Dorsoduro 750 Review

Many motorcycles combine stylish aesthetics with eye-widening performance, but often lack the elusive fun factor that makes scorching every mile of tarmac a superhero-like transformation.

In fact, fun is not a target that can be pursued, but rather must ensue from the rider's experience of the perfect cocktail of one part distinctive form, two parts precise execution, and garnished with a dash of panache.

The Aprilia Dorsoduro 750 is an incredibly cool way to slice and dice your way through any urban environment, and look like a movie star doing it. What could be more fun than that? Dragging foot rests and lofting the front wheel is nearly obligatory in what would normally be a mundane commute to the office.

The initial sensation from the Dorsoduro is purely auditory, as the sound from the Federico Martini-designed 90-degree V-twin and its ultra-stylized underseat twin exhaust system is akin to a WWII fighter plane ready for battle. The motor delivers a claimed 92 horsepower and 60 ft/lbs of torque that meet the road via a mega-wide 180mm Dunlop Sportmax Qualifier 17-inch rear tire that puts the power to the ground and grips at desperate angles.

The hybrid aluminum-and-steel trellis frame is suspended with a linkageless outboard Sachs adjustable shock in the rear, and beefy Marzocchi forks offer quick handling. The tall stance permits the pilot to point-and-shoot his way around and through traffic, as well as zero in on twisty corners unfettered by slower traffic. Stoppies are as effortless as wheelies, with the Brembo four-piston calipers gripping oversized 320mm Braking wave rotors.

I find that I always have to make extra time to answer curious questions from beguiled onlookers at traffic lights and filling stations who are interested in the man behind the tinted shield and his oversized dirt bike with street tires. Even though they realize I'm not the movie star they hoped I would be, they are as enamored by the Aprilia Dorsoduro 750 as I am.

Photography by Don Williams