Rejoice, American supermoto fans: Aprilia will bring another big-bore, twin-cylinder sumo to our shores next year. Like Ducati's Hypermotard 1100, Aprilia's Dorsoduro 1200 is inspired by race-ready supermotos, complete with 17-inch wheels, sportbike rubber and big Brembo radial-mount brakes. Aprilia's RSV4 Factory, our pick for 2010 Sportbike of the Year and winner of the 2010 Superbike World Championship, gets a major upgrade for 2011 in the form of Aprilia Performance Ride Control (APRC). Like Max Biaggi's racebike, the streetbike now offers eight-level variable traction control plus wheelie and launch control-the latter a production-bike first. Internal gear ratios have also been optimized for racetrack use, and a revised exhaust provides a slight power boost. Aprilia's RSV4 Factory, our pick for 2010 Sportbike of the Year and winner of the 2010 Sup Though it looks almost identical to the current Dorsoduro 750 (which itself bears more than a passing resemblance to the Hypermotard), the 1200 uses a dedicated cast-aluminum/steel-trellis modular frame and an all-new, 1200cc, liquid-cooled V-twin-the largest capacity Aprilia powerplant yet. The oversquare, four-valve, DOHC engine is utterly conventional in design, but the claimed 130-bhp output at 8700 rpm should prove thoroughly entertaining on the street while handily waxing the Hyper's air-cooled, two-valve mill. Though simple in both spirit and execution, the Dorsoduro 1200 will still offer high-tech gadgetry. Ride-by-wire throttle activation enables three power modes-Sport, Tour and Rain-while ABS as well as Aprilia's new ATC traction control will both be available options. Pricing has yet to be announced. By Aaron Frank Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
