spot on my year's riding has been Triumph New Zealand Ltd. I had to wait over nine months for a faulty speed sensor to be replaced under warranty. I am prepared to forgive lack of communication and slow response times when importing parts from overseas. However if Ed at AF1 in Texas can deliver genuine Aprilia parts to my door within days I struggle to see why the official distributor can't offer similar service levels. I am less forgiving, however, of childish petulance and Aprilia owners being dragged into grievances involving former retailers. I'm still waiting on a second part that was lodged as part of an accepted warranty claim back in March 2009. Its arrival is part of a little test I have set up with Triumph New Zealand who clearly have forgotten about it. On a 10 scale Triumph score a grudging 1 because a part that was ordered through them eventually arrived, albeit late and spitefully.
Until such time as Triumph New Zealand proves that it is a serious and committed distributor, I cannot recommend that anybody in this country should buy a new Aprilia of any model.
"Standing on your mother's corpse you told me that you'd wait forever." [Bryan Adams: Summer of 69]
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by 98tls
Bookmarks