With the memory of Aprilia’s insane Tuono still fresh in our minds, Motoaus recently got our clutches into the stunning looking Shiver 750 expecting a downsized version of the 1000. We found instead an all new motorcycle with its own personality.

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Aprilia Shiver

With the memory of Aprilia’s insane Tuono still fresh in our minds, Motoaus recently got our clutches into the stunning looking Shiver 750 expecting a downsized version of the 1000. We found instead an all new motorcycle with its own personality.

The Aprilia Shiver 750 is an all new model from Aprilia, the first “fresh sheet of paper” model since Piaggio took over as owners of the Aprilia brand. Utilising an entirely new Aprilia developed 90 degree V-twin 750cc engine, it will help fill in the big gap in the road models between the RS125, and the Tuono 1000. This engine Is reported to be the basis of more models ranging in size up to 1200cc, so you can be sure some homework has been done on this engine.

The  V-twin motor  the Shiver weighs in at 749cc, with 4 valves per cylinder, DOHC, and “Ride by Wire” electronic throttle, controlling twin fuel injection bodies. The Ride-by Wire does away with a direct connection via cable from hand to injection, inserting an electronic brain in between to help things along, just like your average MotoGP machine. The blurb from Aprilia describes it as sampling all conditions including speed, rpm, temperature and gear position to decide how far to open the injector butterflies for you when you twist the throttle.

Other notable features include the two piece aluminium and steel frame, Brembo look-alike radial mount disc brakes, non adjustable Showa 43mm upside down forks, a side mounted rear shock, and a mildly B-Kingesque set of underseat mufflers. Which by the way produce one of the nicest – and loudest- notes of a standard vee-twin. Interestingly at 189kg the Shiver is actually heavier than its big brother naked, the Tuono 1000R, but it certainly didnt feel like it. I didnt get the opportunity to weigh it, so am going by the quoted weight figures from Aprilia.

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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