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Aprilia Shiver

With the memory of Aprilia’s wild Tuono still fresh in our minds, Motoaus recently got our hands on the strikingly styled Shiver 750, expecting a scaled-down version of the 1000. What we discovered instead was a completely new motorcycle with its own distinct personality.

The Shiver 750 is an all-new model from Aprilia and marks the first “clean-sheet” design since Piaggio took ownership of the brand.  At its heart is a freshly developed 90-degree 750cc V-twin, designed entirely in-house by Aprilia.
Positioned to bridge the sizable gap between the entry-level RS125 and the muscular Tuono 1000, the Shiver’s engine is also rumored to form the foundation for a future lineup stretching up to 1200cc — so you can bet Aprilia has done its homework here.

The engine displaces 749cc and features DOHC with four valves per cylinder. It also introduces Aprilia’s “Ride-by-Wire” electronic throttle, a system that replaces the traditional cable with an ECU-controlled setup, much like what you’d find on a MotoGP bike. It continuously samples parameters like speed, RPM, temperature, and gear position to calculate optimal throttle input and injector response. In theory, it’s smarter than your wrist.

Other standout features include a hybrid aluminum and steel frame, radial-mount Brembo-lookalike disc brakes, non-adjustable 43mm Showa upside-down forks, a side-mounted rear shock, and a set of underseat mufflers with a hint of B-King attitude. And let’s not forget the sound, easily one of the most satisfying and aggressive exhaust notes we’ve heard from a stock V-twin.

Despite a claimed dry weight of 189kg — technically heavier than its bigger naked sibling, the Tuono 1000R, the Shiver never felt it. We didn’t have a chance to weigh it ourselves, but that figure comes straight from Aprilia’s spec sheet.

The 15 litre fuel tank feels wide but not uncomfortably so. A pretty set of gold taper bars sit atop a typically tasty looking Aprilia  triple clamp. The instruments are a similar design to the Tuono – a large analogue tacho with a square LCD full of functions and a digital speedo. Handlebar controls are nice,- hydraulic clutch, the flasher and horn buttons now laid out the standard way, and the great combination start button/kill switch – all quality gear.

Seating position is typical naked, fairly upright, with a comfortable seat. Seat height was fine for me, but is a little higher at 810 mm than similar bikes, making it a stretch for those with a low centre of gravity. Most who sat on  it immediately remarked how comfortable it felt, and were happy with the riding position.

On the road, it’s what you’d expect from the numbers quoted, except it feels really light, motardish in fact. The 750 motor is surprisingly powerful, with the quoted 95 neddies ample horsepower for the road. The test bike did have the usual down low vee twin shuffle happening, but a dealer remapping is available, and feedback on this has been good. But this only becomes apparent at very low revs, somewhere the 750 probably shouldn’t be left at. It’s a willing revver, after 6000rpm things happen in a hurry.

The standard pipes are quite loud and produce a much more desirable sound than some of the other over muffled V-twins available. The 60ft/lbs torque made by the Shiver -about 20% more than a 4cyl 600cc sportsbike- made for a pleasurable corner to corner run. I didnt really notice any difference in the “Ride by Wire” throttle, perhaps a sign of a well functioning system. I did however ride the bike as normal, and wasn’t concentrating on trying to “trick” it.

Stopping the Shiver was even easier, 320mm floating discs, and radial mounted 4 piston calipers which look identical to a Brembo – but aren’t – provide a progressive feel capable of getting the rear wheel off the ground. The forks were disappointingly non adjustable, having said that, I didnt feel any great need to change anything on the bike for normal road riding, in fact it felt right just how it was.

The Aprilia Shiver is one of those bikes that you feel comfortable on straight away, in the entire time I rode it, I did not experience even one heart in mouth experience. Given almost all of the kilometres we did on the Shiver were on roads full of corners, things must be pretty good straight out of the box. It also ranked up there as one of the easiest bikes I’ve ridden to go fast on, very neutral steering, and that beautiful v-twin grunt out of the corners. The Dunlop Qualifiers as fitted standard were easily ridden right to their edges.

The looks of the Shiver drew favorable comment from all I spoke to, personally I liked it as well. It looks far more like a “Naked” bike than the Tuono for example, which does look more like a sportsbike with no fairing. One downside of the styling – and underseat pipes- was the lack of any meaningful storage space under the seat. Whilst mentioning the underseat pipes, I didn’t feel any noticable heat build up in the seat, but I didn’t get to spend a lot of time in slow moving traffic.

With a retail price far less then its big brother Aprilias, the 14.990 dollar Aprilia Shiver is a valid alternative for a number of other mid size nakeds including the Street Triple, the Monster and the various Japanese offerings such as the SV650 and Hondas Hornet to name but a few.

Virtually everything the Shiver did, it did well. No fuss or drama, a rock solid, fast and fun motorcycle.

Rebecca’s Opinion

I didn’t quite know what to expect from Aprilia’s latest creation, the Shiver. There wasn’t much literature available on the new generation v-twin. Immediately, I liked the sharp featured lines in a naked muscle bike frame. It looked like it meant business and I wasn’t disappointed.

A tall motorcycle in stature, it was a careful balancing act for my vertically challenged frame. Once underway, I found the seating position high in relation to the geometry of the bike, but comfortable and well balanced, teamed with strong, correct bend taper bars.

Quick steering, with an ultra responsive throttle, the Shiver powered through the desirable, tight sections of road, smoothly and effortlessly. Pot-holed roads offered no resistance to a bike that handles very well out of the box and follows in the footsteps of its more aggressive Tuono big brother, with the Shiver offering a more user-friendly alternative.

Its 750cc power plant is more than adequate. Ride it in the rev-range it was designed for and the Shiver provides a precise and exhilarating ride. Like all Italian bikes, the Shiver has character. Anything but bland, the Shiver deserves a look by anyone contemplating a sportsbike, but weary of the aggressive sportsbike riding position. While it won’t win the land speed record, it will hunt down any unsuspecting sportsbike within its trajectory.

The “James Bond” of motorcycles, the Aprilia Shiver is smooth, sophisticated, functional and a little bit dangerous.

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