I drove down to New Braunfels today with my son and met up with Fred and Kilbane at AF1 Racing today. AF1 was hosting an open house with factory Aprilia demo group this weekend. They had all four stroke models available to demo.
I choose the Shiver to ride, a 750 Vee Twin. Bottomline up front, very nice bike. It would make and excellent commuter/everyday bike and outstanding for a tight track. I think short tours (one day) could be done on it too.
The ergos are kinda like a Supermoto and the FZ6 all rolled into one. The foot pegs a neutral and the bar is a traditional Superbike bar. The hand controls fell naturally but the IC was a little low. I had to drop my eyes a bit too much to check my speed.
The motor...ahh...the motor is SWEET! Lots of torque and low end punch. Due to traffic we couldn't open it up but I got in a few "lunges" and it pulls very nicely. Up top however, it does get winded. It's happiest from 5,000 rpm to about 8,000. Clutch engagement is very smooth, even and very easy to get used to. The best part of the motor is the sound, sooooo cool! It has a growl and thump all rolled into on. Just listening to it was enthralling.
The suspension was spot on, firm but compliant. Going over railroad tracks the wheels track over the bumps and didn't do the FZ rebound thing. Compared to my Buell it is more comfortable/softer, compared to the FZ6 is is firmer. Damping was spot on.
The brakes are amazing! True one finger brakes. They are Brembo radials and had excellent feel and control. The rear brake has excellent feel and feedback too.
The negatives are few. The seat shape is nice but for me could have been angled up just a little. I would also change the bar out. I'm not a fan of the Supermoto position and would like more distance between the seat and the bars and more drop and pull back to the bars. I had a slight bit of wrist pain at the end of the ride but nothing major.
All-in-all the Shiver is an excellent bike. Check with your local Aprilia dealer to see if they will be hosting an open house/demo day. :thumbup:
I'll let Fred and Kilbane tell you about what they rode.
View attachment 15692
I choose the Shiver to ride, a 750 Vee Twin. Bottomline up front, very nice bike. It would make and excellent commuter/everyday bike and outstanding for a tight track. I think short tours (one day) could be done on it too.
The ergos are kinda like a Supermoto and the FZ6 all rolled into one. The foot pegs a neutral and the bar is a traditional Superbike bar. The hand controls fell naturally but the IC was a little low. I had to drop my eyes a bit too much to check my speed.
The motor...ahh...the motor is SWEET! Lots of torque and low end punch. Due to traffic we couldn't open it up but I got in a few "lunges" and it pulls very nicely. Up top however, it does get winded. It's happiest from 5,000 rpm to about 8,000. Clutch engagement is very smooth, even and very easy to get used to. The best part of the motor is the sound, sooooo cool! It has a growl and thump all rolled into on. Just listening to it was enthralling.
The suspension was spot on, firm but compliant. Going over railroad tracks the wheels track over the bumps and didn't do the FZ rebound thing. Compared to my Buell it is more comfortable/softer, compared to the FZ6 is is firmer. Damping was spot on.
The brakes are amazing! True one finger brakes. They are Brembo radials and had excellent feel and control. The rear brake has excellent feel and feedback too.
The negatives are few. The seat shape is nice but for me could have been angled up just a little. I would also change the bar out. I'm not a fan of the Supermoto position and would like more distance between the seat and the bars and more drop and pull back to the bars. I had a slight bit of wrist pain at the end of the ride but nothing major.
All-in-all the Shiver is an excellent bike. Check with your local Aprilia dealer to see if they will be hosting an open house/demo day. :thumbup:
I'll let Fred and Kilbane tell you about what they rode.
View attachment 15692