VOL. 55 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 13, 2018 P95
able on the Dorso 900. The bike—although
big and for my money, too heavy—will turn
at even the smallest sign of a corner and is
great fun in the twisties when you can get a
flow on a link corner to corner.
The engine can be a blast here, as you're
not relying on super hard acceleration unless
you're drag racing from hairpin to hairpin, but to
make this part of the ride even more fun I'd have
back saw the gas light on after 71 miles,
certainly not good enough for anyone
wanting to tour on this bike—which should
not be out of the realm of possibility, given
the comfortable riding position. Granted,
I was probably mashing the throttle a little
harder than I should have been, but I'd have
expected at least 80-90 miles when riding hard
and 100 miles when riding at regular traffic pace.
loved it if Aprilia had fitted a quickshifter to the
Dorso 900. The gearbox is not the smoothest out
there and could certainly benefit from having a
little electronic aid, although I know this would add
expense, I feel it would be worth it.
Another thing that would be worth it would be
to fit more than three gallons into the gas tank! A
round trip from my place to Ortega Highway and
The Dorso
may look like
an overgrown
dirt bike but
it's surprisingly
comfortable.
way, but it has a very "computerized" feel to it.
While some ride-by-wire throttles have a linear
connection between when I move my wrist—they
open the butterflies and when the go reaches
the rear wheel—the Dorso 900's feels like I'm
sending an email by comparison.
It's all well and good when you're up and roll-
ing, and for the most part the ride is very enjoy-
